Kingdom of Needle and Bone

by Mira Grant

• ISBN10: 159606871X
• ISBN13: 9781596068711
• Publish Date: 31 December 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Imprint: Subterranean Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 128
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

The timing of Mira Grant's writing of this novella is absolutely chilling. Just 1 year before the COVID pandemic transformed our world, here she is writing about a pandemic that does the same thing - albeit on a much more devastating scale than COVID has (thank goodness).

For a novella, this has considerable character development and manages a couple unexpected twists. I feel like I can't fully comment on my feelings because that would give away the biggest twist of all... but I will say one of the twists really changed my feelings about one of the characters and maybe the whole novella? It also left me with so many questions that I would really like answered! I buddy read this with Anne and the twist really gave us a lot to talk about! (and prompted even more questions!)

I listened to Kingdom of Needle and Bone narrated by Cris Dukehart. This was my first time listening to her (at least I think). I really enjoyed her narration at 2x speed and would not hesitate to pick up another book she narrates.

[HekArtemis]

This is a little tricky to review. It has an interesting premise and plot, but it has a few problems.

I will say that if you are anti-vax, this is probably not the book for you. This book goes deep into anti-anti-vax preachiness. It's not just pro-vax, it is anti-anti-vax. At one point the MC is asked a question that I thought had a simple answer, instead she proceed to go on a page plus rant about anti-vaxers. Seemingly Grant had an anti-anti-vax axe to grind (try saying that 5 times fast lol). Okay, and the MC had a secret that I suppose made her want to place blame elsewhere.

On the other side though, there is representation of bad pro-vaxers, they get so bad in fact that they are advocating for laws to force complete loss of bodily autonomy, up to and including the removal of abortion rights.

I think that the anti-vax vs pro-vax stuff got a bit mess to be honest. It was hard to figure out who was who. The MC has her paediatric clinic picketed, people shouting that she is to blame somehow for the pandemic - and we soon find out that this group is essentially run by her own sister who is one of these pro-forced-vaxers. But the MC is giving vax to kids and adults, so why are they protesting her? Maybe it's just because her sister is ridiculous, sure. But I don't think that makes full sense. So what are they really protesting there? Seems like they should be anti-vax protestors because the MC is vaxing people.

Other than that my biggest frustration with this book was the weird moral complaints going on. I don't know, maybe I am weirdly practical or something. But they would be doing things that were in no way illegal or, imo, immoral or wrong or anything - and they kept talking about how they were scared the police were coming, they were worried they were monsters, they were definitely doing the wrong thing. But how? Look, yes, the MC herself does many things wrong - kidnapping kids, blowing up her clinic, and we discover at the end she is the cause of the pandemic in the most literal sense. And some of the safe zones took drastic measures, such us purposefully infecting their patients to prove to the world their safe zones needed to remain inviolable. But the secondary characters don't know any of this, and especially not at the start, so why are they so scared and acting so weird? It makes no sense to me. How is the idea of a safe zone bad, wrong, or illegal?

So yeah, I don't know, maybe there is something wrong with my moral view, maybe I am weird. But in the end, this book was pretty messy when it comes to certain things. Even with the various reveals along the way, certain things didn't add up quite right. Speaking of, what was the significance of the scene where the MC drops off a package to post out and we get a detailed paragraph about how outgoing mail is not sanitised?

I did like certain things about this book though. I found the virus itself to be interesting. But I really liked the solution the MC came up with, the islands. I thought that was cool. And the ending was good imo, quick, intriguing with that last line, and the fact that we get snippets of the MC being on trial in the future and oddly satisfying. As I started, this is a little tricky to review, I liked it but had several issues with it that made it not super enjoyable to actually read. I can't say for sure how I truly feel about this book, it's so mixed.

[Melanie]

4.5 stars

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

I’m a huge Mira Grant fan. I’ve read (or well, listened) to all of her stuff. I love her writing so much, that I now grab all of her stuff, not having a clue of what the story might be about. She hasn’t failed me yet.

