Human by Milan Bakrania Brings Hope Back to World Ravaged by Most Dangerous Virus Ever!

30 years from now
A ghost runjs across an immaculately manicured garden towards the banks of a steadily moving stream.
It's a child, maybe five or six years old, wrapped tightly in a white anti-infection suit. Something shiny
catches her eye. Lodged in the shallow waters is a silver object...

Dear Uncle Ryan...According to the media, the outbreak is relentlessly spreading to ever corner of the planet. 1,725 have died  already and two more cases were reported an hour earlier in Kolkata and somewhere in Myanmar. Face masks are now compulsory. But will it be enough to prevent more deaths? Only time will tell...  

 Why am I writing all this crap? Well, this afternoon, the World Health Organization and FEMA issued a joint statement. It was long and full of words unknown to me, but one statement stuck. This virus is like no other. 

Don't ask me why but, from that moment all I could think about is you and the time we spent together...

Human

By Milan Bakrania

                                            

10:58 PM..."Zenith!"

 I turn to see an oversized silhouette approaching fast. In seconds he is in front of me removing his mask. It's my friend Roshan, sweating like a pig, huffing and puffing, coating the whole vicinity in his garlicky scene. He's obviously been running for quite a while. 

"It's Joy," he finally bleats, putting two chubby hands on my bony shoulders. "He's been kidnapped!"

It had become personal now...Zen had followed all the rules, wearing a mask continuously and helping to keep his work environment as well as his home as clean as possible. But Roshan and Joy had been his best friends for so long--and in this world you had to work at keeping friends close.

Obviously he had not been successful in keeping his wife close! Ha! That rarely crossed his mind anymore, so he spent much time out with his friends, after work, enjoying what the recent news was that each had heard. Joy was an engineer, but had been forced to work selling on the streets. If there had not already been others who had been kidnapped, they would not have worried, thinking Joy was just off somewhere, but when they got to his apartment and found too many of his personal items that he would never leave behind, they knew he must have been taken.

"Last week, a policeman followed a group of
children being led by two possible kidnappers
into a field just outside the old city, over a
passing brook and into an unmarked village.
When the policeman entered the village, it was
deserted. There was no sign of life apart from
a small temple at the centre, a dried-up well
under a very old tall tree and intricately
carved ruins scattered everywhere...No
trace of existence has been found in the
area, even after a forensic search. The
policeman has been sent on an extended leave.

Zenith is a wonderful character. He is always running, to get to work, to get done, and go to the wonderful place there at work--where the engineers worked. Zen had wanted to be an engineer. His father had not been supportive, but his Uncle Ryan--was continually encouraging, continuing to remind him to dream, that he could be what he wanted to be...But now, he cleaned--the buildings where great engineering projects were being handled constantly. And the people who worked there liked him and would share their activities with Zen, as if he was their peer, even though he would never be at this time in his life. 
Now, though, when he got off work, he would search for his friend Joy or talk with Roshan, deciding what to do next. With so many people dying, the police were constantly involved in cleanup! Body bags were routinely around for use and because of the volume dying, they were taken to a common dump for burning. There was just no time to provide for family remembrances--sometimes they didn't even learn their loved one had died and been carried away until much later!
Roshan died from the virus...He was now alone, trying to find his other friend.
Then a text message came--apparently from the kidnappers and directed him to Ellis Bridge:

"Joy is waiting for you. Come to the centre of Ellis Bridge, 9am...Come alone..." Another text later came but he didn't know what the letters and numbers meant. He had gone to the Bridge but nobody had been there, so he decided he'd better get to work. There, he asked for help in determining what the numbers meant... A GPS!

He Started out again...,

Later, those with whom he worked, would ask about him... They would realize he had disappeared...like the others...

Zenith, and readers, are about to go on an adventure like no other. Across the world, millions were dying from the virus... Would it be the end of the world? 

Milan Bakrania has given readers a story not of the end of the world as it had become... But of what it could be... His vision was perhaps from his own dreams... Or were his dreams preparing him for what was to come? Suddenly after reading a story with a man named Zenith as the main character--a cleaner, a janitor, who had dreamed of being an engineer has left Ahmed City, India, to a place where most have magically been taken...Zenith walked in...

