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Much Ado About Corona
Summer 2020. The first lockdown has ended in the small Canadian town of Moosehead. Twenty-four-year-old Vincent McKnight emerges from three months of stay-at-home orders into a surreal new normal of multi-coloured face masks, acrid hand sanitizers, and germaphobic neighbours standing six feet apart.
The new normal becomes even stranger when Vince's Indigenous grandfather sends him to buy a loaf of bread from the town's new baker. Stefanie Muller speaks five languages, has beautiful blue eyes... and is a certified conspiracy theorist. She believes the pandemic is a hoax to justify totalitarian "public health" measures.
But when the local cop pulls out his taser, Stefanie's dystopian premonitions no longer seem so theoretical. And when the restrictions threaten Granddad's life, Vince finds himself going face-to-mask with the emerging police state — forced to choose whether to follow senseless rules or to follow his pounding heart.
"...a ripping story of courage, awakening and love (with some good laughs thrown in)..." —Patrick Corbett, former director of W5 and The Beachcombers
"I absolutely enjoyed Much Ado About Corona from start to finish. I had so many different thoughts and emotions while I read it, good and bad. I really enjoyed the writing style and the humour. All in all, a great book!" —Mark Bell, retired NHL hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks)
"Seriously folks, read the book. Much Ado About Corona is a fantastic read and well worth your time. The thing I really enjoyed about the story was how three-dimensional the characters were. It's an excellent tool if you have friends, family or co-workers who are on the fence and open to starting to hear the truth." —Will Dove, The Iron Will Report
"This is it! The great Canadian COVID novel! Much Ado About Corona offers a pleasant world to be engrossed in, despite the dystopian backdrop, thanks to the well-drawn characters, wry humor, and accurate moral compass." —Dr. Kevin Barrett PhD, author of Truth Jihad: My Epic Struggle Against the 9/11 Big Lie
"The book is quite thick and yet I surprised myself at how quickly I got through it; I had a hard time putting it down! It is a captivating and relatable story. I loved all the characters, and the writing style. While it is written as a fiction it feels real. I cannot wait for the next one!" —L.L. Tremblay, author of Seven Roses and Light Over Dark
"I enjoyed Much Ado About Corona immensely. The police interaction was bang on..." —Constable Leland Keane, retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police
"I have high praise for Much Ado About Corona's characterization, pacing, condensed truth and irony, and just the right amount of humour." —Nowick Gray, author of Chameleon: The Virtual Reality Virus
"[A] historically significant... page-turning fictional account..." —Andrew Brannan, registered ICU nurse
"... a fascinating, entertaining, and sometimes very sad story, full of irony and subtle humour." —Dr. Eva Szekely, retired psychologist, author of Never Too Thin
"Guys just get it! Much Ado About Corona is a great book... If you get this book and don't love it, I'll send you a refund. It's that good. John's created something beautiful and wonderful." —Ken McCarthy, author of What the Nurses Saw, Fauci’s First Fraud, and Unraveling the CoVid Con
“Much Ado About Corona's turn of phrase and use of language are beautiful. Even with such a serious topic, the author flavoured it with lots of humour. John Manley is a master storyteller with a great ability to develop his characters - even the novel's villain got to show his soul as well as his pathology.” —Seán ÓLaoire, PhD, author of Setting God Free
“History will be written to falsely show how our government ‘saved’ us from extinction. Much Ado About Corona slowly brings forward the invisible truth. The novel flows well, has an original story, maintained my attention and has an unexpected good ending.” —Constable Vincent Gircys, retired Ontario Provincial Police
“Much Ado About Corona is indeed a page-turner. The dialogue is believable and unforced, the characters brimming with vivid life and individuality. Absorbing reading [with] so many original, quotable lines! And there were moments when I was laughing aloud.” —Sean Arthur Joyce, author of Diary of a Pandemic Year
The new normal becomes even stranger when Vince's Indigenous grandfather sends him to buy a loaf of bread from the town's new baker. Stefanie Muller speaks five languages, has beautiful blue eyes... and is a certified conspiracy theorist. She believes the pandemic is a hoax to justify totalitarian "public health" measures.
But when the local cop pulls out his taser, Stefanie's dystopian premonitions no longer seem so theoretical. And when the restrictions threaten Granddad's life, Vince finds himself going face-to-mask with the emerging police state — forced to choose whether to follow senseless rules or to follow his pounding heart.
