The Jakarta Pandemic

Jan 04, 2012 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse, virus, maine, 2012-read, arc-review-complete, updated

If Goodreads allowed it, this would be a 4 1/2 star review.

The Jakarta Pandemic is a story of one of the most terrifying possibilities – a global flu pandemic racing across the world, devastating food supplies, electricity and telephone service, law and order, and most scary of all, medical care for those who have contracted the flu.

Vigilant, organized and more than a little paranoid, Alex has been preparing for such an event, and has everything all planned. However, fear and hunger drive other...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Felicia A rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalypse-of-some-sort, horror, teotwawki, books-i-have-edited

I did not love this...but I liked it a WHOLE lot. I think if it was written differently, I WOULD have loved it. As other reviewers have mentioned, the book reads like a movie script and that not only is distracting, but doesn't work very well.

But this story is real and believable, and actually quite frightening when you think about it too much. It COULD happen exactly this way.

I DON'T PERSONALLY THINK THE SYNOPSIS BELOW CONTAINS SPOILERS, BUT BE WARY JUST IN CASE

Main character Alex Fletcher i...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

I enjoyed reading Jakarta Pandemic. It really gets you thinking about the possibility of this unfolding right in your own neighborhood. I could see this happening and no one listening until it was too late!! It is very realistic and portrays a very accurate picture of what people could and probably would do if this ever happened. I enjoyed the main character, Alex's, personality and thoughts throughout the book. His opinions seem to accurately reflect those of a former Marine who has returned fr...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alex Fletcher is an marine who left active duty eight years ago and is now a pharmaceutical rep with a bit of paranoia about the latest impending pandemic flu assault. The year is 2013, and he has vivid memories of the pandemic of '08 and the less noteworthy panic that occurred in '12 after a swine flu outbreak. Since he works for a pharma company that provides one of the leading flu treatments, it is essentially his job to pay attention to all the reports on how bad this new outbreak is likely...more Alex Fletcher is an marine who left active duty eight years ago and is now a pharmaceutical rep with a bit of paranoia about the latest impending pandemic flu assault. The year is 2013, and he has vivid memories of the pandemic of '08 and the less noteworthy panic that occurred in '12 after a swine flu outbreak. Since he works for a pharma company that provides one of the leading flu treatments, it is essentially his job to pay attention to all the reports on how bad this new outbreak is likely to be. That plus the fact that he spends much of his time with doctors who deal with infectious diseases on a regular basis, he is hunkering down for what amounts to the viral equivalent of World War III.

Alex is paranoid, and under regular circumstances might be considered somewhat of a flake. He suffers from post traumatic stress after his time in Iraq, and his house is set up with all the fixin's to prepare him for a long hold out against the flu with food, water, his own power supplies, and plenty of guns and ammo. His plan is simple: isolate himself and his family from everyone else and they will make it through the flu outbreak just fine, even as the world crumbles around them. Yep, Alex would be probably a bit wacky if it wasn't for the fact that he is absolutely right about what is about to go down.

And despite Alex's unheeded warnings to his neighbors to isolate themselves, stock up on food and water, things do go bad rather quickly for them, with food not getting delivered to grocery stores, hospitals getting filled up with flu patients, sickness running rampant and a danger of the power grid going out since less and less people are monitoring and maintaining it. Essentially, Alex has predicted a crash of catastrophic proportions, and that is exactly what happens. And with it, the natives get restless and turn their ire toward the most prepared member of their community. Alex has good intentions, but refuses to be sucked into communal expectations that he play ball and share all his food and every last flu treatment he held on to before quitting his pharmaceutical job. On top of that, scavengers have moved into Alex's upscale suburban neighborhood in a desperate attempt to find food and shelter as riots and overall madness have driven them out of the bigger cities, and they are even more dangerous than the neighbors.

The Jarkarta Pandemic is a well laid out story of one man's quest to keep his family safe during a devastating assault on their existence. I read a lot of apocalyptic fiction, and while this doesn't quite tip over into the realm of apocalyptic, it gives us a hefty dose of how the apocalypse could realistically occur in our world. It does share some similarities with some of the other stories I read in that genre in that it shows how desperate people can become, and how hard the choices are when your family is at stake and so is your survival. Alex reminds me of one of those guys on message boards who talks about how they're prepared for the end of the world, whether it be by natural disaster, plague, or even zombies.

