It’s difficult to review a book like Beyer’s because one wants to retell a well-told story.  In the Pathogen Protocol, Beyer takes us further into Mandisa “Mandi” Nkosi’s story and journey, as a young reporter coming home to her mother only to be thrust into a confrontation with the mighty Applied Interstellar Corporation (AIC), a science and technology behemoth with more corporate and political foes that can be counted. They weren’t counting on Mandi.

Beyer, an award-winning writer, cleverly weaves a tale that makes you want to find out what’s next as the heroes demonstrate a persistence to fight for survival while dealing with—no wait, I can’t tell you. But I can tell you this will be a fast read for you because once you start you’ll probably be up all night with it—read this book on a Friday so you don’t miss work.

If this is your first exposure to Beyer, a certified rocket scientist, you’ll probably want to go get his first installment, Casimir Bridge afterwards. And then, if like most of his fans, you’ll struggle to wait for the third installment. However, both books stand on their own—no cliff hangers, a well-told complete story.

Beyer does what a good Sci-Fi writer should do—takes us to a near future, an imaginable future and weaves an intriguing story about it. There’s no little (or big) green monsters, or crazy names you can’t remember or pronounce. No super death rays, and (spoiler) no Calvary riding in to save the day.