Published by: Thorpe Bowker
Pages: 348
Date Released: 20/03/2021
Date Read: 18/06/2021
She has the choice to wipe out most of the human race, reset the world, and save the planet with only a few survivors…can she do it?
When Connie finds out she has a few months left to live, she’s gripped by fear for her daughter and her father. Just when things can’t get any worse, a strange man draws her into a fight against the evil caused by modern human society and offers solutions that keep her awake at night.
Connie wants to leave a mark by helping the environment – but her support takes a dark turn when she has to personally aid in the deaths of millions. Could it be right, in the name of saving the planet, to release a deadly virus which will only spare a small group of chosen people, including Connie’s loved ones?
Thanks to Sabina for sending me a copy of her book Less Than Little Time in return for an honest review.
This story follows police officer Connie, who after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer, starts to ponder the future she will leave for her father and her daughter. Then a secret company called The Collective get in touch to discuss their plans for a new world. They will release a new virus which will kill 8 Billion people, including the members of the collective. Only 300 people in the entire world will be chosen to be given a vaccine which will make them immune. Connie has to decide if she can assist in the death of nearly the entire global population, if it means keeping her family safe.
Being faced with your own mortality presents a number of questions: what becomes important to you? Could you actively infect another person just because they’re in the wrong? What life is worth more – the one you know or a strangers? Do you save two lives because they’re your family, or eight billion, but they’re strangers?
There’s enough characters in the book to give you variation and keep you interested and entertained, but not enough to get confusing and make you need a notepad to keep on top of everyone. Each person is their own clearly defined character with all their flaws and triumphs.
I did find some of it, especially the details of the actual virus, made me very uncomfortable but I guess that’s probably the idea, and therefore, Sabina has achieved her goal.
It is a very timely book. Okay I’m not saying that COVID was released deliberately for population control, that’s a bit of a stretch. But there are definitely a lot of similarities:
⁃ Infecting people unknowingly
– Cancelling flights and shutting borders
– Distrusting coughs
– Face masks
– 6 feet distance
– Social distancing
– Small gatherings
– Closed schools
It’s quite obvious to me what influenced this plot, and at first it was very subtle, but I did feel it became more and more obvious, and I just felt that was a bit off-putting, especially as we’re still in the eye of the storm. Some readers may feel this is a positive point about the book, but for me, those parts were just a bit much. Maybe if I’d read it post-pandemic I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with it.
It didn’t pull at my heartstrings too much, maybe I’m cold hearted, maybe it’s because pandemics are our day to day now, but an almost blank page with just “grampa, where’s mummy?” is enough to wet anyone’s eyes.
Overall I did enjoy it and felt it was very well written. I’m also glad to see it’s the first book of a future series. It’ll be interesting, once our current fight is over, if this will have any effect on the sequels.
Books By Your Bedside 