So this story is about how Measles mutates into a whole new disease that is basically Measles on steroids. Which they call Morris’s disease, named for the little girl who was the first to die from it. 10 million people die and then, as with regular Measles, people lose their immunity to other diseases. With Morris’s disease, people’s past vaccinations are not only nullified, future vaccinations won’t work either. They are basically at the mercy of their own body’s ability to fight whatever comes their way. Whooping Cough, Small Pox, Mumps, they are all back in play.

This is a wonderful cross between sci-fi and horror. Kingdom of Needle and Bone is about what could happen when everything goes wrong. If real life possibilities of worst case scenarios bother you, this is not the story for you. I could truly see something like this happening in the real world. It is a novella length story at 108 pages and 3 hours of listening, but it is a full and complete story.

Narration
I’m a huge fan of Cris Dukehart. I’ve listened to her read the fun Shifters Unbound series by Jennifer Ashley, which can be a bit dark, but is much lighter than a horror story. I was curious how she would do with something much more serious and a bit on the scary side. She did a great job. There is a decent size cast, especially for a novella and she does a good job with it. She has many different types of people, from children and scientist to billionaire businessman. All the voice choices were perfect. If you’ not tried Cris Dukehart, I highly recommend her work.

**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Kingdom of Needle and Bone through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Kingdom of Needle and Bone is Mira Grant’s (AKA Seanan McGuire) latest novella, and it is not for the faint of heart. Seriously, I was about eighty percent of the way through this novella when I realized I have compulsively sanitized my hands more than six times while reading.
Unlike Mira Grant’s other works, this novella is entirely human. There are no mythical creatures swimming through the ocean terrorizing the characters, there’s no zombies munching on anybody. This is all about humans, diseases, and how we handle a crisis.
While I would have read this novella regardless, because of the author, I would like to think that the cover would have caught my attention and made me tempted to read it. The cover itself is quite beautiful, but also does a fantastic job portraying the subject inside.
Before I begin my review, I just want to make a quick note. While I’m sure you’ll be able to grab a digital copy of this novella at any time, I know that the print run for it is rather limited (I think it’s around one thousand copies – which isn’t much when you think about it). So if you want a copy you should grab it from Subterranean Press while you can.



Warnings first: Kingdom of Needle and Bone covers a lot of heavy subjects, specifically those revolving around disease and outbreaks. If you’re prone to being freaked out while talking or thinking about sick people, this may not be a good call for you. Also, Mira Grant did a wonderful job of bringing the tragedy of it all down to a human level, but that also makes you that much more aware of the people affected, including children.
Kingdom of Needle and Bone is one of the heavier novellas I’ve read this month, and I don’t have any regrets about that. I read it all in one sitting, and part of me even wished that there was more to it when it was all over. I would love to see a novel or two set in this world.
Morris’s disease isn’t a real disease, but it sure felt like it while I was reading. The disease is based off of real-life Measles, but with even more dreadful results. I love that Mira Grant had them name the disease after the first known victim – that made it all feel so much more real. I feel like that is something that would have been done in real life. The thought of it all sent chills down my spine.
Mira Grant did a brilliant job of blending science and science fiction here. While there were leaps made here, they were all done in disturbingly believable ways. The reason a disease like Morris’s could take hold to begin with, the hidden side effects of a disease like that, the following outbreaks, and the panic. It all made sense, and that’s the most disturbing part. It would have been a lot easier to digest if we could just brush it off as ‘typical science fiction’ but the truth of the matter is that we can’t.
There was absolutely a political statement being made in this novella, and I applaud Mira Grant for doing so. That may be my bias showing, since I wholeheartedly agree with the points that were being made here. More than that though, Mira Grant explored the complexities of the political side of this sort of situation. How something that seems so simple can get all twisted up and torn apart, thanks in part to human nature and politics.
This was a chilling read, through and through. I loved every moment of it, from the parts that really did hit me quite hard, to the parts that made me stop and think about the logistics of everything. It was all brilliantly written. I know it’s early to talk of it, but I can’t wait to see what her next novel or novella will be about.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[llamareads]

I’m not a big fan of the horror genre, but I cannot resist a Mira Grant novel. For those not in the know, Mira Grant is one of Seanan McGuire’s pen names, and I’m a ridiculous superfan of hers. The only other Mira Grant I’d read was her killer mermaids book, Into the Drowning Deep, which I absolutely adored, so even if the blurb didn’t initially sound like something in my wheelhouse, I was eager to read it. Oh boy, I was not disappointed!