From a somewhat simple story of a man's life, the novel moves to a place where I wanted to be... I wanted to explore and be out with Zen to see what he was discovering. For there were people from all over the world--from every culture,  those of every color...and...there was hope there...I became once again hopeful for the world.

Thank you Milan Bakrania.  May your dreams and the dreams of many others across this world come true...

Highly recommended! But do take the time to realize that it is from the simple life of one man, who dreams, that this world may just come...

GABixlerReviews

Born in London. Grew up wanting to be a doctor, astronaut, singer and archeologist but ended up in the IT field! Writing was something I always did but never saw it as a career until I was threatened with redundancy…that’s when I re-discovered the creative juices. Along with writing, my wife and I are CEO/founders of Swaroop Arts, a platform established to exhibit our paintings…another hobby that’s become a career!

Related articles

• Spotlight: Human by Milan Bakrania

Louisiana Fever by Dr. D. J. Donaldson Scary Potential Reality Thriller! Would Love to See TV Show With Top Characters!

While Broussard waited for his eggs, across the river, in his dresser, Walter Baldwin’s killer emerged from Broussard’s torn pants and began to explore. It moved across the right lapel of his pale blue pajamas and paused on the label, its body covering the R in Ralph Lauren. Hungry and thirsty, it could do nothing about the former, but the latter was no problem. From a gland in a protrusible mouth part, it secreted a tiny salt crystal that quickly absorbed water from the air. Drawing the salt droplet into its mouth, its thirst was satisfied. Turning, it moved toward the rear of the dresser and up the back panel into the dresser carcass, looking for a way out...
~~~

Louisiana Fever!
An Andy Broussard and Kit Franklin Mystery

By D. J. Donaldson

Serial Killers, Drug Lords, Pedophiles...are all very scary...But, you know, since I've moved into my cabin in the woods, Louisiana Fever turned out to be a horror thriller of the worst kind...it drove me Buggy! And with the strange weather we've been having this year, I've seen more different kinds of bugs than I've ever seen! Creepy, crawly, sneaky...they're everywhere! Including in this Novel!

And sometimes, they'll kill you just as easily as a bullet!

"She nudged the select button on the stereo, using the knuckle of her gloved hand, then pushed play, warming the cool room with the opening strains of The Magic Flute. 

“Delivery crew said he keeled over at Grandma O’s,” Minoux said. “That’s not gonna be good for business.” “He hadn’t had anything to eat, so I don’t think we can blame her,” Broussard replied, slipping a pair of booties over his mesh shoes. While Broussard donned his plastic apron, on which someone had long ago written THE BOSS with a permanent black marker, the two assistants each put on a mask and a plastic visor. Broussard added two pairs of rubber gloves to his meager outfit, walked over to the body, and reached for a Polaroid camera on a nearby bench. 

"Though he had seen thousands of cadavers, the tenuous nature of life had never ceased to fascinate him. A single puncture wound in the right place and it was gone. . . . Constrict the airway for a few minutes, it was gone—an irrevocable loss far too easy to achieve. And even when it happened without external intervention, as apparently this one had—a death by so-called natural causes—it seemed no less deplorable. 

D. J. Donaldson sure did make sure his readers realize it, because he personified the killer! Just wait until

you meet the killer! And one is after the local M.E. who must deal with the bodies that are arriving...

"D’Souza began dissecting the skin flaps off the chest, the flashing strokes of her scalpel quickly separating them from the underlying white connective tissue. She did the side flaps first, then moved to the upper one, her swift movements rapidly carrying her dissection to the arch of the mandible, where she draped the loosened skin over the face and cut through the muscles attached to the mandible, thereby entering the mouth. She freed the tongue and pulled it forward, her scalpel slashing at the restraining tissue, liberating the trachea and esophagus. 

"Broussard had finished sharpening the long knife he would use to section the organs and had begun arranging the perforated plastic sample containers on his cutting board at the shallow sink under the data blackboard when he heard D’Souza say, “Oh, shit.” Turning, he saw her tearing at the tape holding her gloves to her wrists. Obviously, she’d cut herself. She pulled off her gloves and Broussard saw that her left index finger was bleeding heavily. To a degree, that was good, as it would wash any potentially infectious organisms out of the wound. 

“How bad is it?” “Not deep enough to hit any tendons or need sewing up,” she replied behind her mask. 

“Good. Now get out of here and let it bleed under water for five minutes, then put some Betadine and peroxide on it. When you feel up to it, fill out an incident report.” Behind her visor, her eyes were filled with worry. “I’d like to hear that speech again about how unlikely it is to acquire a disease from something like this.” 

“First of all, sudden deaths like this one aren’t caused by infectious disease,” Broussard said. “It’s likely he had a coronary. And even if he did have somethin’ infectious, your chances of acquirin’ it are about like your chances of bein’ struck by lightnin’ today.” 

“Even if he’s HIV-positive?” 

“Even then.” 

“I feel better.” 

“But just to be on the safe side, we’re gonna have the lab check him out. And you’re gonna need to give some blood for a baseline. So, when I’m through here, you can take his samples up to the lab and let ’em draw yours. Now, go on . . . take care of your finger. . . .

