(2022) The Great Fatigue brings the disease causing lethargy and death. The only cure turns people into zombie like creatures (primitives). Turns out the book has no resolution as it is the first in a series. I hate when that happens.Publisher's Weekly: Erich Krauss. Briar Road, $22.95 (424p) ISBN 978-1-62860-133-6Bestseller Krauss (Brawl) draws on current events for his complex postapocalyptic latest. In the near future, all of humanity is afflicted with the Great Fatigue, a bacterial disease causing fatal lethargy. A cure, Advitalon, is developed and made mandatory by governments fearful that their entire populations will otherwise waste away and die. But the medicine has an alarming side effect, transforming millions into violent, ?primitive? versions of themselves, lacking basic cognitive skills. The particulars of this setup in light of the pandemic and the anti-vax movement may keep many readers at bay, but Krauss is more interested in using it as a springboard for postapocalyptic action than delving into politics. Thirty years on, Seth Keller, the rare human born immune to the illness, who's been living in Utah and studying the altered humans with his professor father, makes a surprising discovery that sets him on a dangerous quest to reverse humanity's decline. This plotline, which alternates with that of a woman, Sarah, living in a haven in Costa Rica, unfolds with enough twists and turns to keep readers invested, and the satisfying ending will have readers curious about what Krauss does next. Fans of Blake Crouch's Pines trilogy should check this out.

I saw this book on a book tour and had to have it. I stalked the book and…voila…I got me a gorgeous hardcover book to add to my bookshelves!

Yeah, I did let it languish on the bookshelf, staring at me, making me think, “I gotta read that.” Finally…I have…and I was not disappointed. It wasn’t everything I hoped it was, but now that I know there is another one coming, I understand. The depth and detail of the apocalyptic/dystopian world Erich Krauss has created is amazing. I was able to follow the storyline easily, vividly imagining the world the characters are in. I walked in their footsteps, because of The Walking Dead series. We just replaced the zombies with a virus.

My hands ached from holding the hardcover. I did not want to stop reading. I knew I would have to stay up for many hours to get through 424 pages. I knew pretty quickly it would be up to the characters to engage me. And they did. We went through two points of view and past and present times. Erich Krauss made it work. Now that is some good writing.

Why do some scientists think they are entitled to play God? I think that role is already filled(?). Narcissists. Egomaniacs. I am intelligent. I have all the answers. I know what is best. I am right. You are wrong. It doesn’t matter what you think. It is of no value. Go along to get along. Shut up and sit down…or I’ll make you.

I love books that cause me discomfort, make me question….things…

We have all the good and bad of humanity filling the pages with their actions. Trust does not come easy. Your life depends on you making the right decisions. I love a book that gets my own thoughts flowing, me almost helping write the pages as the action flows on the pages. Maybe even adding whatever pops in my head over and above what is written.

I think Erich Krauss’ inspiration came from his personal life and the Covid Epidemic. Be sure and read his bio. It may be short, but it is fascinating. I haven’t read any of his other books, but as I scrolled through them, I thought, I would read that. Yeah, that’s not something I would have thought of reading, like Got Fight?: The 50 Zen Principles Of Hand To Face Contact. But, ya know what? I would now. I may need it when I return to the butte and Seth, Sarah, and I meet the Merry Men.

I want to leave you with this question. Does humanity deserve to survive?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Primitives by Erich Krauss.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com ( )

I would say though that I was more invested in Seth and his storyline in the beginning. This is because there was more happening right away. Sarah's storyline took a bit longer for anything really exciting to happen. Yet when these two's paths cross is when the storyline really picks up speed with the action.

As soon as I started reading this book, within the first couple of pages, I was hooked and if I wasn't hooked, it would not have taken me long after to become engaged in this book. Instantly, I got a vivid image of everything happening in this book and what everyone looked like and sounded. It actually, was like a movie playing in my head. This book makes me think of another author who I really enjoy, Jeremy Robinson' specifically his book Island 731. Readers of post-apocalyptic stories will really enjoy this book. ( )

A most satisfying dystopian tale. You start with a pandemic that causes global fatigue, then add a 'cure' that turns most of humanity into creatures barely capable of thought. A few pockets of survivors remain relatively unscathed. An obsessed professor and the young man he rescued as an infant comprise one story track, while a young woman in a compound in Costa Rica makes up the other. Early on, you know they're going to come together, but how that happens makes for a real page turner with gradual revelations and an ending that begs for a sequel. ( )