"...a ripping story of courage, awakening and love (with some good laughs thrown in)..." —Patrick Corbett, former director of W5 and The Beachcombers
"I absolutely enjoyed Much Ado About Corona from start to finish. I had so many different thoughts and emotions while I read it, good and bad. I really enjoyed the writing style and the humour. All in all, a great book!" —Mark Bell, retired NHL hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks)
"Seriously folks, read the book. Much Ado About Corona is a fantastic read and well worth your time. The thing I really enjoyed about the story was how three-dimensional the characters were. It's an excellent tool if you have friends, family or co-workers who are on the fence and open to starting to hear the truth." —Will Dove, The Iron Will Report
"This is it! The great Canadian COVID novel! Much Ado About Corona offers a pleasant world to be engrossed in, despite the dystopian backdrop, thanks to the well-drawn characters, wry humor, and accurate moral compass." —Dr. Kevin Barrett PhD, author of Truth Jihad: My Epic Struggle Against the 9/11 Big Lie
"The book is quite thick and yet I surprised myself at how quickly I got through it; I had a hard time putting it down! It is a captivating and relatable story. I loved all the characters, and the writing style. While it is written as a fiction it feels real. I cannot wait for the next one!" —L.L. Tremblay, author of Seven Roses and Light Over Dark
"I enjoyed Much Ado About Corona immensely. The police interaction was bang on..." —Constable Leland Keane, retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police
"I have high praise for Much Ado About Corona's characterization, pacing, condensed truth and irony, and just the right amount of humour." —Nowick Gray, author of Chameleon: The Virtual Reality Virus
"[A] historically significant... page-turning fictional account..." —Andrew Brannan, registered ICU nurse
"... a fascinating, entertaining, and sometimes very sad story, full of irony and subtle humour." —Dr. Eva Szekely, retired psychologist, author of Never Too Thin
"Guys just get it! Much Ado About Corona is a great book... If you get this book and don't love it, I'll send you a refund. It's that good. John's created something beautiful and wonderful." —Ken McCarthy, author of What the Nurses Saw, Fauci’s First Fraud, and Unraveling the CoVid Con
“Much Ado About Corona's turn of phrase and use of language are beautiful. Even with such a serious topic, the author flavoured it with lots of humour. John Manley is a master storyteller with a great ability to develop his characters - even the novel's villain got to show his soul as well as his pathology.” —Seán ÓLaoire, PhD, author of Setting God Free
“History will be written to falsely show how our government ‘saved’ us from extinction. Much Ado About Corona slowly brings forward the invisible truth. The novel flows well, has an original story, maintained my attention and has an unexpected good ending.” —Constable Vincent Gircys, retired Ontario Provincial Police
“Much Ado About Corona is indeed a page-turner. The dialogue is believable and unforced, the characters brimming with vivid life and individuality. Absorbing reading [with] so many original, quotable lines! And there were moments when I was laughing aloud.” —Sean Arthur Joyce, author of Diary of a Pandemic Year
- GenresDystopiaContemporary
661 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2022
About the author
John C.A. Manley
2 books24 followersI was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1978 to Thomas and Barbara Manley. It wasn’t easy on my mother. It took three doctors, one C-section and lots of morphine. The doctors' names were John, Clark and Anthony. Soon after being born I peed in Dr. John’s face. To make it up to him, my parents decided to call me John. Clark and Anthony became my middle names. I’ve always felt relief I didn’t pee in Clark’s face (as I’m not fond of the name), and rather regretted I didn’t aim for Anthony.
My ancestry dates back to the first European settlers in sixteenth-century Canada, carrying a blend of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and French genes (with a little First Nation from my great grandmother). I was raised Catholic, disliked school, and have been writing speculative fiction since I was nine years old.
Graduating a year early from high school, I moved to a Hindu monastery in the mountains of Southern California, where I studied Eastern philosophy, practised yoga meditation and was almost eaten alive by a mountain lion.
Three years later, I moved to Italy, where I trained as a fine artist at an academy in Florence. Two years after that, I found myself back in Canada, where I struggled as a portrait artist in downtown Toronto.
In 2001, I married my first wife, Nicole, moved out of the big city and into a small town. I began work as a freelance ghostwriter and copywriter, while penning short stories, collecting rejection slips from publishers and raising our son Jonah.