The action sequences are compelling in this book, though I wish there was more of them, and more drawn out tension between the main character and the people who confront him. A lot of the tale is spent with the build up to the pandemic and the slow, boring days Alex and his family spend cloistered inside their home. We are given only one perspective-Alex's, and only find out what is happening to the outside world through his observations of the news on TV and via the internet. It does help provide a sort of closed off perspective, because we as readers know nothing more than Alex does from minute to minute about what is happening in the wider world or even outside his house as they get buried deeper and deeper into the Maine winter. Still, I did feel that parts of the story dragged and did wish for more of a psychological thriller showcasing more people like Todd, Alex's on edge neighbor, and the man Alex dubs "Manson". I felt like the scenes where Alex was dealing with them crackled with energy and craved more of that in this story.

The bottom line is that this was a well thought out, entertaining story, though I was left wanting more interaction between Alex and his key rivals. It is my understanding that this story was recently re-edited, so the typographical issues prior reviewers on Amazon brought up didn't deflect from the story too much for me. The only real issue I had was when the author slips into present tense on occasion, which was a distraction when the rest of the time he sticks with the traditional past tense. Otherwise, the story kept my interest and was an enjoyable read about an intriguing subject that had a bitter and frightening dose of realism to it. (less)

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Apr 09, 2012 Lee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: wombat, shtf

The ending sucks. It kept me reading, mainly because after enduring page after page of overly detailed prose, I wanted to see what happened. Could be trimmed considerably -- if it isn't a prepper how-to, why do I need to know the last time the water was rotated?

Don't like the "hero" -- he is mouthy and antagonistic, aside from being a thief. Needlessly provokes confrontations right from the beginning. Pretty much brags about being prepped while others did not or could not prep, which of course w...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Mari Stroud rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alex is an engaging narrator, both flawed enough to remain interesting and decent enough that I kept rooting for him and his family even as he did some admittedly questionable things. War veterans as action leads are pretty common at this point, as are doctors, but a pharmaceutical rep was a new one on me. Konkoly also injects some originality into the society-destroying virus genre by not killing all or even a majority of the human species. Unlike King's 1-in-500 immunity rate in The Stand, onl...more Alex is an engaging narrator, both flawed enough to remain interesting and decent enough that I kept rooting for him and his family even as he did some admittedly questionable things. War veterans as action leads are pretty common at this point, as are doctors, but a pharmaceutical rep was a new one on me. Konkoly also injects some originality into the society-destroying virus genre by not killing all or even a majority of the human species. Unlike King's 1-in-500 immunity rate in The Stand, only about 20% of people wind up succumbing to the super-strain of flu. 20%, however, with the other 80% shrinking away from their neighbors and any sense of ethics larger than the familial in fear and a Northeastern winter racing up is more than enough to bring all of civilization grinding to a halt. Konkoly works the claustrophobia created by a suburban neighborhood still rendered impassable by snow and ice, paranoia, and a complete absence of civil services to great effect; the danger is palpable even before human malice shows up in the form of the Mansons. They're called that because we never get their true names, and in fact they only show up at all in the last third to quarter of the book. Sparsely-drawn, they're also not the real villains of the story, as both Our Heroes in the form of the Fletcher family and the neighborhood at large have been growing steadily more savage towards each other for weeks before the sociopaths popped up to say howdy. By the end of the book, Alex's primary ally is a right-wing gun nut that he would have crossed the street in order to avoid four months prior.

What could have been improved: needed another go with a copyeditor, as there was a tendency to switch from past to present tense and then back again midway through a sentence that cropped up just often enough to set my teeth on edge. I also would have liked Alex's PTSD and the hardening of soul that it brought about in him as winter wore on to be drawn out a little more clearly as something that wasn't necessarily admirable; while the book ends on an ambiguous note and everything that was done was done in the name of survival and with little other choice, the Fletchers are a creepy bunch of folks by the time that it's all said and done. If I'm going to do stars, hearts, etc., I still enjoyed the hell out of it and would give it four out of five overall.(less)

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Sep 10, 2011 Jeannie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of EOTWAWKI

Recommended to Jeannie by: Felicia

Spooky read about a scenerio that we could very possibly be living in the near future. Just the subject matter was enough to give me the heebie-jeebies and had me paranoid from about a third of the way into the book. This is the way I would imagine it would go down and seeing it in print really scared the heck out of me.
Had a few problems getting into the book at first, I found the news reports throughout the first 10 chapters to read more like a screenplay than a novel which really threw me of...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalyptic-or-dystopian, kindle

So what is the scariest thing about this book? The fact that it could probably happen. Flu pandemics have happened in the past, and could easily happen again in the future, with the international travel that happens non-stop today.

