Virals (novel)
| Virals | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Kathy Reichs |
| Cover artist | Jacket photograph of girl by Michael Frost, Digital illustration and design by Tony Sahara |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Virals Series |
| Genre | Young-adult fiction |
| Publisher | Razorbill |
Publication date | November 2, 2010 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) |
| Pages | 448 (hardcover), 454 (paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 1595143424 |
| Followed by | Seizure |
Virals is the first novel in the Virals series of novels for young adults written by the American forensic anthropologist and crime writer, Kathy Reichs and her son Brendan Reichs, featuring Tory Brennan, great-niece of Temperance Brennan.
It is the first of Reichs's novels to be written specifically for a young-adult audience.
Plot
Tory and her friends find a rusted dog tag dating from the Vietnam War era on Loggerhead Island, and trying to identify its owner leads them to an unsolved murder and infection by an experimental virus that gives them special powers, which they describe as "flaring".
Characters
Additional to the recurring characters of the series, the following characters appear.
- Dr. Marcus E. Karsten – He was the director of LIRI (Loggerhead Island Research Institute) before he was murdered. He was being paid by Candela Pharmaceuticals to research a cure for canine parvovirus or, failing that, to create a new 'designer virus' that only a Candela product could cure. However, while trying to find a mechanism to weaken the canine strain, he accidentally created a new type of parvovirus which had the potential to infect humans. It was this virus which infected Coop and later, Tory, Hi, Ben and Shelton turning them into Virals.
- Hannah Wythe – She was Chance Claybourne's girlfriend. She is described as having long auburn hair and green eyes. She had Karsten murdered at the Viral's bunker after he tried to defend them. She later attempts to kill the Virals in the cellar of Claybourne Manor. It is there that she reveals that she had been working with Chance's father behind his back so that Chance wouldn't ruin their future together. She is later arrested along with Chance's driver for the murder of Karsten.
- Hollis Claybourne – He is Chance Claybourne's father. He is extremely strict and raised Chance single handedly as his wife, Sally Claybourne died in childbirth. He was a vice president of Candela Pharmaceuticals. He murdered Katherine Heaton after she found out about bald eagles nesting on Cole Island as that would have hindered the sale of the island. He is later arrested for the murder of Katherine Heaton and many other crimes.
- Tony Baravetto – He was previously the driver to Chance Claybourne. Hollis Claybourne made him stalk Tory and the other Virals and he was later sent to murder Tory, Hi, Ben and Shelton at the bunker but they escaped leaving Karsten behind. He killed Karsten and dumped his body at sea. At Claybourne Manor, he attacked Tory in the kitchen but she managed to take him down. He was later arrested along with Chance's former girlfriend, Hannah Wythe for the murder of Dr Marcus Karsten and four counts of attempted murder.
Publishing history
Virals was first published in the United States on November 2, 2010 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Books, and published in the UK the same year by Young Arrow, an imprint of Random House. It has had several subsequent English language editions in hardback, paperback, ebook, and talking book. The book has also been published in French (as Viral, Pocket, 2011), German (Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH, 2011), and Italian (Rizzoli, 2011)
Reviews
External links
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