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Editorial Reviews
With trophozoites (“savage microscopic beasts”) inhabiting the water and hordes of mosquitoes infesting the
air, the death count soon rises into the millions; medical infrastructures all over the world verge on collapse. As
civilization devolves, unheralded heroes like Bronx Metropolitan Hospital physician Jamal Jackson race to
somehow find a way to stop the modern-day plague, which has brought out the worst in human nature—
selfishness, brutality and deep-seated prejudice.
viability of potential renewable energy sources, for instance) and history (the transatlantic slave trade, racism,
etc.) with Jackson’s profound experience with sickle cell disease—his younger brother died from it—and its
possible connection to saving the human race. Although the narrative’s multiple-viewpoint structure helps
showcase the scope of the looming disaster, it also, in places, slows down the story’s momentum and dilutes
some of its impact.
supremacist Wayne Joseph Tucker. Fans of medical thrillers by Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen and Daniel Kalla (all
doctors turned authors, like Chiapco) will find this thematically powerful novel well worth a read.
- An intriguing, thought-provoking fusion of medical thriller and apocalyptic fiction.
- Physician Chiapco’s debut novel begins with inexplicable outbreaks of deadly diseases all over the
With trophozoites (“savage microscopic beasts”) inhabiting the water and hordes of mosquitoes infesting the
air, the death count soon rises into the millions; medical infrastructures all over the world verge on collapse. As
civilization devolves, unheralded heroes like Bronx Metropolitan Hospital physician Jamal Jackson race to
somehow find a way to stop the modern-day plague, which has brought out the worst in human nature—
selfishness, brutality and deep-seated prejudice.
- The pandemic scenario isn’t exactly original, but the brilliance of this storyline comes from Chiapco
viability of potential renewable energy sources, for instance) and history (the transatlantic slave trade, racism,
etc.) with Jackson’s profound experience with sickle cell disease—his younger brother died from it—and its
possible connection to saving the human race. Although the narrative’s multiple-viewpoint structure helps
showcase the scope of the looming disaster, it also, in places, slows down the story’s momentum and dilutes
some of its impact.
- Even though Chiapco’s story isn’t character-driven, he succeeds in creating multidimensional players
supremacist Wayne Joseph Tucker. Fans of medical thrillers by Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen and Daniel Kalla (all
doctors turned authors, like Chiapco) will find this thematically powerful novel well worth a read.
This website is made available for educational purposes only. Nothing on this website is intended to serve as medical, technical or expert advice. If medical, technical or expert advice is needed, the visitor is urged to seek such
advice from a qualified professional. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly,
by the information contained in this website.
Copyright (c) 2012 by Oliver Chiapco. All Rights Reserved.
(Images from the Library of Congress, NASA, NOAA, USGS, CDC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management are NOT copyrighted and DO NOT express or imply endorsement of the book.)
advice from a qualified professional. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly,
by the information contained in this website.
Copyright (c) 2012 by Oliver Chiapco. All Rights Reserved.
(Images from the Library of Congress, NASA, NOAA, USGS, CDC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management are NOT copyrighted and DO NOT express or imply endorsement of the book.)
Featured: Kirkus Reviews,
Vol. LXXX, Aug 2012.
Critics' Picks (Indie),
kirkusreviews.com.
Vol. LXXX, Aug 2012.
Critics' Picks (Indie),
kirkusreviews.com.
Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2012.
- A page-turner of the highest order.
--- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
- ~~~ * ~~~
- The Final Race is a work of fiction that relies heavily on environmental science, medical knowledge and the volatile racial history of the
providing insight into overlooked aspects of the world’s shared history.
- It is provocative and stunning, with an unexpected plot twist that will hold readers captive.
- The opening scene introduces the reader to Wayne Joseph Tucker V. He finds himself in an emergency room after nearly severing a finger.
author sets the foundation for the racial tension that slowly becomes the heart of this story. Later, a long and detailed lecture on global warming that stalls
the action in the book briefly, becomes a crucial piece of the story as an epidemic of infectious diseases pop up in hospitals in the Northern, Western and
Southern regions of the United States. Hundreds, thousands and then millions of people become fatally ill. Chief among the mysterious illnesses is malaria.
- I was initially thrown by the twists and turns Chiapco makes in the beginning of the book: There are many recurring characters, but others
that circles around later; information that is paramount to understanding the solution Jamal offers to the global community when medication becomes
scarce and massive loss of life world-wide is imminent. The epidemic and Jamal’s alternative treatment stokes racial tensions and presents a challenge to
the ill and those treating them.
- This is a unique story that enlightens and inspires the reader to think beyond the small world he or she inhabits. It encourages a rejection of
- The Final Race is extraordinary. I highly recommend it.
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