“A world that had been willing to reject the efficacy of vaccines suddenly found itself on the verge of being forced to live without them, and it was not prepared.”

Morris’ disease – named after the first known patient, Lisa Morris – has swept across the world, killing millions and leaving the survivors searching for answers. Though most agree that the disease was too well-engineered to be anything other than a human creation, no group ever took credit for it, and most of the public blame falls on anti-vaxxers for weakening the herd immunity and allowing the pandemic to take hold and spread. For Dr. Isabella Gauley, the disease has had both personal and professional ramifications, as Lisa was her niece and Izzy is one of the few remaining pediatricians, whose offices are protested at like today’s abortion clinics. When shocking new ramifications of the disease are discovered, Izzy makes choices that both connect and separate her from her surviving sisters, Angela and Brooke.

“A single person could transform everything. She had started off doing everything she did for Lisa’s sake, and now, with Lisa gone, she was still doing it all for the little girl who had loved her, and trusted her, and died under her care.”

For me, this is a story about three sisters – Izzy, Angela, and Brooke – bound together by the death of their niece and daughter, Lisa. Izzy focuses on being a doctor and trying to convince parents to vaccinate their (remaining) kids. Brooke mourns her daughter in her own quiet way. Angela, on the other hand, is drawn to vaccination activism, inciting the groups protesting outside Izzy’s office and always eager to provide another soundbite for the media. While they’re each mourning Lisa, they do it in their own ways, often setting them at odds with each other.

“We have quarantine. Quarantine says that the government can impede your ordinary movement if you present a danger to others. Vaccination should be treated as something on the same level. You get vaccinated, not because you want to protect yourself, but because you want to be a part of society, and being a part of society means protecting everyone around you.”

The novella itself is quite addictive, and I devoured it in one sitting. Ms. Grant is excellent at creating a sense of unease that permeates the book, even when the main characters are – should be – happy and hopeful, the sort of readerly equivalent of the feeling that there’s something hiding in the dark at the edges of your vision. Her characters, too, leap off the page, including the main character, Dr. Isabella Gauley, who could’ve easily fallen into the typical mad scientist stereotype but instead has so much more depth. I thought Ms. Grant did a great job also of giving enough medical background to make it chillingly realistic but not so much as to bog down the story. The thought of some sort of superbug wiping out millions of people is, unfortunately, too realistic. Unfortunately, it also turned into a bit of a screed about mandatory vaccination and bodily autonomy, and the whole anti-vax movement. While I felt this was warranted, especially as we’re coming at it from the point of someone who’s failed to save so many children, it was a bit too much, and also the reason why I only rated this four stars instead of five.

“I’m really hoping that your desire to do good is going to outweigh your desire to follow the rules. So what do you say? Will the two of you run away from home with me, so that we can try to save the world?”

There’s a nice twist at the end of the novella that definitely put a new spin on the actions of certain characters throughout the book. Who are the monsters? Is it the uncaring disease itself, the anti-vax crowd that lessened the herd immunity, the radical groups that have linked mandatory vaccinations with anti-abortion rhetoric, the parents who love their children enough to sacrifice them in order to save them? And in trying to fight these monsters, how far do we go before we become monsters ourselves?

While I very much hope that Ms. Grant chooses to treat this as the beginning of a series, I also feel that it’s pretty well wrapped up in and of itself. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a quick and engrossing sci-fi horror read!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[kimbacaffeinate]

When you open news channel and read about outbreaks of once eradicated diseases because of an increasing number of citizens refusing to vaccinate In Kingdom of Needle and Bone, Grant offers a possible & chilling outcome of this new movement.

