Fever

Meyer is no run-of-the-mill writer, as he demonstrates (again) in his book “Fever” or “Koors”, a translation from his home language, Afrikaans where nothing seems lost in the English version (having not read Koors, but read predominantly favourable reviews and heard happy opinions).The intensity and depth of his writing indicates a writer committed to questioning humanity at every level: day-to-day living to the most vexing of questions which have challenged minds since the earliest of times: are we humans a failure? The “nip-in-the-bud” in the final pages answers this question from the view-point of present day science: we are and thus the foundation to the story is carefully grounded. Meyer has certainly done his research into the philosophy of our human behaviour, referring to Plato and Jung and the issue of why we are “bad” or evil.The pace of the story is non-relenting and concentration is maintained with graphic descriptions of violence, beautiful Karoo imagery and mind-teasing postulations, these carefully woven into the story.The changes Meyer does make in the story-line, at first make for frustration, however, in considering the immensity of the topic he is tackling, these are deliberate in attempting to open a new (old) view of ourselves, which in itself is a challenge, as we are so disinclined to change.Ultimately, Meyer’s Fever raises some discomforting questions about humanity and his use of excellent story-telling enables the reader a peak into areas of Self which are ignored in our rushed lives.I highly recommend this read.

3.5 starsThis, the third Deon Meyer I've ever read, was totally not what I expected. It's set in South Africa after a fever-plague has decimated most of the worlds' population. The beginning, in particular, had a bit of "The Road" feel to it. The story is told mainly from the perspective of Nico, with first hand accounts from various other characters interjected along the way back. It's the Nico of now looking back on the past, so various key events are hinted at fairly early on, and over time one understands better why things happened the way that they did. I will admit, I had already suspected what the "big surprise" at the end would be as the book entered the closing chapters.Speaking of chapters, I found the chapter titles a little irritating. I'm not sure if they were done the way they were to give the book a certain feel (like an official report or something), but it didn't work for me. Not sure why. Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that I read this on my Kindle.If you like mysteries and actions and commentary on humans in general (are we inherently "good"? Inherently "evil"? Or just animals?), then you'll probably enjoy it. Especially if you are or were a South African.Sidebar: one of the characters was from Humansdorp! Which is where I went to school. I never imagined I'd see a small, nowhere town like Humansdorp mentioned in a novel!

Opening with the lines, “I want to tell you about my father’s murder. I want to tell you who killed him and why,” this noted South African author takes a good long while to get to the actual killing of Willem Storm, but he uses the time well.The world has been devastated by the Fever—a new infectious disease that spreads rapidly and catastrophically. A few people have a genetic quirk that saves them, but 95 percent of the world’s population has died. Willem and his son Nico, hiding out in a remote South African cave, survive. The big challenge is “now what?”Willem has a vision for what should come next. He and his son fill a tractor-trailer with useful items they find as they traverse the countryside. They aren’t the only survivors, of course, and food becomes increasingly hard to find. With a pre-Fever population of approximately 56 million, South Africa alone would have a residual population of 2.8 million.How people react in such a desperate situation reveals their fundamental values. Willem Storm envisions a new egalitarian society built on democratic principles. He finds a suitable location, and he and Nico drive the countryside, leaving posters asking people of good will to come. Gradually, they do, and they name their new community Amanzi, “water.”Teenage Nico is torn between his father’s idealism and the aggressive values of a new arrival in the community, Domingo. He has a past he won’t talk about, works with military precision, and an affinity for weapons. He consistently argues for more security precautions, because the threats are real—packs of wild dogs, marauding motorcycle gangs, and murderous thieves. “People are animals,” Domingo says.Amanzi’s creation is an amazing adventure story. The book may be 530 pages long, but it is very hard (truly, almost impossible) to put down—at least for someone like me who is interesting in how things work, or don’t. Nico narrates most of it, though a great many other residents recount their experiences both before Amanzi and in the community, gradually building up a “360-degree” perspective on Willem, Domingo, Nico, and Amanzi. Only in the last 20 pages are the most horrifying crimes of the novel revealed, and these are the least satisfying pages of all.If you are intrigued by the situations and challenges presented in post-apocalyptic thrillers like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road or Stephen King’s The Stand, this novel is sure to get you thinking.

