Q Island
Russell James
Samhain Publishing
July 7, 2015
Reviewed by Tim Potter
The latest novel from Russell James, Q Island, is a thoroughly entertaining horror novel. It’s a story of an epidemic, a possible pandemic, that ravages the Long Island portion of New York. People who contract the virus, which is virtually everyone who comes into contact with it, becomes a being driven by rage. It sounds like a zombie story, and while there are similarities between the zombie story and the epidemic story, this isn’t a zombie tale.
The paleovirus travels from the frozen depths of northern Asia to Long Island, where it is introduced to the populating through a very unique series of events. It only takes days for the effects of this long-buried epidemic to hit the streets, and hospitals, of New York. The first patients present with septicemia, red eyes and darkened veins under the skin. They quickly progress to stages of increased brain and physical function, to raging violence and finally, after death, to actual explosion.
When in the rage phase the sufferers are prone to acts of violence against those not infected. They try to bite and savage others as a way to spread the virus. Once dead, the virus becomes airborne and when the bodies swell and burst the plague becomes transmittable through the air. It is almost impossible to prevent people from coming down with the disease. Once this is realized the U.S. government moves to quarantine the Island, which quickly becomes known as Q Island. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world as its residents struggle to survive and find a cure.
The absolute highlight of the novel is the character Aiden. He’s a nine year old autistic boy, non-verbal, and extremely reliant on routing to help him deal with the world. Obviously, when society crumbles routine goes out the window, as do the ideas of calm and quiet, personal space and almost anything else familiar. Aiden must overcome the challenges of living in a world where violence is the norm and no one wants to to deal with special circumstances or challenges. Aiden’s ultimate arc may not sit well with all readers, but given the care and consideration given to the development of the character throughout the story, it’s not something to dwell on.
The only time the story slows down is when the character Jimmy takes center stage. He’s one of the main characters, though the smallest of the major three plot threads, and the pace slows down when he is the focus. When it shifts back to Aiden, his family and his neighborhood, or the researchers and military based at JFK Airport, the story pushes through to a satisfying climax.
The plague story is not an easy one to execute, but with Q Island, Russell James does so with great success.
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- Dark Screams: Volume Four – Book Review - August 13, 2015
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