We follow, Dr. Isabella Gauley, whose eight-year-old niece was patient zero in what would become known as Morris’s disease. When an eradicated virus rears its ugly head and causes a pandemic outbreak, one that has long reaching consequences.

One thing I love about Grant is her chilling ability to make her stories feel very realistic. She fills her stories with thought-provoking facts and easy to digest scientific jargon.  She writes intense and interesting characters whose stories and circumstances hook me from the first page.

While vaccines are readily available to everyone, we quickly see how money and privilege will change the outcome for some as a second wave of illness spreads worldwide.

This story is far from over, and while there isn’t a mention of it, I anticipate this is only the first story in what has already proven to be a riveting tale. I have questions about the sisters, and want a broader look at the world and others.

Siblings, secrets and global reaction left me itching for more from this world. What happens next?

This story is available in eBook format and from Subterranean Press as one of their deluxe hardcover editions. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[kalventure]

"Of such small moments are disasters made."

Friends, it pains me to say that this was just not the book for me. This is my first Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) read and while I absolutely adored the plot, unfortunately the writing style and narrative voice just did not work for me. This is definitely a case of right book, wrong reader.

"Many of them would continue to leave their homes even as they began feeling unwell. The virus would spread. The virus always spreads."

Lisa Morris is an 8 year old girl on vacation in Florida. She is starting to feel a little sick, but it is their last day and she doesn't want to miss out on going to the amusement park for one last time. By the time she gets home to California, she's very sick and thanks to trams, rides, and airplane rides -- so are hundreds of others. Lisa's Patient Zero of the Morris Disease outbreak and the first casualty. The world is forever changed.

The third person omniscient narrative style just didn't work for me here. The first 20% or so felt like a report, and even after the narrative voice kind of shifted to focus a bit on Dr. Izzy Gauley I never really connected with any of the characters. The novella is definitely plot driven, and the consequence of the narrative voice for me was that it was hard to care about the characters.

A world that had been willing to reject the efficacy of vaccines suddenly found itself on the verge of being forced to live without them, and it was not prepared."

I found the continual reminder of herd immunity and the issue of the anti-vaccine movement to be on the heavy handed side. Initially I was very interested in that as a starting point for this speculative fiction piece on potential outbreaks, but it was harped on so repetitively throughout the narrative that I became almost numb to it. It also seemed like an odd choice to me given the fact that the story is told in third-person omniscient: had it been a first-person narrative the repetition would have at least made a bit more sense to me (although I still would have been annoyed).

Overall the narrative style of this book was not for me, but I really enjoyed the overall plot and twist at the end. In talking with Destiny, I have learned that the narrative style is the author's stylistic choice, so I definitely would recommend this novella to fans of Mira Grant.

REPRESENTATION: lgbtiap+ (gay side characters), the world is effortlessly racially diverse
CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS: death, grief, loss of a loved one

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC via NetGalley for review. Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon publication. Buddy read with Destiny

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[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

~*Check out my blog over at The Bent Bookworm!*~

I am officially blown away. This little novella was amazing in both its detail and capacity for evoking emotions. I am absolutely stunned, and as a medical professional I am HARD to impress with books of this subject matter. Usually I find myself rolling my eyes so hard they hurt when reading books with doctors or nurses as the main characters, but not so with Kingdom of Needle and Bone!

While this is, technically, a science fiction/apocalyptic novel, it felt so close to what could or might happen that I found my heart pounding in my chest, my throat constricting with pain for the loss experienced by the characters. It is just close enough to the truth to be a truly uncomfortable read, and that makes it powerful. I loved Dr. Isabel, who truly cares about people and does everything in her power to help them, but who is also coldly logical to the very, very bitter end. How far is too far, to protect the ones we love? To protect the world? Somehow even in these few pages, Mira Grant manages to explore the age old question - do we act based on the greater good, or for the good of the few closest to us? Which makes us a monster?

I only wish this novella had been a full length book. I was not ready to leave any of the characters behind, I wanted more of their stories. I will definitely be reading more of Mira Grant's books, as well as looking out for her other books written under the name Seanan McGuire.

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