And while I found the main character to be a bit over the top, it gave an interesting perspective to the whole story. Yes, he and his family were prepared for any disaster before disaster even struck. Long term food supply...check. Solar panels on the roof of his Main...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Shirley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. I wouldn’t call it an apocalyptic book in terms of end of the world and I see that Amazon has it listed as a Medical Thriller. I could go with that description. What we do have is a very believable pandemic. Alex Fletcher, a pharmaceutical sells representative, adequately prepares his family to weather the pandemic. Others in the neighbor are not adequately prepared and believe that Alex should share his resources with them. This of course causes problems. I won’t put a...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Michael McFarland rated it 3 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed the plot of Steven Konkoly's 'The Jakarta Pandemic'. It was a well-thought out, suspenseful, and plausible storyline, and likely I'll reread it a few years down the road. The reason for the three-star rating, however, are reservations I had about the characters and portions of the dialogue.

Alex was the only character who seemed to have any real depth to me (fortunately, the novel is pretty much all Alex from start to finish). But if you're quarantined in a house with the rest...more

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Jun 16, 2011 Paul Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

While most apocalyptic themed novels tend to take a global overview of the disaster that drives the genre, The Jakarta Pandemic instead focuses on a single street of residents, most of whom are completely unprepared for the catastrophe rapidly heading their way. Steven Konkoly's characters are all well defined and interesting, and I found myself quickly involved in the every day goings-on of the family at the center of his story. The novel builds tension slowly but inexorably, layering levels ri...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Clark Hallman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

Jakarta Pandemic: A Novel, by Steven Konkoly is a frightening endurance nightmare for the characters, and gave this reader a feeling of impending disaster as a virulent flu unleashed illness and death. However, I was propelled through this book to see what would happen to the characters and which ones, if any, would survive. Don’t think of this flu pandemic as the Swine Flu (2009-2010) that killed 14,000 -18,000 people worldwide or even as the Asian flu (1956-1958) that killed about two million...more Jakarta Pandemic: A Novel, by Steven Konkoly is a frightening endurance nightmare for the characters, and gave this reader a feeling of impending disaster as a virulent flu unleashed illness and death. However, I was propelled through this book to see what would happen to the characters and which ones, if any, would survive. Don’t think of this flu pandemic as the Swine Flu (2009-2010) that killed 14,000 -18,000 people worldwide or even as the Asian flu (1956-1958) that killed about two million people. The Jakarta flu is even more deadly than the Spanish flu (1918-1919) that some estimates say may have killed as many as 100 million people worldwide. This book focuses on a neighborhood near Portland Maine, as the Jakarta flu pandemic reaches the United States. As the disease quickly sweeps across the US, the conveniences of normal life erode. The horrendous number of deaths and illnesses causes an overwhelming shortage of workers in all industries and services. Supermarket shelves are quickly wiped out. Hospital beds quickly fill to overcapacity and medical supplies dwindle to nothing. Doctors’ offices and clinics are swamped with seriously sick patients. There are not nearly enough able-bodied doctors, truckers, police officers, or other workers to keep any industries, businesses, or services in operation. Therefore, desperate people are everywhere without the supplies and services they need to survive. The people in the neighborhood near Portland Maine struggle to survive, but not all of them have prepared for even a much less catastrophic and life threatening challenge. This lack of preparation creates desperate antagonisms and confrontations between neighbors. As the winter snow storms begin to arrive things get worse and when sinister strangers invade the neighborhood things get totally out of control. It’s a book that takes a while to build at the beginning, but delivers much tension and frightening scenarios. It also delivers a vicious punch of violence and heroism for the reader to endure and admire. I could hardly put The Jakarta Pandemic down until I finished it.(less)

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Jul 29, 2011 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalyptic, horror

The Jakarta Pandemic is a pre-and-post-apocalyptic survivalist novel, wholly unlike other books within the genre which I have previously read. Konkoly has written a well researched and supported tale of terror in the suburbs, a what-if scenario that is nearly exactly what I would expect to happen. The story centers around one man and his family, and by extension their neighborhood. A flu pandemic is sweeping the globe and once it hits the U.S., supplies quickly run low and people do what they fe...more The Jakarta Pandemic is a pre-and-post-apocalyptic survivalist novel, wholly unlike other books within the genre which I have previously read. Konkoly has written a well researched and supported tale of terror in the suburbs, a what-if scenario that is nearly exactly what I would expect to happen. The story centers around one man and his family, and by extension their neighborhood. A flu pandemic is sweeping the globe and once it hits the U.S., supplies quickly run low and people do what they feel is necessary to survive.