~~~

One has already killed one of his assistants! She was helping with the autopsy when she accidentally cut herself...That's all it took, a little nick in her hand...Days later she was dead...

There was another female in Broussard's unit, one he was especially fond of--but he had a hard time sharing his feelings, even to the extent of praising her excellent work.

The John Doe who had just been brought in was in the company of Kit Franklin when he died. But she didn't know him! He had been sending her a flower each day and then asked to meet. She had agreed because the place where that would be was their favorite restaurant and everybody knew her there... He spoke her name and...died...

But time had lapsed since that incident when she was kidnapped! At least they assumed she had been kidnapped because her car was still at home and there was no sign of struggle. They were fairly certain that her disappearance had nothing to do with the man who had died...

And at that time, she didn't know he was actually murdered...Hey, if a bug can kill, then he's a murderer, right?

"After removing the tube, he cut through both sternoclavicular joints, then severed each rib through its cartilage attachment to the sternum, pleased that he didn’t encounter enough ossification to call for the saw. With that done, he was able to remove the breast plate, revealing the lungs, which cupped the heart in pinkish gray angelwings. 
"His scalpel stopped moving. He pressed on one lung with a forward motion to see more of it. Puzzled at what he saw, he did the same with the other lung. Both were studded with small hemorrhages. Very peculiar . . . 
"He cut the major vessels entering and leaving the heart, noting there was copious blood flow from them, something commonly seen in heart-attack victims. He removed the tongue, trachea, esophagus, lungs, and heart as a block and dropped them into a stainless pan as Guy Minoux stepped up to the table. 
“Take over, will you, while I work at the sink?” Minoux nodded and picked up the scalpel Broussard left for him. Broussard took his pan to the sink under the blackboard, poured the contents onto his cutting board, and began separating the organs, prior to close inspection of each one. He first examined the tongue, noting there was no indication the deceased had bitten it. With the long knife in one hand and the other pressing on the upper surface of the tongue, he halved it horizontally in the same way he’d slice a bagel. When he separated the two halves, he saw more tiny hemorrhages. This was becoming a major mystery, as the emerging pattern of affected organs fit nothing he’d ever seen...

~~~

The investigation to find Kit was ongoing but her fiancee got tired of just sitting around so he tried to find her, picking up a few clues...Enough to get him grabbed also!

Broussard had two of his staff to worry about now! And by then, other bodies were brought in and identified to have the same issue as the first...An expert was soon there, but he and Broussard soon were at odds!

“Are you going to bring in the CDC?” Seymour asked. 
"Blackledge shot him a cold look. “Hell no. What do I need them for? I trained the people they’d send.” Then to Broussard: “You’ve got slides on the two cases?”
 “Only on the John Doe. There hasn’t been time to process Baldwin’s tissues, but his organs were so deteriorated, they’re not likely to be of any use.” “What sort of pathology did you see in the John Doe?” “The most significant was early stages of disseminated intravascular coagulation.”...

But when Broussard lost to that killer, they were all glad that Dr. Blackledge was there...

Actually, although I showed a pic of a tick and identified the killer, there are many types of ticks and the fear and suspense comes from first identifying it was a tick, but then narrowing down what "kind" of tick it was, and then, determining whether there is some vaccine already available for that particular tick known...

There wasn't...

And Kit and Teddy have not yet been found...

This novel had me riveted from the first page on...Broussard is a fascinating main character that I fell in love with quickly. Kit being kidnapped put her in a different role, I would imagine, than normally, but she proved to be a gutsy lady and I look forward to getting to know both of these characters in more depth.

Danger lurks right outside my door... Is he there in the woods surrounding you like he is me? Is he one of the psycho killers of the species!???

