Monday, July 6, 2026

Thorns by Gregory Bastianelli

A deadly contagion spreads throughout the world, while scientists grapple to find a cure before it's too late...


Dr. Monica Cucinotta works on the front lines of a hospital in Cassino, Italy, dealing with a deadly contagion that causes thorns to erupt along the surface of the body. When Monica becomes infected with the virus and must leave the hospital, she begins a journey across the dark landscape of a pandemic world where she meets the best and worst of humanity that tests her belief in science and faith as she struggles to return home to her loved ones.

 






 Thorns is the name of the fast spreading, highly contagious disease that is rapidly causing suffering and death across the globe. There is no cure, there is no treatment.

 Hospitals are overrun, businesses are closed, nobody is allowed to be out in public without a valid reason. Food is scarce, funerals are not allowed, bodies are piling up. One courageous doctor who stayed on at the hospital, choosing to live there so as not to infect her family, gets fired when it is learned she has contracted Thorns. This is her story as she tries to make her way home in such perilous times.

Along the way, she will reflect on how she came to be in this situation, looking back on her choices with both resolve and regret. She will be met with kindness, contempt, and several dangers as she comes into contact with survivors and other infected people while coming to terms with the probability of her own death.

 I usually avoid books that revolve around pandemics, diseases, viruses, etc but being a fan of the author's previous works, I could not keep myself away from this one. Highly recommended to those who are ready to handle it. It may be a difficult subject for some. This is an anxiety inducing medical horror that brings stark reminders of those first early, panic-stricken days of Covid, except that unlike COVID, there have so far been no survivors.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC

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