Since I was graciously provided a copy of this book to review, I did jot down copious amounts of notes while reading. After finishing days ago and now returning to those notes, I have a pretty clear idea as to why I did not fall in love with this book, as to what some of my dislikes were, regardless of how well-written the entire piece was. Throughout my notes, I regularly commented on the family interactions, especially the dialogue, and about confusion as to why certain things were done by the characters.

The family dialogue was drawn out, cute, and insincere, at least until things really started rolling. If not for being told who was speaking, I would have mostly been unable to differentiate between the characters as there was very little difference in personality evident through the dialogue. I felt the main characters were rather prudish, such as Kate and her concern over shirts with collars and the many stereotypical assumptions Alex made throughout the book. I became very sick of Alex's comments on the Chinese and on Muslims, on his elitist and hateful thinking. He jumped to many conclusions and just so happened to be right within this book. I did not like this. I do not believe it is possible to tell if a person is good or bad by looking into their eyes, by judging the quality of their vehicle, clothes, or speech, especially in a time of emergency and fear. If it is possible, then I was not convinced it to be true within this book. I guess I did not particularly like Alex and if he had not had a family, I probably wouldn't have cared too much as to his fate.

Luckily, I by no means need to like and approve of characters in order to enjoy a book. In some ways, Alex's faults made the book slightly more intense, as he was not perfect and that meshed more with real life. I hope that was the author's intention, and that I was not supposed to consider Alex to be the perfect hero.

Also worth mentioning, I liked the news updates involving how and where the the flu was progressing in the world but I did become tired of hearing about FOX News, NPR, the names of talk show hosts who I was supposed to recognize. But I watch minimal television and I do not watch the news or t.v. shows such as Today, so these sections did not engage me in the story enough at times and felt repetitious but other readers may feel different.

I like stories which unfold through action and internal monologue or thoughts but I feel there was too little of this. The story spent little time within any of the characters heads. I wanted less of what was going on in the neighborhood, which was made up of a gluttonous amount of red-shirts for the author to use as flu fodder. Few of the neighbors had enough characterization for me to care what happened to them and I regularly mixed up names.

Other things also confused me. When a cop decides to completely trust Alex when he sees Alex's Semper Fi bumpersticker, I had expected some type of acknowledgement that trusting people based on such superficial observations is dangerous and stupid but I got the impression the author only intended for me as the reader to agree with the cop. When trying to be quiet and go unnoticed, why would Alex run around with a walkie-talkie? In the middle of a pandemic, would the poilce really make house calls to investigate old reports of gun shots being fired? Little things such as this bothered me and took me out of the story, which in a pandemic thriller is not good. I wanted to be sucked into the terror.

I did like the perspective of a pharmaceutical rep and Alex's military background. These were very convincing aspects of the book. I appreciated the reality of what I think could happen to the U.S. as an ill-prepared country if a truly deadly pandemic hit the major cities. The book does make you wonder what surviving in such a siituation would be like, what might you be willing to do. Reading books such as this are fun as I like to play the don't-go-in-there game, but it's more of a don't-do-that game with this book. I do not think I would have done many of the things Alex chose to do, but some ideas were interesting. Preparedness would be the key, as well as keeping your mouth shut about what you are hoarding.

In the end, this is not my typical read, but I still enjoyed the book and think many readers who regularly read this type of straight fiction will feel the same. (less)

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Apr 06, 2012 Sweetp-1 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, zombies-dystopian-post-ap

This was a quick Ok read and definitely one of the better free kindle books I've d/l. The premise is that a flu pandemic sweeps across the planet, killing millions and sending society into disarray, told from the point of view of an ex pharmaceutical employee who was also previously a marine. The setting is limited to the neighbourhood where he lives.

As the pandemic moves across the globe there is an authentic feeling to the whole situation - a real sense of this could so happen one day and the...more This was a quick Ok read and definitely one of the better free kindle books I've d/l. The premise is that a flu pandemic sweeps across the planet, killing millions and sending society into disarray, told from the point of view of an ex pharmaceutical employee who was also previously a marine. The setting is limited to the neighbourhood where he lives.

As the pandemic moves across the globe there is an authentic feeling to the whole situation - a real sense of this could so happen one day and the panic that can ensue as people try to get supplies etc. I've seen this first hand after living in a city after a natural disaster and I though the author captured that kind of desperation well.

The MC and his family were well characterized I thought and I enjoyed the banter and interactions.

