Hot Zone, written by Richard Preston, was published in 1995. This exciting non-fiction novel has terrified all its readers from the first chapter to the last sentence. and I was no different. The book is based on a true story about an Ebola virus outbreak in the 1980s at a monkey house in Washington DC. The author shows us the seriousness of this virus by presenting the character of Charles Monet who catches the virus during a visit to Kenya. More specifically, he visits Mount Elgon and Kitum Cave with a friend. When he returns home, he becomes ill and his symptoms begin with headache and back pain, then progress to fever, red eyes and vomiting. Doctors are unable to treat his illness to the best of their ability because they don't know what it is. When their antibiotics have no effect on Charles, they fly him to another hospital. On the plane, he vomited blood containing black spots. Things get worse until he eventually dies a painful death when his internal organs fail and he bleeds out. Monet's autopsy is that of someone who has been dead for several days even though he died only a few hours ago. Some of the doctors who treated Monet become infected and die as well, showing us how contagious and dangerous this virus is. The virus is so dangerous because it is not a normal virus. It is not ball shaped like most viruses, it has tendrils like hair that tangle. It kills one in four humans who contract it and seek medical attention. Scientists are afraid of this virus and what it can do, so they are trying to find out where it comes from. It is believed to come from an African island heavily populated with diseased monkeys, comparable to the origin of AIDS.Nancy Jax, mother and veterinarian of...... middle of paper..... .the cave that Monet visited all those years ago to do research. All he sees is a potential host and an answer to how Monet and the little boy got sick. Honestly, this novel was scary. It was scary because it's a true story. It makes me uneasy and nervous to think about how quickly a virus could mutate, spread, and simply wipe out the population. If a new virus emerged that we had no cure for and was deadly to humans, it would be a disaster. It would be a race between scientists trying to find a vaccine and a cure and the virus spreading and becoming more powerful. Science is both an amazing and beautiful thing, but also a terrifying and ugly thing. The novel itself was well written and intense. I was still on the edge of my seat and eager to turn the page. It was so captivating because people love reading about the unknown and the scary..