I wanted to read this. I really did. But it was making me paranoid and nervous, with my mental health as it is it’s difficult for me to read these books especially since I work front line. So I am sorry but I just couldn’t get past the ole college try

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. A very informative and interesting read

Princess Fuzzypants here: As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, it is interesting to reflect on previous ones and how the human race responded to the challenges. This book looks at different plagues of yore with most emphasis on the Black Death and the Plague of the mid 1600’s. The author uses first hand observations from the time as well as research on the impacts on society as a whole. What makes this even more interesting is the inclusion of several fictional accounts of both the historical pandemics and an imagined end of the world scenario. These are both chilling and prophetic.

It is clear humanity has not travelled far from whence we came when it comes to responding to a crisis. Sadly, in each case, there will always be those who will continue to do as they please whatever the consequences may be to others around them. Their cavalier attitudes spread the contagion and prolong the effects when they might have been able to restrict it in the early stages. No one likes their freedoms to be restricted but sometimes it is the only way to deny oxygen to a pandemic.

Very interesting book and well worth a look. Four purrs and two paws up.

This book was actually pretty good!! It kept my interest throughout the book. I honestly didn’t think it would but it did. For some reason I was hooked and didn’t wanted to put it down

A collection of stories about pandemics into history. It was an interesting and informative read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This book was a disappointment. I guess I didn't read the description thoroughly enough. I thought this was going to be about the pandemic in popular culture, such as things about COVID and prior historical pandemics. Instead I got a "book" full of large swaths of other people's work, both fiction and non-fiction, with a few sprinkled sentences about an introduction to the author and a smattering of information about the time period and which pandemic is discussed in the work.

As the proud owner of an English degree (with a second degree in a job that actually makes a living LOL), this book reminded me why I don't like to read older literature. Talk about a big snooze.

This book is a hard pass, even for a book nerd like me.

A good collection of pandemic stories, very interesting after the last couple of years we have experienced. I now have a list of stories I would like to read further and gain more insight into.

A great read which I will delve into again in the future!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

This was fascinating. A collection of stories and essays on the topic of plague. Probably best to be read in small doses, with more cheerful subject matter in between. Great to dip into.

Honestly - who can see Pandemic Obsession and not be just a tiny bit curious given the past few years we all lived through. This is a heavy and very detailed read in which pandemics of all kinds - real and fictional - are explored. I personally never realized that we have so much pandemic related stuff in popular culture, so that was a fun thing for me to learn. I really enjoyed this collection and if the idea of this intrigues you at all, I recommend picking it up. I did expect a little more explanation and context from the author but I still enjoyed this very much.

A heavy but interestig read made all the more so by living through the recent pandemic. It was so interesting to see what has changed in terms of medical i=advancement and ideology as well as societies attitudes to pandemics too.

This is a collection of writings about pandemics. Real and fictional. Not everyone will want to read about something that we’re arguably only getting out of, but it’s illuminating to see how many of the experiences reflected here are similar to ours. From ancient Rome to Mary Shelley, the author includes extracts of original texts reflecting these deadly diseases. Unfortunately, I was expecting more from the author himself. There is very little explanation or interpretation from him, making this just a compendium of other writers’ experiences or imaginings. Some of the texts are hard to understand to modern readers, so I wish there’d have been more of an explanation from the author. For instance, I love Poe’s Masque of the Red Death and read it often, seeing it included here was nice, but I would have enjoyed a more detailed explanation of its context and meaning. That said, it’s an interesting read, as long as you know what to expect.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Pen & Sword History!

This book is a fascinating collection of various stories and poems detailing plagues that have afflicted humanity throughout hundreds of years.
The works are by various writers including Shelley and Poe, showcasing the harrowing and gruesome affects on communities as disease spread.

It’s a well researched collection and gave me a list of works I’d like to explore more.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.