Natalie's Reviews > The Demon in the Freezer

When people ask "What's the scariest book you've ever read?" I will answer without hesitating: The Hot Zone. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life reading about ebola.

So, I don't know what I was thinking when my brother recommended this book and I gave in and read it. Preston scares me and this book scared me. I'd always known that smallpox was bad, but I didn't realize how bad it really was. I also never really considered what an absolute miracle it was the they eradicated small pox with vaccines. I'm in absolute awe.

This is the story of smallpox and anthrax, but mostly smallpox. According to scientists smallpox was worse than the black plague. In the last 100 years of its existence they estimate that smallpox killed anywhere from 300-500 million people. That's in the last 100 years, it doesn't even take into account when it was first introduced to the native populations.

What's scary is that they kept samples of smallpox. Who knows how many are still around now? It was interesting because this book was written 20 years ago and they described how smallpox would spread if it was released and it's basically exactly what happened with Covid. We are all so connected there is nothing that would stop the spread. We couldn't get vaccines in time and there are no antivirals to help. Smallpox has a 33% mortality rate. If you get hemorrhagic smallpox you're basically dead and you're going to die in the most horrific way.

Smallpox is scarier than ebola because it spreads through the air. Ebola spreads through bodily fluids. One of the last cases of smallpox was a man in Germany. Before they knew he had smallpox he was in a hospital. There was an outbreak, people who weren't even on the same floor as him caught smallpox. They did a test and realized that the smallpox germs had spread via the air out through the open window and into windows above. That's scary stuff.

This book was hard to look away from. I was completely caught up in it. Preston is a good writer. No one is vaccinated today. They realized that the vaccines only lasted a couple of years so even those who got one as a kid are not safe. I just pray that the scientists in charge of those samples remain ethical even if the politicians aren't.