In 2018, I began writing my first full-length novel, an urban fantasy set in Stratford, Ontario. But when the lockdowns began in 2020, I set that project aside to pen a short dystopian story about where I saw these so-called “public health” measures going. That short story grew into the full-length novel, Much Ado About Corona , which I self-published in 2023.
In 2024, I published my second novel, All the Humans Are Sleeping — another dystopian tale about a farmer, a robot and the end of the world.
I’m currently working on a prequel to Much Ado About Corona, while living in the Netherlands with my son Jonah, second wife Ina Backbier, and my two step-sons. My first wife, Nicole, passed away on September 20, 2022 (you can read more about her life and death on the Sunflower Page).
Get free samples of my philosophical fiction — which readers describe as "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life" — at BlazingPineCone.com.
My ancestry dates back to the first European settlers in sixteenth-century Canada, carrying a blend of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and French genes (with a little First Nation from my great grandmother). I was raised Catholic, disliked school, and have been writing speculative fiction since I was nine years old.
Graduating a year early from high school, I moved to a Hindu monastery in the mountains of Southern California, where I studied Eastern philosophy, practised yoga meditation and was almost eaten alive by a mountain lion.
Three years later, I moved to Italy, where I trained as a fine artist at an academy in Florence. Two years after that, I found myself back in Canada, where I struggled as a portrait artist in downtown Toronto.
In 2001, I married my first wife, Nicole, moved out of the big city and into a small town. I began work as a freelance ghostwriter and copywriter, while penning short stories, collecting rejection slips from publishers and raising our son Jonah.
In 2018, I began writing my first full-length novel, an urban fantasy set in Stratford, Ontario. But when the lockdowns began in 2020, I set that project aside to pen a short dystopian story about where I saw these so-called “public health” measures going. That short story grew into the full-length novel, Much Ado About Corona , which I self-published in 2023.
In 2024, I published my second novel, All the Humans Are Sleeping — another dystopian tale about a farmer, a robot and the end of the world.
I’m currently working on a prequel to Much Ado About Corona, while living in the Netherlands with my son Jonah, second wife Ina Backbier, and my two step-sons. My first wife, Nicole, passed away on September 20, 2022 (you can read more about her life and death on the Sunflower Page).
Get free samples of my philosophical fiction — which readers describe as "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life" — at BlazingPineCone.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 2, 2026
I ended up enjoying this book more than I expected. It's a story of a young man (Vincent) who's awakened to the Covid-19 scam by a pretty German baker (Stefanie).
It all starts when Stefanie tells Vincent, "No face, no service." Thus begins his personal transformation from an ordinary guy who goes with the flow to a reluctant hero who resists the state's efforts to force him to comply.
The book starts to build momentum after all the characters are introduced. And while I was engaged in the story, I wasn't hooked until I was two thirds finished. I blew through the last 200 pages because I had to find out what happens.
And while I did find out, to a degree, the novel ends on a cliffhanger with a lot of open loops that still need to be closed. I suppose that was intentional because 1.) the novel is already 650 pages long, 2.) Manley had to end the story somewhere, and 3.) he's writing a sequel to be published sometime in the future.
I appreciated all the "easter eggs" and references to literature throughout the novel. I also appreciated the numerous references to factual things that happened during 2020.
Example: I followed the Tiffany Dover story closely when it came out, so I double checked the timing of it and verified that Manley got the date right. Sitting here in 2026, it's easy to misremember the exact timelines of when things happened: When the first doses of the vaccine became available, when Tiffany Dover fainted on live TV, etc. But Manley has taken pains to make the novel accurate and realistic.
If I had to nitpick, I'd say there are two things that stuck out to me:
1. Some of his characters say things like "hmph" and "phooey," which didn't feel natural to me.
2. The number of characters who resist the mainstream narrative seems too large based on my own experience during the Covid-19 lockdowns and what followed.
Ultimately, since I rated Manley's other novel All the Humans Are Sleeping 4 stars, and I liked this novel better, I had to give it 5 stars. The fact that Manley wrote and published this without the help of a major publisher makes the feat even more impressive.
It all starts when Stefanie tells Vincent, "No face, no service." Thus begins his personal transformation from an ordinary guy who goes with the flow to a reluctant hero who resists the state's efforts to force him to comply.
The book starts to build momentum after all the characters are introduced. And while I was engaged in the story, I wasn't hooked until I was two thirds finished. I blew through the last 200 pages because I had to find out what happens.