Chillingly Good Read! But keep some bug spray handy while you're reading! Don't miss this one if you are a Forensics Thriller Fan! I "think" I'm going to have to add him to my "favorite author" list so I've added at least another of his books to my wish list...Will keep you posted...


GABixlerReviews

About the Author
D.J. Donaldson is a retired professor of anatomy and neurobiology. His entire academic career was spent at the University of Tennessee, Health Science Center, where he published dozens of papers on wound-healing and taught microscopic anatomy to thousands of medical and dental students. He is also the author of seven published forensic mysteries and five medical thrillers. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife and two West Highland terriers. In the spring of most years, he simply cannot stop buying new flowers and other plants for the couple's prized backyard garden.

Review: Can Michael Palmer Ever Top His Latest?

Image via Wikipedia

A Heartbeat Away


By Michael Palmer




















If you tried to think of the very worst situation that could happen in America, you would have in your hands the latest book, A Heartbeat Away, by Michael Palmer. The back of the book says it all, "Tense, thrilling, and entirely plausible...will make you reflect, wonder and be truly afraid."

Sometimes I worry that the imaginations of our best authors will truly be followed by terrorists. If this happens in fiction, it would always come out, because we have heroes in fiction books--good guys that make things right. Not so, sometimes, in real life. This time, Palmer takes us straight to the heart of the nation...

Into the Capitol Building where the State of the Union address by President Allaire is about to begin.

President Allaire has just won his second term. Interestingly, his opposition was the Speaker of the House; the President smiles a little because she won't look into his eyes as she is about to introduce him--a bit of smugness at a time like this surely is felt by anyone, including the president of the United States.

But that smugness is soon changed to terror. For as he is reading his speech from the prompter, suddenly it all started happening. Puffs of vapor could be seen exploding across the room. On the prompter, Allaire saw WRX3883...

Immediately Allaire knew what he was facing--after all, he had approved the work on the deadly virus!

And except for the Secretary of Homeland Security who had been the designated survivor to be secured away from this major event, all individuals who had control of the nation were in that room...

And exposed to a virus that the President was fairly certain did not have an antidote!

President Allaire's background was a physician. So he had discussed and fully been involved with the research that had been proposed by Sylvia Chen. He also knew that he had shut down the project.

But the terror was that some of that formula had been stolen months ago and never recovered. In fact, the man who had stolen it was in maximum security federal prison for his terrorist act.

I was not surprised that the President acted immediately to gain control. The terrorist group, Genesis, had been building up to this situation with destruction at other sites, already casualties were claimed, so Allaire knew this was real. He immediately had the entire building closed to the outside, called a group together to discuss the issue and began to direct personnel.

But he didn't include the Secretary of State, noting he didn't trust her. I wonder what might have happened differently if he had included her--for she certainly was a vengeful woman, who quickly began her own activities. Indeed Genesis took advantage of a bitter woman who could not see beyond her personal goals...

President Allaire also pulled Dr. Griffin Rhodes out of prison. While neither trusted each other, Rhodes was promised freedom if he agreed to help combat the virus. And during their negotiations, Rhodes was able to pull in two old friends to help him.

I think one of the most significant results of reading Michael Palmer's book is to study the actions of the characters. Would I have done what the President did? Would you have the ability to make those important and unpopular actions and decisions that were needed to handle the situation?

Personally, I believe this is one of the best books yet from Michael Palmer. His characters are exceptionally well done--revealing the use of power by one versus the abuse of power by another. Then, too, the novel also focuses on the potential imprisonment of individuals who are not guilty of a crime. Fortunately, Dr. Rhodes had the fortitude to accept he had lost almost a year of his life, and move on to respond to the emergency.