Riveting story, magnificently written. I really enjoyed reading this book. Nico Storm is a far cry from the Benny Griesel character I've come to feel such an affinity towards in Deon Meyer's previous books. He's different but not less in any way. This is a finely crafted story with strong, varied people portrayed as if you have met them, heard their stories and felt their pain. Scenery that draws you in, making it all believable, terrifying and awesome. I reveled in the words, the writing, the people and the edginess of the storyline. I honestly hope there isn't another 4 year wait until his next book, possibly a follow on from this one?

I’m halfway through this book and had to pause my insanely devourish reading to write a review. What an amazing book. I’m a fan of dystopian novels and read a fair few and this one is one of the better ones for sure. It grabbed my attention from page 1, literally. I love the authors’ writing style. The prose is really well developed, and although I have no idea where the story is going, I feel like the journey will be a pleasant one and that everything has been taken care of.I’m totally engrossed in the story of what at first starts as father/ son survival but soon becomes the beginning of new civilisation survival. I love the odd wisdom gems in there, pulled out deep from our history. I love the description of places and people which don’t really feel like descriptions but instead add to the value of the story and weave the reader firmly into the book. The characters are relatable and each survivor’s story is unique. I also loved the Amanzi project memoir- right in the middle of the struggle for a new, different civilsation, we get a glimpse of the character’s life before fever and it just feels so poignant- the difference between the before and after.This is money well spent and I will be buying more of Deon Meyers’ books.

Discovering Deon Meyer rates as one of the top 10 things from my time of living in South Africa. I am a huge fan of his usual genre, and I love his motley crew of characters. So I was a little bemused, when I dipped into the first chapter of Fever, to find that it was a survivalist / end of the world storyline. Not what I was expecting!That said .... I loved it! The style of writing and the use of characters to bring across the plot is pure Deon Meyer. I was gripped as the story evolved, and became really vested in the characters. I was so engrossed I had few late evenings because I couldn't put the book (or should I say Kindle) down. A really great read.

Deon Meyer has to be one of thriller readers best kept secrets.I've had a couple of disappointments this summer with favourite authors delivering sub standard work so I started this with trepidation. I've loved his previous books and didn't want to be let down.I needn't have worried. Although Meyer has deviated from his usual genre of contemporary crime. His foray into what is, hopefully an alternative post apocalyptic South Africa, is incredibly worthwhile. Fever grips you from the off and you feel part of the father and son team who are at the heart of this story as they grapple for survival.The characters are richly drawn and the hypothesis all too realistic particularly after Ebola.Furthermore, his discriptions of the consequences of such a tragedy are all too believable. Never do you think this couldn't happen and it is this well researched realism that has you sweating throughout.Fever is a definite 'must read' and the only reason I don't give it five stars is because the denouement is not quite as strong as the rest of the book.That said, four stars for Meyer is worth five plus for anybody else. Read it and enjoy, this guy is South Africa's John Le Carre. He really is that good.

I really wanted to like this book more. The Stand and The Passage are two of my most favourite books, so the apocalyptic/post apocalyptic genre is obviously a favourite of mine.This book follows Nico and his father struggling through the world following a Coronavirus that has decimated the worlds’ population. As usual, the new colony that they create is beset with the usual problems that occur in a post apocalyptic world.The trouble was, for most of the book I was bored, and I didn’t like any of the characters enough to particularly care either way what happened to them. The reason for this was the complete lack of detail within the story, and that is the exact reason I love The Stand and The Passage. So if you enjoy those books as much as I do, you may find that Fever falls flat.

