''Pandemia'' is a 2006

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

teen novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

written by American author Johnathan Rand (a pseudonym of Christopher Knight). The novel depicts a scenario in which

bird flu "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...

mutates and becomes a global

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

because of modern transportation methods, eventually causing a universal

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

Plot

The disease that causes a world-wide catastrophe in the novel is H5N1, a strain of bird flu that was in the news at the time of publication. Its mutation and rapid spread eventually causes the

collapse of society Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of socioeconomic complexity, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible cause ...

and many economies across the world. The book's central plot features a group of teens in

Saline, Michigan Saline ( ') is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,948 at the 2020 census. The city borders Saline Township to the southwest, and the two are administered autonomously. History Before the 18th century ...

that must try and escape the city and head to the countryside where they can hopefully stay alive long enough in their uncle's cabin to be rescued. But in doing so, the teens must use whatever weapons they can find to defend themselves against looters, insane killers, and potentially dangerous sources of infection. In a world gone mad, the group must find the necessities, food, water and shelter, to survive.American Chillers
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External links

Johnathan Rand's official website

''Pandemia'', Barnes & Noble

''Pandemia'', Shelfari

References

2006 American novels American young adult novels Apocalyptic novels American post-apocalyptic novels Works about societal collapse {{2000s-ya-novel-stub