Dr. Palmer also uses this book to highlight a need to use computer technology rather than lab animals for research--a very worthy goal that hopefully is in the works if not already available.

The sad part was watching the reactions of many of the individuals who were leaders of their country react as they were forced to respond to the emergency. Each of us must ask, "what would we do?" and pray that we would respond affirmatively to what had to be done.

Michael Palmer puts it right in our laps this time and this one you won't forget for a long time! The book will be out February 15th; I suggest you Pre-order now--don't miss A Heartbeat Away!

Book Received
From the Author

GABixlerReviews

Pat Bertram Surprises and Delights, Setting A Spark Under Readers!

Image by supercraigtalbert via Flickr

,A Spark of Heavenly Fire

By Pat Bertram






This is an absolutely amazing book!

I was blown away with her first book that I read, Daughter Am I, but thought I now knew a little about this writer...not so! A Spark of Heavenly Fire...surprising, exciting, realistic, scary, and wonderful all at the same time...

OK, here's the basic storyline...

Kate Cummings works at a clinic, where she is the first to talk to patients, finding out why they are there and gathering information from them. On a personal level, she has lost a loved one and finding that she is still very much depressed over the loss. One of her methods of getting back on track is jogging. But this day two things happen: a man falls dead in front of her and she meets another interesting man to whom she is attracted.

Unfortunately the man who died gushed blood all over Kate, which turns out to be dangerous to Kate since he is only one of the thousands that are dying from what is soon being called the red death! And before very long, the entire state of Colorado is quarantined!

Greg Pullman was a reporter for the Denver News and he was also the other jogger on that fateful morning. We soon find that he is practically engaged to be married, but when Greg is supposed to meet her to formally propose, she has left with an actor who has been working in the state.
And at that time, two paths are there in the middle of the story... Which one would you take?

Jeremy King and Pippi O'Brien, as new lovers, went on the run, trying to escape Colorado. Through their story you will see where some residents had been imprisoned, how those at the stateline would not allow anybody to leave the state, how food was scarce and thieves were on every road, waiting to steal, and kill, if they had to...

Kate was older than Greg, knew she couldn't even begin to compete with Pippi in looks, but nevertheless was willing to enjoy Greg's company, especially since both were interested and determined to find out exactly what kind of virus was causing the deaths. As Greg made as many contacts as he could, and conducted research to determine where the virus had begun and who was working with research of this kind, Kate found herself in an entirely different situation.

Appalled by the "preparedness" of the government to take over, control the food, and control the people by killing those who were presumed to be causing riots, but were oftentimes just a group of friends having a little bit of fun, she watched as food became scarce, only one restaurant remained open, and the homeless were totally cut off.

And then it was determined that it was a chimera, a man-made virus, probably created for biological warfare that was causing the deaths. Just who and how many knew exactly what was happening in Colorado?

But another discovery was made--practically all of the regular customers at the one open restaurant had not become ill. And through the "spark of heavenly fire" people started working together to help each other based upon what they had learned...

Parts of this book are realistically scary, because readers know that the fear, the lawlessness, the greed and danger of a major epidemic would be very like what the author portrays. In the sad commentary of today's world, where terrorism, biological warfare, and hostage situations are handled by strict interpretation of governmental officials' orders or, worse, ignoring them, what happens when good people are confronted in the midst of such chaos... I loved this book!

May more and more Americans find that spark! A must-read recommendation from this reviewer!

Book received via
Facebook's Reviewers Roundup


G. A. Bixler