American Fever: The `Viral’ Video

 

 

 

# 6630

 

It’s a fairly quiet morning in Flublogia, and so I hope you’ll indulge a brief departure from our regular fare of disease outbreak and disaster news while I unabashedly plug a friend’s book.  

 

A little over three years ago I featured a blog (see Catching An American Fever) on Peter Christian Hall’s online pandemic novel American Fever.

 

 

Peter is an accomplished journalist, feature writer, novelist, and film producer who’s work has appeared in the The Huffington Post, Reuters, and Rolling Stone – just to name a few.

 

Last year Peter interviewed Crof, Scott McPherson, Cottontop,  and myself for an article on flu bloggers, and our reaction to the movie Contagion, for The Huffington Post (see Contagion Grips 'Flublogia').

 

In American Fever Peter weaves links to real-life flu blogs (including Crofsblog, Effect Measure, Scott McPherson and AFD) into his disturbing story of a New York City blogger who watches his world unravel into a dystopian nightmare during an H5N1 pandemic.

 

 

The web version remains online (edited, tightened up, and better than ever) which you can access for free, but now there is an e-book, and a printed version you can purchase (see It Gives You Fever).

 

This week, Peter unveiled the winner of a video contest, where invited filmmakers to come up with a `video trailer’ for his book.

 

You can watch David Rodriguez’s winning entry below.

 

 

 

 

As far as American Fever is concerned - while I enjoyed it immensely - I have to hope that Peter’s dark vision of what happens to outspoken flu bloggers during an H5N1 pandemic never comes to pass.

 

I keep repeating to myself . . . It’s only fiction . . .

It Gives You Fever

 

 

# 6090

 

 

Amid blogging the sound and fury of this past week’s controversial bird flu news, I’ve spent a number of good hours enjoying a freshly minted copy of Peter Christian Hall’s pandemic novel American Fever, which he was kind enough to send me.

 

You may recall that twice in 2009 (Catching An American Fever, A Recurrent Fever) I wrote about the genesis of this online novel, which is written through the eyes of a New York City flu blogger as he watches his world unravel into a dystopian nightmare during an H5N1 pandemic.

 

Hall - a well established writer, journalist, and filmmaker – has seen his works published in The Huffington Post, Reuters, and Rolling Stone – just to name a few.

 

Peter recently interviewed Crof, Scott McPherson, Cottontop,  and myself for an article on flu bloggers, and our reaction to the movie Contagion, for The Huffington Post (see Contagion Grips 'Flublogia').

 

 

In American Fever Peter weaves real-life flu bloggers into his narration, referring to (and providing links) to most of Flublogia as the novel progresses.

 

The web version remains online (edited, tightened up, and better than ever) which you can access for free, but now there is an e-book, and a printed version you can purchase.

 

Although I miss the ability to click and follow embedded links (of which Peter provides hundreds), personally I find it a lot easier to read a printed novel than one that is online. 

 

It’s probably an age/eyesight issue.

 

Since I’m not a professional book reviewer, for a true literary dissection I’ll refer you to a couple of reviews of American Fever (here and here) that have appeared elsewhere.

 

For my part I’ll say that I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and actually learned (and in some cases re-learned) a few things about flu in the process.

 

I do hope that Peter’s dark vision of what happens to outspoken flu bloggers during an H5N1 pandemic never comes to pass.

 

I keep repeating to myself . . . It’s only fiction . . .

 

Bottom line:  American Fever – catch it, before it catches you.

A Recurrent Fever

 

# 3822

 

 

 

Last July I wrote about a start-up blog/novel called American Fever: A Tale of Romance & Pestilence, (see Catching An American Fever) which was being written online by Peter Christian Hall.   At the time, only a handful of chapters – or perhaps more properly, entries – had been posted.

 

It’s an intriguing idea, and is perhaps the future of fiction publishing, although admittedly not all of the kinks are worked out at this time.

 

Yesterday in my Internet roaming (spurred on by my desktop RSS feed fetcher), I ran across a detailed and generally favorable review of Peter’s online novel, now that considerably more of the story has been written and posted. 

 

Book review: ‘American Fever,’ by Peter Christian Hall

By Court Merrigan

 

I’ve been reading along (although I confess, I’ve fallen a bit behind) in the novel, and have enjoyed it.  I need to find some time and try to catch up.  As a blogger,  I certainly understand the the blood, sweat, and tears that go into writing every day like this. 

 

So I’m happy to plug Peter’s work from time to time.   You’ll also find Peter blogging for The Huffington Post.

 

So if you are in the mood for a little pandemic fiction, then by all means check out An American Fever.

 

 

Last year, you may recall, I reviewed another pandemic novel written by  Craig DeLouie entitled The Thin White Line: A History of the 2012 Avian Flu Pandemic in Canada.   The author has now made a free version of the book available that you can read online here.

 

As an avid reader (who has distressingly little time to read for pleasure right now), I’m glad that there are still authors out there striving to write fiction. I grew up reading Heinlein, and Asimov, John D. McDonald, and Michener and I’m undoubtedly better for it.

The online generation of the future may ultimately eschew books, but it really doesn’t matter by what technology ideas and literature are presented.

 

All that really matters is that they are.