“Part historical novel, part futuristic adventure . . . chock full of curious lore and considerable suspense.”—Entertainment WeeklyIt is history’s most feared disease. It turned neighbor against neighbor, the civilized into the savage, and the living into the dead. Now, in a spellbinding novel of adventure and science, romance and terror, two eras are joined by a single trace of microscopic … single trace of microscopic bacterium—the invisible seeds of a new bubonic plague.
In the year 1348, a disgraced Spanish physician crosses a landscape of horrors to Avignon, France. There, he will be sent on an impossible mission to England, to save the royal family from the Black Death. . . .
Nearly seven hundred years later, a woman scientist digs up a clod of earth in London. In a world where medicine is tightly controlled, she will unearth a terror lying dormant for centuries.
From the primitive cures of the Middle Ages to the biological police state of our near future, The Plague Tales is a thrilling race against time and mass destruction. For in 2005, humankind’s last hope for survival can come only from one place: out of a dark and tortured past.
Praise for The Plague Tales
“Benson reveals a formidable talent as she blends historical fiction with a near-future bio-thriller.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Harrowing . . . Will give readers both nightmares and thrills . . . A carefully woven page-turner from which . . . Robin Cook and Michael Crichton could learn.”—Library Journal
“A hard-to-put-down thriller steeped in historical fiction and bio-tech sci-fi.”—Middlesex News (Mass.)
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I read this book when it first came out and remember that I’d really enjoyed it. As it’s appropriate to our times right now I thought I’d give it a re-read. Its set over two timelines, Europe during the great plague of the 14th century and the “future” after a global pandemic. I enjoyed the historic time line a lot better than the future. …
As I was reading this book, I thought I had found a new favorite author. It was original in many ways . I had even stopped reading to look at her other books and was looking forward to reading them when finished with The Plague Tales. Then, the author suddenly went out of her way to have one of the characters in the book have a random rant …
This was an interesting premise, taking the reader from the Middle Ages forward to a difficult future and back again and again, following the lives of the main characters. It played to our fears of a plague and its aftermath. Characters were reasonably well-developed and the story line was clear. You found yourself rooting for the characters.
This was a wonderful book. It is the first in a trilogy. (The rest are the The Burning Road and the Physician’s Tales.) It flips back and forth between the near future where antibiotics have failed due to overuse and the times of the Black Death. The characters are so well written, the history feels so real and immediate that I stayed up way …
Interesting twist of future and historical fiction.
Interesting but had no page turning urge for me.
I loved how this book focused on two groups of people trying to cope with the Plague. One group was in the Middle ages and the other group was set a bit into the future
You have two stories being told together a historical one of a Jewish doctor during the bubonic plague in London. The other is set in the future where two doctors race to stop the same plague. There’s a little supernatural twist thrown in also. It’s a very good book.
Two black plagues. The story follows 2 interesting characters and rogues from medieval times. The other a happenstance re-introduction of the disease. Back and forth the stories progress to their endings, the former leading the actions of the latter. But the terror is just as real.
I found this book fascinating and recommended it to all my fellow scientist friends. Not necessarily for the faint of heart or for those who don’t like to have their beliefs challenged.
Fun historical/science fiction novel. We are all afraid of the next pandemic.
I loved this book because of the way it weaves the story between medieval plague time and the near future. It’s the first of a trilogy. I read all 3 and recommend
Terrific idea to juxtapose ancient and modern plague scenarios.
The writing was very pleasing but the action often felt contrived. I also would have preferred it without the fantasy aspects as I felt them to be unnecessary and, sometimes,distracting.
One of my favorite books. Love the sci-fi mixed with historical fiction
Interesting look at plague in past and scarey look at it in contempory time.
Really enjoyed the transitions back and forth. Fascinating subject.
An interesting premise this book alternates between midevial and modern day outbreaks of the Black Plague connecting the two. Frankly there are so many plot twists your head will be turning.
This series is so good! Two time periods that show our fears of plague have not changed. A 14th century manuscript draws the generations together to fight the disease with tools of the times.
Should be REQUIRES READING !