I love Deon Meyer’s Cape Town set gritty crime novels but shied away from Fever because it is a post apocalyptic novel,not my usual genre. How wrong I was, it is a fantastic read, brilliant story telling, great characters and works at so many levels and layers. He depicts the vast ,hauntingly beautiful interior of SA perfectly. A word of caution if you are not familiar with SA, you need a map open in front of you as you read,especially the road network, mountain ranges,mountain passes, rivers,and dams....sounds crazy but it’s vital !! I lived there for over 20 years and constantly had to refer to my maps of SA. Some reviews are critical of the ending, which I get but it’s a post apocalyptic story for heavens sake, how do you “end” such a story ? For me the end signified hope for the future and hopefully a sequel.....strap yourself in for a great mind boggling journey,enjoy !!

A good post-apocalypse story that I found to be a real let down at the very end. Some interesting characters and an interesting world (setting it in South Africa was great), but certain motivations I found completely unbelievable at the end and it overshadowed the enjoyment I had found earlier in the story. I don't want to go into too much detail because it's a pretty key point and would be a massive spoiler, but it was a decent read right up to the last fifth of the book.

This was a departure from Deon Meyer's usual genre but every bit as gripping and well deserving of the rave reviews I'd been reading before buying it. I couldn't put it down. I found the ending a little disappointing (far-fetched doesn't seem quite appropriate in a story in which everything is so far outside normal experience) and that's what brought my rating down to 4 star rather than 5, but it didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the book. I was sorry to have finished it and would recommend it unreservedly.

I've read Stephen King's 'The Stand' and Justin Cronin's 'Passage' trilogy and while I enjoyed them, I had issues with the supernatural aspects of the first and the implausible science of the latter.Deon Meyer's novel is proper speculative fiction, rooted in believable, scientifically-based ideas, but if that makes it sound a little dry,l I should add that it is anything but. Indeed, I found it gripping from the first page to the last and really hope that this will be the first novel in a series. Congratulations to the author for writing such an exciting piece of dystopian fiction. I'm sure it will be a future classic.

I never do reviews but I'll make an exception for this. We'll written, no spelling or grammatical errors to get in the way of a really good story. Lots of twist and turns in the story so you can't tell what will happen. And it is not USA-based. Good characterisation, no-one is perfect but I really felt for the characters. So good I want some more.

This is a post apocalypse novel set in South Africa. After a world wide "fever" has wiped out most of the population the survivors have to find a way of life and living. It is well written and I wanted to like it but I found it slow and over concerned with minutiae. In some sections very little actually happens and in the end I was skim reading it just to finish. (Just to clarify there are no vampires or such in this book)

Woo! What a great book! Love finding a new author and Deon, you did not disappoint. There are plenty of post-apocalyptic stories around, but this was head and shoulders above the vast majority. The characters developed well, and were very believable - found myself really rooting for them all. The extracts of the history project interspersed into the main story worked really well also. The twist in the tail was unexpected, and I just hope there is a sequel. Please...

A rollicking good yarn with some well drawn characters and an interesting storyline. Not sure what more one can ask. Maybe a more nuanced treatment could have been employed in the good versus evil angle implicit in the story. The question of humanity's future is a real one and although this book is primarily an adventure story it is also an invitation to imagine a not totally inconceivable scenario . Suspend belief and enjoy !

A believable apocalypse novel at last. Warm, credible and fallible characters, an environment which is described so well that we can see and feel it and a final revelation that is bound to make you wonder how we will, as a society, in fact, find a scientific way out of global despoliation. In Fever, the rationale is brutal and stunning.

I really enjoyed the story at the beginning but I’m afraid it just ran out of steam for me at the end. I felt the author just ran out of ideas and decided to wind the thing up as quickly as they could. It’s a shame really as the first two thirds of the tale are great. It’s definitely not The Stand .

This is the first book I've read based in South Africa! A familiar "What happens after society crumbles" theme but handled refreshingly well and there is also the possibility of further adventures involving Nico Storm should Deon Meyer want to continue with the characters from this novel.