The Digital Plague (Avery Cates) (Paperback)

by Jeff Somers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This intense sequel to 2007's The Electric Church is a strong techno-thriller, but it doesn't quite match its predecessor in originality. Avery Cates is a killer-for-hire who sold his services to the shadowy System of Federated Nations and destroyed the Electric Church's plans to turn people into cyborg Monks. Now mysterious assailants have infected Cates with a plague of nanobots that kills anyone he encounters and then reanimates the corpses. His condition draws the attention of the System authorities, who wonder why Cates himself has not fallen victim to the disease; they keep him alive in an effort to identify a cure. Amid sometimes flat scenes of gunfighting, betrayal and nanotech zombie uprisings, Cates's noirish narrative voice stands out as the book's real strength. Somers's compelling writing separates this from similar works and offers hope that future volumes will come closer to the quality of the original. (May)
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Product Description
Avery Cates is a very rich man. He's probably the richest criminal in New York City. But right now, Avery Cates is pissed. Because everyone around him has just started to die - in a particularly gruesome way. With every moment bringing the human race closer to extinction, Cates finds himself in the role of both executioner and savior of the entire world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (May 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316022101
• ISBN-13: 978-0316022101
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #266,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Deja Vu?, September 15, 2008

By	T. Karr "mild-mannered accountant" (MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gunner Avery Cates has been infected with an engineered virus that will cause him to kill literally every person in the world unless he can find the person who infected him and find a cure.

That was the great premise that got me to read the book. Plus, I had read the previous Avery Cates book, "The Electric Church," and found it to be quite interesting.

"The Digital Plague" turns out to be a pretty simple story that goes on for 300 pages. That was okay for the first Avery Cates book where everything was new to the reader. This second book fails to add much depth to the world of Avery Cates. This lack of revelations and lack of much in the way of subplots causes "The Digital Plague" to feel like I had read it all before in "The Electric Church."

I probably would have given "The Digital Plague" an additional star if I hadn't already read "The Electric Church." The characters in both the books are so good that I will probably give the next Avery Cates book a try to see if the formula has changed any.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Avery Cates is back!, May 1, 2008

By	Freethinker - See all my reviews

Avery Cates, the compelling anti-hero from The Electric Church is back. However, this time he is a wealthy man and has built up a solid core of reliable revolutionaries to aid his fight against the corrupt system.

Things quickly turn sour as Cates finds that there may be a traitor in the midst of his organization. This pisses him off to no end and then the adventure begins. Cuss words start to fly and people start to die. Real fun stuff.

Along the way we run into some familiar characters. But there is also a cast of new goons that keep things interesting. Jeff Somers is excellent at using Avery Cates' 'colorful' language and gallows humor to move the story right along and there is never a dull moment.

I enjoyed this book almost as much as The Electric Church. However, despite being the central character, Avery Cates seemed to be too much 'along for the ride' than I would have liked. Maybe it was the author's intent to show how sometimes events may be too large for one person to handle, but this is Avery Cates.

Still, I highly recommend it and am looking forward to the third book in the series.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first, May 14, 2009

By	Mike W "MediaJunkie" (Boston) - See all my reviews

While still able to keep you guessing, this book isn't as exciting as the first one. Again, a quick read, but kind of disappointing once you've gotten to know Cates from the first book.