I haven't given it more than 2 stars (it was OK) mainly because it was all too easy for the family. They had A YEARS supply of food. He was an ex marine so had an impressive array of guns and medical supplies, he also had worked for the supplier of a tamiflu type drug so had that on hand if they did get sick and could give it out to family and friends. THey also had solar panels and a wood furnace so really, there was little hardship for them. There was talk of power cuts but they were Ok with their solar batteries, they had internet access the whole time and apart from living on beans and barley they seemed to not really be affected. Around them in the neighbourhood people dropped like flies or starved, which really probably would have made a more interesting story. The middle section of the book dragged a little bit and I think a bit more tension for the family (they remained loving and supportive which is nice, but you know,it would have been more interesting if they'd been stressed to the max and disintegrating ...maybe I just I love my angst too much). In the end they were ultimately saved because he used to be a solider which again, is nice, but what happens if you're just an ordinary family without all the arsenal?

All in all, it was a totally OK read and if you are into 'end of the world' type scenarios you'll probably enjoy it. (less)

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Mar 15, 2013 Whit Martin (Whit's Book World) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: good, lendable, own-on-kindle, reviewed-by-me, dystopia

The Jakarta Pandemic is a wonderfully written story about a major pandemic destroying the majority of the worlds population. It shows how the Fletcher family handles the outbreak by staying in their suburban home. I really enjoyed this book, it was a different kind of "world ending" book, it shows how people in a close knit community react to the shortage of food, medical supplies, power and other things. The only thing that bothered me about this book was how the author portrayed some of the ch...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Remittance Girl rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have a secret soft spot for post-apocalyptic and disaster thrillers, and I was very attracted to the premise of this one.

However, like many other reviewers mentioned, the persistent description of minutiae spoils the pace of the story and really prevented me from engaging in it fully. I think that hyper-detail can be a very effective way of building suspense in certain scenes or adding depth to the characterization where an obsessive-compulsive personality adds to the plot.

But neither of thes...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure

A new quite deadly and highly contagious influenza virus has broken out in Indonesia and spread to China. The Chinese gov't didn't inform WHO of this new epidemic and it spread worldwide quite quickly. This story centers around one neighborhood in upper Maine, and one former Marine in particular trying to keep his family healthy and safe as civilization grinds to a halt around them and winter sets in. Highly believable scenario and great characters. Very realistic viewpoint of the breakdown of p...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read a lot of books about pandemics and wasn't expecting much different from this one in particular. I was impressed, however, by the angle - a family with some forethought and knowledge about pandemic disease attempting to survive. I liked that it didn't take the route of government conspiracy or guide us through the eyes of a front line scientist. Instead, it reflected on a neighborhood.

What brought this rating down for me was the writing itself. In particular, the dialogue often felt awkwar...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Sharon Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good, solid apocolyptic/epidemic novel centered around a group of families during a overwhelming flu epidemic. Does an excellent job of describing the issues of a heavily populated area and the people who have done varying amounts of preparing for a breakdown like this and those who have not and the stresses that develop under those circumstances.

It was an interesting read but I would have liked to see more character individuality as I'm definitely a character-driven reader and many of the sup...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: shtf-teotwawki

Not bad, it had me hooked early since I just saw Contagion a few weeks ago. I liked the pharm rep angle. All the prepping was necessary being that the family was vegetarian. Once the family was in their own quarantine though it got a little slow. I understand that since they were basically cut off it wouldn't be action packed but they did have power and internet quite a long ways in.I was hoping for more info on the flu and what damage it did. Also, I would have liked to have know what actually...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Richard Stephenson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have always fancied myself a prepper on at least a small scale since I live in a hurricane zone. The possibility for the basic infrastructure of my region to be disrupted for an extended period of time is within the reasonable realm of expectation. I found the family in this story to be a refreshing example of what every family should strive to be on some level. It just makes sense. Preppers in the media are often cast in a negative light as paranoid nut jobs. This novel is a real eye-opener a...more I have always fancied myself a prepper on at least a small scale since I live in a hurricane zone. The possibility for the basic infrastructure of my region to be disrupted for an extended period of time is within the reasonable realm of expectation. I found the family in this story to be a refreshing example of what every family should strive to be on some level. It just makes sense. Preppers in the media are often cast in a negative light as paranoid nut jobs. This novel is a real eye-opener and illustrates just how fragile our society can be. In a very short period of time, food shortages, utility outages, and lawlessness can descend on us. When the time comes, being prepared can be the difference between life and death.

