From of the author of The Silk Code, winner of the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel, comes another intriguing blend of science fiction and hard-boiled police-procedural mystery.
The Consciousness Plague is about memory, more particularly, how the loss of memory, in slivers of time deducted from a growing number of individuals, can subtly undermine and play havoc with everything from the investigation of serial stranglings to candlelight dinners. Dr. D'Amato, NYPD forensic detective, investigates a spate of unusual cases of memory loss and finds evidence of a bacteria-like organism that has lived in our brains since our origin as a species and may be responsible for our very consciousness.
There's evidence for this consciousness bug in the ancient Phoenician and Viking cultures and everywhere Phil looks in our world. A new antibiotic crosses the blood-brain barrier and inadvertently kills this essential bug. Phil himself becomes a victim of the memory drain, and must struggle to get the proper authorities to pay attention before everyone loses so much memory that they forget that they forgot in the first place.
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"Good book, never read/listened to a mystery/sci-fi and was impressed. The book is predictable at times. Enough science in the book to make the reader understand the theory behind the subplot but not too much as to be above the readers head.Will read more Levinson books. "
— Jerry (4 out of 5 stars)
“More nearly reaches the heights of Isaac Asimov's classic sf mysteries than those of most other genre hands who attempt them manage to do these days.”
— Booklist“This is Levinson's best to date.”
— Analog“Levinson's intelligent blend of police procedural and speculative fiction should appeal to fans of mystery and sf.”
— Library Journal" The concept was cool. The focus of this novel was on the concept. The characters and plot were secondary. "
— Deedee, 11/10/2013" Maybe more like a 3.5, but I'm feeling generous. Quite possibly the best of the books featuring this protagonist -- it has the least info-dumping and extraneous communication theory. "
— Snail, 2/24/2011" Imaginative bio-med premise and completely believable with good intrigue, where the reader can actually be a little ahead of the first-person protagonist, yet still doesn't have it solved. Writing is fluid and descriptive. Character development good. <br/>Recommended. "
— Kae, 2/12/2011" The concept was cool. The focus of this novel was on the concept. The characters and plot were secondary. "
— Deedee, 11/5/2010" Maybe more like a 3.5, but I'm feeling generous. Quite possibly the best of the books featuring this protagonist -- it has the least info-dumping and extraneous communication theory. "
— Snail, 5/7/2010