In The Fervor, I noted that the pastor, Archie, tries to enter an ICU at the hospital to visit a patient. ICU's didn't exist until the 50s, though. Did you do this intentionally to show that The Fervor is really about COVID and the modern context?

Alma Katsu Great catch! This is a good example of how a historical anomaly can squeak through, even though a book is reviewed a good half-dozen times by various editors before it makes it to press. Authors are particularly at risk to assume things that exist during their lifetime have always existed, and this is a good example of one of those instances.

Your response prompted me to look it up, and (as usual) there's a bit of debate. An article at History.com says hospitals began instituting emergency rooms in the 1950s after the war, but most domain-specific sites (medical) put the date closer to 1961, with the first dedicated emergency facilities established in Virginia and Michigan. The rise of emergency rooms is attributed to the baby boom after the war and urban sprawl. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...)

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