Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Digital Plague (Avery Cates #2)

by Jeff Somers (Goodreads Author)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 745 ratings · 78 reviews

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.

Paperback, 358 pages

Published May 12th 2008 by Orbit (first published May 2008)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Best artificial intelligence books

44th out of 80 books — 187 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,241)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 30, 2010 Yolanda Sfetsos rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cyberpunk, ya-futuristic

I read the first book in the Avery Cates series, The Electric Church, last month. And as soon as I did, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. Let me just say that it didn't disappoint.

Several years have passed since the first book and Avery is still a criminal. A rich criminal with a bad-ass reputation. He lives in New York with his crew and still wears the title: Avery Cates, cop killer. That's a tag that he'll never shake and sure as hell gets him into a lot of trouble in this ins...more I read the first book in the Avery Cates series, The Electric Church, last month. And as soon as I did, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. Let me just say that it didn't disappoint.

Several years have passed since the first book and Avery is still a criminal. A rich criminal with a bad-ass reputation. He lives in New York with his crew and still wears the title: Avery Cates, cop killer. That's a tag that he'll never shake and sure as hell gets him into a lot of trouble in this installment.

When he's taken by someone and forced to his knees in the snow with a gun pointed at his head, Avery's pretty sure that his life is over. Instead, he's injected with a lethal virus that starts killing everyone around him. Anyone who comes in contact with him becomes infected, so the body count starts right away. With his crew. He's killed a lot of people, but knowing that he's killing everyone who gets close, really affects him. Especially the death of his very young crew member, Glee. Which pretty much haunts him the whole way through.

But that's not the worst of it, he soon finds himself taken from one place to another, but eventually ends up in the custody of SSF. Beaten to a pulp, kept alive only when they figure out that to keep him close means the virus is kept at bay, he's carted around. He winds up in Paris. This is where the location of the person who engineered this virus is supposed to be, but it only makes matters worse. As Avery catches up with some old friends--Kieth, Gatz and Belling--he also encounters those freaky Monks, who are still causing havoc. Betrayal has never been this horrible and unexpected.

I love the unpredictability of this series and that no matter how close to death he gets, he still manages to survive another day. In a world where most people don't get old, that he's well into his thirties seems a miracle. And I don't doubt that more hellish and horrible things await Avery in future installments, especially now that New York has fallen. I totally want to be there for the ride.

The Digital Plague is a fast, action-packed story that packs a punch. It's dark, gritty, violent, and has plenty of attitude. This book will get your heart pumping because things never stop. I also need to mention that I love the writing style. It's a very well-written book that's so vivid, it's almost like watching a movie in your head.

This futuristic-cyberpunk-noir series is a winner!(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 11, 2009 Jayson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-books

In this book The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers, is about a man named Avery Crates. Crates is a rich man, whos just might be one of the richest criminals in New York City. A mysterous plague has swept the human race and threatens to kill the whole human race. With the death total mounting and the human race at the rick of extinction, Crate is forced to take on the roles of the executioner and also the savior.

I wasn't particularly crazy about the book. I feel like it had a lot of uneccessary thin...more

like · see review

Jan 27, 2010 Michelle Plass rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've got to say, I LOVED this book! Avery Cates is the perfect anti-hero. I found myself rooting for him, despite the fact that he is/was a hired killer. It's a rare author who can pull that off so kudos to Jeff Somers.

This book was like a non-stop action movie, which normally I'm not a big fan of in books. However, it worked here! I finished the book in two sittings because I just couldn't put it down. This was the least predictible book I've ever read and I think that's what made reading it so...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 16, 2009 Veach Glines rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wish I liked it more than I do.

There are some editor-errors which stick in my memory (the repetition of information, telling me something in Chapter 1 and again in Chapter 4...see I was redundant in this sentence - don't ya hate it?).

The story line seems inventive at first, but once you get 100 pages in, you realize this plot is rolling on re-treaded tires in a rut that has been driven in many times before...only with new paint.

I don't like a protagonist or main-character based story (that's n...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 12, 2010 Kristi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Wow! This book is why I love goodreads! I have read some sci-fi, but to be honest we all have our favorites we go to first at the bookstores. However, at goodreads we meet so many different and exciting authors we may never had read before and get the chance to read their writing. I feel blessed ( corny I know, but true ) to get the opportunity to do that! In this case Jeff Somers and The Digital Plague something I otherwise would not have just picked up. I know now that I have read it, I will h...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 23, 2010 kingshearte rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, sci-fi, fiction, post-apocalyptic-dystopian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Book 2 in Somers' Avery Cates series, and I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed the first one. It's still not my usual taste, but I can appreciate the way it's written. Mostly. His gunfight scenes (and there are many) really are exquisitely written. Normally one thinks of a gunfight as something you need to watch, because you couldn't possibly just explain it all in words and have it be exciting. Somers actually manages that. He gives you enough description of both the setting and all the play...more Book 2 in Somers' Avery Cates series, and I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed the first one. It's still not my usual taste, but I can appreciate the way it's written. Mostly. His gunfight scenes (and there are many) really are exquisitely written. Normally one thinks of a gunfight as something you need to watch, because you couldn't possibly just explain it all in words and have it be exciting. Somers actually manages that. He gives you enough description of both the setting and all the players' moves (as far as Cates is aware of them) that you can visualize it very easily (and I don't always visualize very well), but not so much that he gets bogged down in details and loses the pacing of it. It moves fast, it moves well, and he generally makes reading about them just about as good as watching them. Which I do think is an accomplishment. He also, as I mentioned in book 1, manages to make you like the characters even though they're mostly unlikable. I still don't get how he does that.

Something I'm less fond of is his repetitiousness. I don't recall noticing it so much in the first book, but looking back, there were a lot of references to the Unification riots, and pretty much every new setting was described as having been burned in said Unification riots and never rebuilt. There was more of that in this book, with the addition of repeated references to various things arising from the Monk riots. Also, I swear, for the first half of the book, every other chapter mentioned the fact that the System is being run by the Undersecretaries now that the Joint Council has been proven to be a bunch of computers which are now offline. We. Get. It. Stop telling us, for the love of whatever. He's written it in such a way that you're clearly expected to have read the first book, but he still feels the need to remind you repeatedly of what happened in it. So. Annoying. Eventually, that improved, but it really did bug, especially for the first half of the book.

The plague itself was well executed, with the clues building, until you understand the situation. And then the situation is revealed to be even worse, with everyone turning into techno-zombies. That was pretty freaky and gross. Gotta say though, anyone with an impressionable mind at all should probably keep their plague reading to the summer months, because hearing the near-constant nose-blowing and coughing of winter can make one a little nervous when reading about a virulent killer plague.

I did call (or at least suspect) the twist about Hense fairly early on, but it opens up some more interesting possibilities for future books, so we'll see if that goes anywhere. I was kind of happy about it, too, since I did rather like that character. I was pretty disappointed with Glee's death, though. We didn't really know her too well before she died, but she seemed like there was stuff you could do with her, so it's too bad she had to bite it. I think maybe Somers is nervous about trying to write engaging, human female characters, and that's why he didn't want to keep this one going too long. Well, that and the fact that her death is fairly crucial to various aspects of the story.

Generally, though, it was a fun, pulpy romp through a dystopic universe, that I look forward to returning to in the next installment.

Note that those who are offended by swearing will probably want to avoid this series.(less)

like · see review

Jul 21, 2010 Kerry rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is plagued (as I'm guessing the series is) by bad language. In a writing class I would call it lazy language. There is a limit to the number of times that the "F" word will have impact. After thay, you might as well be using "very", although very would not get in the way of the story like the "F" word did. I realize that this book is labelled as "noir," but come on. Let's get a little more creative with our language. The main character, Avery Cates, is a rough personality. For him to s...more

like · see review

Aug 14, 2012 Kenya Wright rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dnf

I'm so sad by this.... Its such a great world... but good god... get into the damn story. . .Avery Cates talks and talks and talks... And even worse, he talks in third person!

"Avery Cates is mad I'm gonna have to kill somebody."

"Avery Cates is the blah blah killer. I'm gonna have to kill somebody."

"They've just made Avery Cates mad. I'm gonna have to kill somebody."

Does he kill anyone?
No.

He runs from people. He is constantly getting his ass kicked, stuck, and slammed.

There is a mystery...I just...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 10, 2010 Regan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Sep 04, 2010 Benjamin rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was just ok. The subject matter sounded more interesting to me than the book and the "science" of the science fiction was interesting enough, but for a sci-fi book about gangsters, I should have loved it and I just thought it was ok. I picked it up at the library because it was on the recommended by librarians shelf and I wish I had known at the time that it was a sequel. Perhaps if I had read the previous book and therefore got some of the exposition that I didn't get in this one, I would ha...more

like · see review

Feb 28, 2010 Mrs.soule rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, sci-fi, urban-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Oct 23, 2010 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Digital Plague was a perfect follow up to The Electric Church. Avery Cates is a badass in the purest sense and meaning of the word. The future setting and connection to the first novel in the series is pretty flawless, and it is apparent that Somers knew exactly what he was doing and where he was going with the story line.

Taking place several years after TEC, Cates finds himself being injected with something at the very beginning of the book. A few pages later and people are already dying,...more

like · see review

Mar 01, 2010 Merrin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-10, sciencefiction, uneasy-reads, apocafic, dystopia-is-delicious

I liked this book, because I think the author is interesting and the character of Avery Cates is pretty cool, and this one definitely had a lot more interest from the very beginning than the first one did. With an attempt to not spoil anyone who hasn't read it yet, I'm just INCREDIBLY annoyed at the outcome for all the peripheral characters we got to know in the first book.

I'm going to read the next one, I've already checked it out from the store, I'm just kind of disappointed. Avery isn't an a...more

like · see review

Jan 23, 2010 Sarah Sammis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed, read-in-2009

One of the difficulties with checking out books from the library is following series. Either they don't have all of them or the old ones and the new ones are shelved in different places. Take for instance, The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers. It's the second book of a four part (as of 2009 / 2010) series featuring Avery Cates. My library happens to have books one, The Electric Church and two, The Digital Plague. Unfortunately they are shelved halfway across the library from each other as one is in...more One of the difficulties with checking out books from the library is following series. Either they don't have all of them or the old ones and the new ones are shelved in different places. Take for instance, The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers. It's the second book of a four part (as of 2009 / 2010) series featuring Avery Cates. My library happens to have books one, The Electric Church and two, The Digital Plague. Unfortunately they are shelved halfway across the library from each other as one is in the "new acquisitions" and the other is shelved with the older books.

Although The Digital Plague is a fast paced dystopian romp through a futuristic New York City, it manages to stand well enough on its own. There are points of reference to The Electric Church to clue the clueless so that one can follow along as Avery runs, jumps and shoots his way through the book.

The Digital Plague reminds me most of the opening chapters to The Stainless Rat Gets Drafted. Like The Digital Plague I began the Stainless Steel Rat series out of order, although chronologically it comes before the earlier books. I remember being immediately swept into the action and that's what happened here too. I didn't care that I wasn't entire sure what was going on or who all the characters were because I was racing alongside Avery.

The basic plot is that a plague of nanobots has been let loose in New York. Everyone exposed dies within a fixed timeline. Avery is patient zero except he's not dying. He's now being chased down to contain the disease but he doesn't know who he can trust and who he can't. He's not even sure he wants to trust those who can help.

Nanobots aren't anything new but Avery's New York is enough wrapping to make this version of the story worth the read. I've now checked out the first book in the series, The Electric Church and I will post a review when I'm finished. Then I'll decide if I want to read books three and four.

Avery Cates series: (Click on a title to read reviews).

* The Electric Church (2007) (review coming)
* The Digital Plague (2008)
* The Eternal Prison (2009)
* The Terminal State (2010)
(less)

like · see review

Oct 01, 2008 Scout rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sequel to The Electric Church. Probably half a star less good than the first, but only because it feels like Somers had to stretch a bit to connect this one to the last.

In the opening chapters it seemed like he'd jettisoned the events of the first book and taken this in a new direction, which was disappointing. But then, just as I was getting accustomed to the fact that we were headed somewhere else, things tied back to the action of the prior book, and I sort of felt gypped.

That's not to say...more

like · see review

Sep 26, 2008 Nick Cato rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone into gritty, dark, action-based scifi

After destroying THE ELECTRIC CHURCH in his first adventure, anti-hero Avery Cates returns in Somers' second installment of this dark, gritty scifi series.

Someone injects Cates with a mysterious substance--the same substance that has begun to kill off others like a mix of cancer and ebola. With the help of some new "System Pigs" (a.k.a. the police) and a super-nerdy "techie," Cates learns he has been selected as the host to a DIGITAL PLAGUE, i.e. cell-sized nanobots who self-replicate until thei...more

like · see review

Oct 18, 2008 Tez rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jun 11, 2008 Terry rated it 3 of 5 stars

This books follows Jeff Sommers Previous book "The Electric Church" and takes place several years after it. This book still has plenty of gun fight and dirty action sequences as the first book. Which helps keep the pace of the book going. Jeff Sommers adds a lot of different twist and turns that can really keep you on the edge. He never takes you were you thought you were going. My only real criticism is that some of the action and some of the location are a little to over the top or hard to bel...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2010 Les rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, first-reads, signed

The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers starts off with a bang, and never lets up. As Avery Cates says, "I was going to have to kill a whole lot of people." And he does.

This is a wonderful future-noir science-fiction action book. The pace is relentless and exciting through the entire book. Nano-bots are exterminating the human race and Avery Cates is the only one who can stop them.

This is the second book in the Avery Cates series, which I won on GoodReads First Reads program, and I have already order...more

like · see review

Aug 04, 2011 Adina added it · review of another edition

This book would make a great sci-fi / action movie. The descriptive writing is great, though a bit too gory for my taste. I would not recommend jumping into this series partway (as I did). I felt like I was missing out on a lot of background since I had not read the first Avery Cates novel. It took awhile to orient myself to the circumstances Cates was living in. I was very surprised by the drama in the first few chapters, and Somers definitely got my attention.

like · see review

Aug 11, 2010 Jona Cannon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book on Goodreads Firstreads!

Avery Cates "the gweat and tewwible" as he puts it, is a gunner. A killer for hire, and he's good at his job. One of the best. But everyone around him is getting sick and dieing... everyone except him. So now the cold blooded killer has to put his skills to use to try to save mankind from extinction. Maybe he has a heart after all.

I would have given this book 4 stars had it not been for the gratuitous cursing throughout. I accept some cursing for the autho...more

like · see review

May 10, 2009 Evilsquirrel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a great follow up to The Electric Church. The character development that I felt was thin in the past book is corrected here. The main character develops nicely, the story arc is solid although has some lulls and the overall image it trys to portray is an interesting one. This book made me re-read the first book and I had a better experience with it. Good work Mr. Somers now put down the scotch and lets see that 3rd book eh?

like · see review

Apr 12, 2012 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars

Two books in and I am not sure I am going to finish the series. So far the first two books have showed a lot of promise but both of them have left me wanting in the end. It's not the the plot wasn't good. The plot was great. I just felt like the stories could have been told better. I may give the third book a shot and see how it goes but right now I think I'll take a break from Avery Cates.

like · see review

Apr 01, 2010 Barrett Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Science Ficiton People, Morbid Fuckers

Shelves: to-reread, science-fiction

Gods do i love this man's Avery Cotes books!!! I was so happy when I got this book I treated it like gold and actually kissed the cover more than once. I am never able to predict what will happen (which is rare), the author will kill any character at all without warning, the action never stops, and I can never put it down until I am finished. Along with The Electric Church, the other Sommers book, this is one of my favorite all time books. It may be because the anti-hero goes through so much hel...more

like · see review

Dec 11, 2011 Matt Comstock rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good, entertaining, dystopian-future, read. It's rather violent, though, and Cates is going to have a heck of a headache tomorrow. But good news, it appears they still use the F-word in the future. Quite a bit in fact! ***spoiler*** Seems like Somers waited too long to introduce the zombie aspect. It felt last minute....

like · see review

Jul 22, 2010 Greg Pittman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Non-stop action from start to finish. I'm not much of a futuristic techno reader, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Might want to read the Electric Church first to have a better understanding of previous events that are referenced in this story. I won this book off the Goodreads book site and I'm glad I put in for it!!

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Sherry rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had almost as much fun with this one as with the Electric Church. It is a really fun read. It isn't going to win any awards for originality,but I knew that going in. It was another "kick ass and take no prisoners" kind of adventure story. A lot of fun, fast paced, wise cracks, lots of action. Well worth your time if you just want a good, entertaining story.

like · see review

Sep 09, 2011 Jeanne Boyarsky rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

I skimmed the first book because of the language and did the same here. A little profanity adds effect. Tons of it sounds like street trash. I was sucked into the world Somers created enough in book #1 to want to know what happened so I read it quickly. I imagine I'll do the same with book #3.

like · see review

Jul 20, 2010 Timothy Glenn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The picture on the front was good, the character on the front cover fir into the scenes in the book. The book has a decent amount of suspence. I think the book is decent and for anyone that like suspence, then this is the book for them.

i received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

like · see review

May 03, 2013 Scott Thrift rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really like the voice of Cates and a lot of the characters, but the plot is... sloppy? I don't know. Unsatisfying. The science wasn't scientific enough and I didn't buy Cates' emotional state a lot of the time. Some good prose though and lots of funny stuff.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 41 42 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (13)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

Add a comment

Genres

Science Fiction

43 users

Science Fiction > Cyberpunk

14 users

Fantasy

7 users

Adventure

4 users

Mystery > Crime

4 users

Thriller

4 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

3 users

Suspense

3 users

Literature > American

3 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Jeff Somers

Born in Jersey City, NJ, Jeff has managed to migrate just five minutes away to nearby Hoboken, land of overpriced condominiums and a tavern on every corner. Between weekly drunks, Jeff manages to scrawl enough prose onto cocktail napkins and toilet paper to keep up a respectable fiction careeer."

More about Jeff Somers...

Books by Jeff Somers

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Digital Plague

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Digital Plague
avg rating	preview: The Digital Plague Goodreads rating: 3.83 (745 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2395444.The_Digital_Plague?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347672455l/2395444.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2395444.The_Digital_Plague?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers[/url]

The Digital Plague (Avery Cates #2)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website