And while I did find out, to a degree, the novel ends on a cliffhanger with a lot of open loops that still need to be closed. I suppose that was intentional because 1.) the novel is already 650 pages long, 2.) Manley had to end the story somewhere, and 3.) he's writing a sequel to be published sometime in the future.
I appreciated all the "easter eggs" and references to literature throughout the novel. I also appreciated the numerous references to factual things that happened during 2020.
Example: I followed the Tiffany Dover story closely when it came out, so I double checked the timing of it and verified that Manley got the date right. Sitting here in 2026, it's easy to misremember the exact timelines of when things happened: When the first doses of the vaccine became available, when Tiffany Dover fainted on live TV, etc. But Manley has taken pains to make the novel accurate and realistic.
If I had to nitpick, I'd say there are two things that stuck out to me:
1. Some of his characters say things like "hmph" and "phooey," which didn't feel natural to me.
2. The number of characters who resist the mainstream narrative seems too large based on my own experience during the Covid-19 lockdowns and what followed.
Ultimately, since I rated Manley's other novel All the Humans Are Sleeping 4 stars, and I liked this novel better, I had to give it 5 stars. The fact that Manley wrote and published this without the help of a major publisher makes the feat even more impressive.
September 9, 2025
Much Ado About Corona is both thought-provoking and surprisingly tender. John C.A. Manley manages to take the uncertainty of 2020 and turn it into a story that is equal parts dystopian, romantic, and deeply human. Vince’s journey torn between following rules and following his heart felt incredibly real, and Stefanie is one of those characters you don’t forget after closing the book. What I loved most is how the story balanced humor with serious questions about freedom, love, and what it means to truly live. This book will stay with me for a long time.
August 16, 2023
The book is quite thick and yet I surprised myself at how quickly I got through it; I had a hard time putting it down!
A very well written captivating and relatable story. I loved all the characters, and the writing style. While it is written as a fiction it feels real. The ending caught me by surprise and left me eager to know what happens next. I cannot wait for the sequel!
Great read!
A very well written captivating and relatable story. I loved all the characters, and the writing style. While it is written as a fiction it feels real. The ending caught me by surprise and left me eager to know what happens next. I cannot wait for the sequel!
Great read!
October 25, 2025
I heard about this book through a colleague who would not stop talking about it, so I finally gave in. I am so glad I did. The writing pulled me right in and the emotional depth surprised me in the best way. The tension, the pacing, everything just fits. I could not put it down and now I am recommending it to people the same way it was recommended to me. Powerful and compelling
May 14, 2026
Even though I liked the character building, humor and interesting facts at times. I couldn’t get past all the dialogue and the many sagas that continued on when it seemed the story might be at its end.
I get the passion at the books core and I did tear up at one point. But I felt reading this book was as much of a lockdown with illogical rules imposed on the reader as the subject matter.
April 29, 2024
John C.A. Manley's Much Ado About Corona is a must read for anyone wanting to understand why a segment of the Canadian population didn't meekly submit to COVID mandates and restrictions. Manley covers the key issues that people continue to wrestle with as they try to make sense of how we so easily relinquished long-cherished freedoms as panic took over society. He does this via the vehicle of a highly entertaining and endearing love story packed with humorous adventures. His characters are truly relatable and give you a glimpse into the cultural diversity that exists in Canadian society. A diversity that should not be stamped out by the obsession with conformity that was a evident during the pandemic. This book is worth your time and will hopefully stimulate real dialogue and change as we learn from the past.
October 11, 2023
I was unsure about reading a book that takes place during the Covid times, but boy was I surprised! It is an absolute delight. It’s more of a love story. What people do out of love. What people do for love. I got attached to the characters, a nice variety of Canadians. There is action in there too, and I truly laughed out loud in some parts! It does feel like a Canadian story, but it’s also borderless. Timeless themes in a temporal context. Treat yourself to John Manley’s novel. I don’t want to talk about the plot line too much, but like many other reviews say, it’s a real page turner!
July 21, 2023
This book is well worth reading for anyone who had impure thoughts about the public health response to COVID policy.
The book is funny, touching, and fast-paced.
Good therapy for anyone who is still a little put off at what happened to our society since March of 2020 and needs a mind-break.
The book is funny, touching, and fast-paced.
Good therapy for anyone who is still a little put off at what happened to our society since March of 2020 and needs a mind-break.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews