Brief 2/23/23 update: I just re-read this with a group of friends and loved it just as much the second time as I did the first. It's such a powerful read, and remains one of my favorite books ever (at this point).

Original review: How did I go from being so "wtf is this book" when I started to "holy cow this is one of my 2022 favorites" when I finished? I'm not too sure myself, but there's very few books that can make me feel like crying and make me want to immediately re-read when I'm finished. A book that can do that makes my favorites list automatically.

Going into it, you should know that this is a series of short stories that tell the tale of a plague that was unleashed on the world from Siberia. Rising temperatures and melting permafrost reveal a cave and a dead girl, and it is from this dead girl that the plague originates. Each story advances the plague timeline a bit more, and it's interesting to see how humanity changes in the beginning, middle, end, and post-plague parts of the story. Each chapter is only loosely associated with what came before; aside from the obvious presence of the plague, there's also some character/role/event overlap there to find if you look for it.

Like in most short story books, the chapters can be kind of a mixed bag. I thought the first chapter was far and away the weakest one, but it helps set the stage for what comes after. The second, seventh, ninth, and eleventh stories were all standouts for me, but most of the rest did end up having at least some lasting impression that made me think a bit when I was done. The ending chapter (chapter fourteen for anyone keeping track) especially really turned everything on its head and made me want to re-read the whole book again.

This is an incredibly sad, bleak book, and very heavy topics are discussed. There's hope and happiness of course, but it's first and foremost a plague book so, y'know, manage your expectations. I loved the entire experience.