Review of Viral War

[Annelore Trujillo]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Viral War" by Josephine debois.]

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2 out of 5 stars

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Viral War: A Fairy Tale of the Perfect Women by Josephine deBois is a science-fiction story filled with genomic alterations that lead to what society just might consider perfect women. As the book starts, several women are trafficked. We follow one of these women as she escapes from the husband she is sold to. She ends up in the media, and the leaders of the trafficking ring realize that the ring is close to getting caught. Instead of ending their lucrative business, they take it to a different level to avoid discovery. They seek to create women who won’t feel the need to escape and won’t have to be forced to take their part in this trade.

The book is written in the form of a screenplay that is broken up into multiple episodes. The characters have scripted dialogue. Between the dialogue, the scenes are described, and the movements of the characters are narrated. The unique format takes the reader into the script as a separate, invisible character. It tells us what we see and how we feel. It’s as if we truly are one of the characters. After the first episode, I was completely hooked by this book and the format. I found myself tearing up as I finished the episode, and I couldn’t wait to see what the next one had in store.

Unfortunately, the book doesn’t live up to the picture that is painted in that first section, and a lot is left to be desired. The experience of being a part of the story disappears at some point during the book. It starts simply narrating what is happening instead of giving the reader a part. Then it comes back before disappearing again. Consistency would be better. The character development is also poor. For a book that is mostly told through dialogue, the characters lack individual voices. They all talk in a choppy, vague manner. It’s impossible to tell the characters apart based on the way they speak.

The book is not professionally edited. There are numerous errors throughout the book. As the book moves along, the errors get worse. By the end, the errors start to interfere with the understanding of the story itself. Not only are there grammatical errors, but the vocabulary often seems to be used incorrectly. Descriptors are out of place and give the wrong impression of what is happening.

I give the book 2 out of 5 stars. Unfortunately, the good things are weighed down by the cons. I do think it’s deserving of more than just 1 star because the creativity and ideas are there. The writing just needs work; it doesn’t seem like a completed book. If the author fixes these issues, I would reconsider this rating. I would recommend this book to science-fiction lovers who can look past all of the issues mentioned above. I would not recommend this to anyone sensitive to the subject of rape. This is a theme that is repeated throughout the book.

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Viral War
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Iamponle]

This is one book that needs more recognation #Isugest

[Zeyad Waleed]

Great analy sis for a controversial book

[Nwoko E]

The book is written in the form of a screenplay that is broken up into multiple episodes. The characters has scripted dialogue. Great review.

[Emily Meadows]

Oh wow - this sounded like a fascinating (if heavy) premise for a book. I am disappointed for the author that it didn't live up to the expectations and hopefully the author will work on a second edition with errors and flow fixed. I am curious about how the author described "the perfect woman" . Great review.

[scarper001]

Oh wow - this sounded like a fascinating (if heavy) premise for a book. I am disappointed for the author that it didn't live up to the expectations and hopefully the author will work on a second edition with errors and flow fixed. I am curious about how the author described "the perfect woman" . Great review.
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