What drew me in was the depth of the characters. More often than not, the main character in any story is the ultimate hero, he makes all the right decisions and succeeds at everything he does. The main character is also usually mainstream and appeals to the masses. While other Amazon reviewers have knocked the author for various idosyncrasies about the main character (he bashes Fox News, he's a vegetarian, he makes questionable tactical decisions for a military vet, etc.), I welcome the richness it brings. I find it tiresome when the main character succeeds at all times, fits into a stereotype, and has all the answers. It also helps to understand that a character's views in a novel don't necessarily reflect the views of the author.

I also found the setting to be a refreshing change from other PA novels. Stories in this genre tend to focus on the world at large or center on a group of people traveling on a journey to find safe harbor. This novel centers on one family hunkered down in their home and how they interact with their neighbors on their street. I was quite impressed with the level of research put into this novel, the author clearly did his homework.

As is the case with most survival scenarios, the most difficult obstacle to overcome is not the scenario itself, but dealing with other survivors. If anything, this novel reinforces the concept of isolation to survive. Dealing with unprepared crybabies that will do anything to take advantage of your survival foresight should not be the most trying aspect of survival, but sadly, it is. This story deals with that pitfall in interesting ways.

A very exciting and compelling read. I highly recommend this work to any fan of the PA genre.(less)

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Apr 16, 2012 Kirkus MacGowan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Awhile back while searching for my next read, I came across The Jakarta Pandemic by Steven Konkoly. The name caught my attention so I read the book description. With the Swine Flu scare from a few years back still fresh in my mind, the premise behind The Jakarta Pandemic made it a must read. I tossed it on my miles long to-read list.

The positive:

Konkoly's best attribute in The Jakarta Pandemic was his realism. We see the trials the main character, Alex Fletcher, and his family must endure before...more Awhile back while searching for my next read, I came across The Jakarta Pandemic by Steven Konkoly. The name caught my attention so I read the book description. With the Swine Flu scare from a few years back still fresh in my mind, the premise behind The Jakarta Pandemic made it a must read. I tossed it on my miles long to-read list.

The positive:

Konkoly's best attribute in The Jakarta Pandemic was his realism. We see the trials the main character, Alex Fletcher, and his family must endure before, during, and after the worldwide pandemic.

Konkoly details the preparations Alex makes including a back-up power system, dried food and its preparation, heating, and medications. While interesting, the neighborhood activities really draw the reader in. We're introduced to multiple neighbors and their own preparedness, their families, their children.

Many books and movies often take on a massive view of how the world may react during a pandemic, but The Jakarta Pandemic focuses on Alex Fletcher's neighborhood while keeping the reader updated on the worldwide effects.

The pacing was wonderful. I wondered how Konkoly would keep the reader interested for so long with such a narrow focus but I didn't once feel the story slow down. Whether I read about how his kids handled the stress from spending so much time inside, or how the neighbors who hadn't prepared became desperate, I couldn't wait to move on to the next paragraph to see how things turned out.

The negative:

A few simple things kept me from handing out a five star for The Jakarta Pandemic. While there were a few spelling and formatting errors, there were no more than typically found in a traditionally published book. However, the writing could have been much tighter in my opinion.

For example, Konkoly's descriptions worked wonderfully most of the time, but on occasion, it felt as if he threw extra words in with no purpose. Not a huge deal by any means, but something that may improve a reader's experience drastically.

In one particular scene, we learn Alex's wife drank her coffee from a "blue" mug. That's fine, but in this scene it added nothing. It's one of those details where if the author gave a reason why this blue mug was important, it might have added to the strength of that scene. Maybe it's the color of her alma mater or her favorite color since living near to the ocean for many years. Alternatively, the reader didn't need to know the color and it wouldn't have taken anything away. The reader has an imagination, let them use it!

One other tidbit I thought was funny was the spelling of the word "okay." In every instance throughout the book, it's spelled using the letters, "O" and "K." It didn't draw me away from the story at all, but it did give me a giggle every time. I figure it gets the point across and saves space. Why change it?

If The Jakarta Pandemic were cleaned up, I'd have no problem giving it five stars. If you're not the type of reader bothered by these little tidbits, I say give it a try. You won't be let down. (less)

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Dec 21, 2011 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

In the genre of "Apocalyptic/Post-apocalyptic" fiction, one will encounter the term 'cozy catastrophe'. I believe that The Jakarta Pandemic fits that derisive description.

