Title: Vector Zero
Author: Bryan McBee
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
ISBN: 9781637528822
Pages: 304
Genre: Fiction / Thriller
Reviewed by: Jake Bishop

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The horrors of Covid 19 and its derivates bring a bit of extra fuel to the fire that is Bryan McBee’s novel of viral evil run amuck in Vector Zero. This tale of ever-increasing contagion and the manhunt to run down the original source of the virulent killer is heavily dosed with science, suspense, and action, as authorities bear down on the individual responsible for unleashing a potentially worldwide plague. Echoes of Steven King’s The Stand waft through McBee’s narrative. Yet he never turns to the supernatural for support. His tale is all man-made in its journey through mayhem, murder, and more.

The action starts from the very first page when a man named Fallon is driving much too fast for the snow storm in which he’s engulfed. A crash, followed by a stagger through the elements, leads him to be rescued by a snowplow driver who rushes him to the emergency room of a small town just off the interstate. There he receives treatment from a nurse, Shelly, who has just recently relocated to the hamlet after extricating herself with extreme prejudice from an abusive husband. Soon, Shelly’s gone home and Fallon has secretly sneaked out of the hospital when he realizes the U. S. Army is in hot pursuit. Why?

Colonel Aldridge is in charge of the formidable force on Fallon’s tail. He’s a career officer who’s ostensibly been given carte blanche to do whatever is necessary to bring Fallon in. Before long, he’s cordoned off the entire town, making sure no one gets in or out without his permission.

Fallon turns up at Shelly’s home, breaks in and initially takes her hostage. She’s frightened and more than a little pissed off. After Fallon explains why he’s doing what he’s doing, Shelly is basically dumbfounded. What he tells her is potentially terrible beyond belief, which is why she’s not at all sure she believes him. Meanwhile, Aldridge is hemming virtually everything and everyone in so there’s no possibility of Fallon’s escape. As you might expect, this does not sit well with the citizens of the terrified town. Eventually, a rabble-rousing ex-military type forms his own troupe of gung-ho patriots and mounts an insurgency against Aldridge’s occupying forces. Quickly, the body count begins to grow exponentially due to firefights between the locals and the lads and ladies in uniform, not to mention town’s folk who are beginning to succumb to a rapaciously deadly virus.

Help is on the way in the form of vaccine, but how many will die before it arrives, and what if the virus escapes the village’s lockdown? Is Fallon as innocent he says he is? Will Aldrich catch him and stop him, or is he actually part of the problem? And what about Shelly? What should she do and who should she believe? Rest assured, all these questions and more are answered before novel’s end.

McBee is a formidable storyteller who weaves an intricate plot of ever-escalating tension. His tale of imminent danger is both exciting and credible. He depicts military operations that feel particularly authentic. Dialogue is crisp, conversational, and sounds real. He unveils multiple characters throughout his drama and gives each and every one of them a multi-layered backstory, sometimes however, at the expense of pacing. This is fiction made even more susceptible to the temporary suspension of disbelief by what’s going on today in the real world. The timing of his story is right. The writing of his yarn is sharp. This is a narrative that will keep you guessing as you attempt to determine just who exactly is Vector Zero.