Flying cars, artificial intelligence, time travel, advanced technology. Normally what you think of when reading a sci-fi novel, but not The Eleventh Plague. The Eleventh Plague is a survival based sci-fi book written by Jeff Hirsch. And takes place years into the future, on the east coast of the United States. When the US had gone to war against China, and China used a weapon called P11, a canister like a bomb used to win the war against America. P11 was an artificially made plague, that wiped out one-third of the US population. P11 completely shut down most of the United States and put it into a crisis. The army went rogue, the government crashed and society turned on each other. Stephen, the main character, is 14 and was born during “the collapse,” which is what the apocalypse-like fall of the United States was called. He has known no life except for the life of a salvager. Stephen has lost many people whom he was close to and has encountered a lot of loss, as well. Only his dad and Stephen are left,  and while looting an abandon crashed plane, Stephen and his dad were attacked by slavers, people who capture survivors and turn them into slaves.    

Jeff Hirsch is a fantastic writer, who has also written five other books. The Eleventh Plague is now one of my favorite books of all time,  The writing style Jeff Hirsch uses is just terrific; it makes the book so much more appealing, and allows you to get a clear thought of everything that’s going on. His writing can give you an insight into the mindset and personality of the characters, just by writing dialogue. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys survival-themed books and likes to get attached to the characters. “It was no plague. It was a blessing. Surviving it, that’s the real plague.”