"a young man falls into the world of Covid-19 conspiracy theories"

Blazing Reader,

Pete Toccalino, from California, attended Saturday's Kirkus Reckoning live stream and had this to say about Kirkus Reviews' critical review of Much Ado About Corona:

"Anyway, I agree with Jordan when he said the biased nature of the review will attract those who are skeptical of the mainstream COVID narrative... particularly with that somewhat condescending first line: 'In Manley's novel, a young man falls into the world of Covid-19 conspiracy theories.' 

"Anyone even slightly wary of the official narrative will certainly see where the review's author is coming from and may actually be impelled to check out the novel. So yeah, I think there's value in green-lighting the publishing [of the review] on Kirkus and reviewing the review on [your] blog. 

"By the way, I felt the most unfair part of the review was claiming the ending was anti-climactic, it was by all measures a great climax, even cinematic in my opinion."

I suspect the Kirkus reviewer didn't like the ending of Much Ado About Corona because it portrayed the deadly outcome of authoritarian governments — no matter what the justification. When so-called pandemic control measures are being enforced by a man with a gun (AKA the police), who "is just following (health) orders," the final outcome isn't going to be in the interest of anybody's health, no less the general public. 

—John C.A. Manley

P.S. Want to hear what else Kirkus Reviews had to say? Check out their review of Much Ado About Corona.

P.P.S. If you missed it: you can watch a replay of the Kirkus Reckoning livestream on YouTube, BitChute, Rumble and X.

P.P.P.S. And to read a free sample or buy a copy of my novel about "a young man falls into the world of Covid-19 conspiracy theories," head over to MuchAdoAboutCorona.com

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.