A family, who are perfectly prepared for a particular disaster experience that disaster. Since they are so well prepared for it, they rarely experience much discomfort. In fact, the protagonist family in The Jakarta Pandemic do not lose electricity or Internet access through the course of the entire book, and they certainly do...more In the genre of "Apocalyptic/Post-apocalyptic" fiction, one will encounter the term 'cozy catastrophe'. I believe that The Jakarta Pandemic fits that derisive description.

A family, who are perfectly prepared for a particular disaster experience that disaster. Since they are so well prepared for it, they rarely experience much discomfort. In fact, the protagonist family in The Jakarta Pandemic do not lose electricity or Internet access through the course of the entire book, and they certainly do not run out of coffee.

Alex Fletcher has top-notch equipment that never fails, he has the training and supplies necessary to comfortably coast through the situation presented in the story, and most of the story involves the Fletchers worrying about experiencing discomfort rather than actually experiencing it.

To be fair, there are some horrifying events that take place, so this is no fairy tale. However, this same situation viewed from the perspective of almost any other character in the book (rather than from the Fletcher family's perspective) would have been more interesting. A disaster that shuts down commerce and travel and forces people to quarantine themselves at home is not nearly as stressful (or engaging) when the protagonists have no need to engage in commerce or travel.

It seems that the underlying message in many post-apocalyptic books is that you will be fine through any hardship as long as you have an extremely nice house in the Heights, tens of thousands of dollars worth of backup electrical supply, a thousand gallons of diesel fuel, plenty of weapons, and a military background.

Rarely do you see a main character in these types of books break this mold. The Jakarta Pandemic certainly does not try to cover any new territory in this regard.

while the book does bring up the fact that the Fletcher family is targeted for hostilities precisely because they have all of this equipment, the equipment still ends up saving them. The equipment is largely the hero of the book.

Take this same scenario, setting and cast, but burn the Fletcher house to the ground and it is a completely different story. I'd rather read that story.

Having said all that, and realizing that is as much a complaint I have with the entire genre as it is with this particular book, I still gave it three stars. It was an engaging story and decently written. My only minor complaints with the writing are that the author loves the word "rapidly", and some of the dialogue sounds like someone talking to themselves. Alex and Kate have very similar speech patterns and their dialogue often sounds unlikely.(less)

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Aug 24, 2011 Heather (HeadshotHeather) rated it 5 of 5 stars

A deadly pandemic flu is hitting the country and Alex Fletcher, an Iraq war veteran and now pharmaceutical representative has a problem. A big problem. His family is well prepared to hunker down for the winter to ride out the “storm” however most of the Fletcher’s neighbors are not prepared at all. So when the hospitals start turning away the sick, the stores run out of supplies and the power goes out the desperation of Alex’s neighbors and some recent unsavory characters who have recently overt...more A deadly pandemic flu is hitting the country and Alex Fletcher, an Iraq war veteran and now pharmaceutical representative has a problem. A big problem. His family is well prepared to hunker down for the winter to ride out the “storm” however most of the Fletcher’s neighbors are not prepared at all. So when the hospitals start turning away the sick, the stores run out of supplies and the power goes out the desperation of Alex’s neighbors and some recent unsavory characters who have recently overtaken some abandoned houses start showing up on Alex’s doorstep and threatening his family’s survival….both from the health issues of the country and from people they once called friends.

The Jakarta Pandemic by Steven Konkoly is a very unique and, actually, fairly realistic look at what would happen within our community should a pandemic happen. People quarantining themselves and their families away from the outside world and some not taking the threat seriously and continuing to invite neighbors over to visit. Some families with more provisions for the long haul than others and some who did not prepare and who are now scavenging to survive. This need to scavenge to survive can turn into a desperation that leads to a person doing things they may never have done in their former lives. It can, also, open the door to those referred to as sociopaths to do what, in their minds, needs to be done in order for them to live…whether you do or not.

Being set in a 30ish house suburban neighborhood, there are several characters within The Jakarta Pandemic some, of course, are more in the forefront of the story than others. The Fletcher family was a typical family with their teasing and banter. Alex’s wife was a bit on the annoying side to me and there is one scene in the story where I stopped reading and thought to myself If I did that to my husband, he would have had my ass…and rightfully so. Their neighbors Charlie and Ed are great characters, especially the hunter Charlie. As for the “bad guys”, the author did an excellent job making you dislike and mistrust these characters. There was no doubt that they are to be unlikable.

Having mentioned that I felt The Jakarta Pandemic was fairly believable. I would be remiss not mention that there were a couple of unbelievable moments, particularly at the end. Maybe not so much unbelievable, but very convenient for our protagonist.(less)

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Sep 12, 2011 Eva Leger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Eva by: Felicia A

Shelves: b-fiction, end-of-the-world, my-ebooks, best-of-the-best

I really, really, really, really loved this story! I took longer reading TJP than I normally would only because I was reading it on my laptop which I'm unaccustomed to. Had I had this in print I'd have been done it in one day.
I agree with my friend Jeannie, who also reviewed this, on a number of points but definitely about the news reports in the beginning. They seemed just a little too long to me but it's something I easily got past because of the story itself.
I loved the main character, Alex...more I really, really, really, really loved this story! I took longer reading TJP than I normally would only because I was reading it on my laptop which I'm unaccustomed to. Had I had this in print I'd have been done it in one day.
I agree with my friend Jeannie, who also reviewed this, on a number of points but definitely about the news reports in the beginning. They seemed just a little too long to me but it's something I easily got past because of the story itself.
I loved the main character, Alex and his family. I loved, loved, loved the drama with his work toward the beginning of the book. When he was dealing with his supervisor I actually felt nervous myself, like I was the one dealing with this sort of this. That doesn't happen all that often. When I have to keep myself from peeking ahead I know I have a good one on my hands.
Alex's wife played a pretty small roll in the scheme of things but man I loved her too. She's freaking awesome.
Like Jeannie said in her review, I can totally see the majority of people on this earth acting just as Alex's neighbors did. I can't think of a more realistic portrayal to any of them. If (I can't bring myself to say 'when'!) this ever happened we'd be dealing with people just like Konkoly created here. I think that's what's so darn scary.
While I do love apocalyptic novels and others that could be/are considered horror, horror isn't a huge genre of mine so the fact that I loved this as much as I did really speaks volumes.
The reason I wade through smaller known authors is because of this right here. Every so often you find one that is out of this world and Konkoly is it. I have no doubt that anything he writes will be worth reading and I look forward to reading his next book.
This is a scary book but at the same time it really has other great things about it. How family oriented Alex is for instance. He's willing to let go of all else to make sure his family survives this and he's smart enough to do just that.
If anyone is thinking of reading this and is on the fence because of the genre or because of assumptions about what it'll be like I urge you to just try it yourself. You'll probably be very surprised. I can see this being read far and wide, not just by readers of the genre.

**I just looked on amazon and the ebook is $3.99 and the first chapter can be read free. No excuse to miss it therefore. Four bucks is nothing to spend for this story, trust me. I may buy a print version to keep because I can see myself rereading this one day.**(less)

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Feb 08, 2013 Momanddad rated it 3 of 5 stars

This little book really scared me. I don't think it was great literature, but it really lets us know how vulnerable we all are in this modern world. Just throw a killer virus at us and watch us fall apart. No food, no power, no heat and then add the society's predators who will do anything to stay alive. Yikers! We are dead unless we are prepared and have a fully armed X-marine to protect us! I could really see this happening and that is the scary part. Read the book and get better prepared!

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Nov 07, 2012 Cristine rated it 3 of 5 stars

For a newbie author, this was an average book to read. The idea was scary and the narrative explained the mind of an experienced marine soldier. It's quite intriguing the amount of detail the author put into survival thinking and preparedness. Let's just say...it made me want to go out an buy some canned goods and solar panels. The only thing that bothered me was that the characters didn't seem too serious about their situation, but I did like the outlook that when it comes down to it, you have...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-kindle-book, apocalyptic-pandemic-zombies

This was a fantastic book! It wasn't so intense that I couldn't put it down, but it was exciting and interesting enough that I kept coming right back to it. Initially I thought the story might wane and wear on me, with the main character being a retired Marine turned pharmaceutical salesman, but it played deeply into the whole community of his and his family keeping the PTSD I expected out of the story.

Much different, still, than other pandemic, apocalyptic books, that I have read, this one didn...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Wanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book. Initially, I thought it would be similar to other pandemic books which focus on the disease & it's casualties. This book was completely different in that the focus was modern society & how it might fall apart in the face of a pandemic. This book really made me stop & think about the "what if's." There were a few chapters I thought were unnecessary to the overall plot which is why I gave 4 stars. Other than that, this book is a great ride.

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Feb 24, 2012 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

I can't really say I liked this book at all. It was rather boring and not at all what I expected. There WERE some good parts in it that made me want to keep reading, but they were very few and far between. I didn't actually get to anything I couldn't stop reading until about 3/4 into the book. I found my self skimming through much of it. I also though that the author seemed to be trying too hard to create the characters. I especially thought the random sex pieces were dumb, made me feel uneasy,...more

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