Ammon’s Horn is not your typical ‘zombie’ novel. In fact, there really aren’t any zombies at all. What I mean is that the zombies in the story are not reanimated dead but rather people suffering from the ‘noids’.
Scott Timmon’s tale of an apocalyptic event is more of a medical thriller than a horror story. Of course some things in the medical field are a horror unto themselves. Inside Ammon’s Horn, the plot starts with strange events of generally average citizens becoming more and more paranoid hence suffering from the ‘noids’. The primary characters are Gemma Goode and her boyfriend Danny Sullivan. Sullivan happens to be a law enforcement officer and during his work day gets exposed to some of the ‘noids cases. One case in particular gets Gemma involved when a suspect does something that spreads his infected bodily fluids. This event leaves you wondering if the infection is blood borne and if anyone is truly safe. However, the incident made me wonder if Chicago PD has a policy about no firearms in the interrogation room like other departments. I can overlook that as what happened was a plot device that enabled the spread of the virus and cast a doubt as to whether the main characters had been infected from that incident or not.
To put this novel more in perspective, Ammon’s Horn is a part of the hippocampus in the brain. This is the part that kind of tempers us humans to be social creatures and not react to every little thing like a paranoid freak. But, as the plot evolves, the reader finds out that some time during the Vietnam War, the US Government was working on a biological weapon to be released in South East Asia that would make the enemy fearful of their own food supply. The lab testing was not what they expected resulting in the test subjects getting the ‘munchies’ and not at all being fearful of food or anything else. Thus the project was shelved and forgotten about. Turns out that the virus dissolves Ammon’s Horn, but the researchers weren’t aware of that until much later.
Flash forward to present day Chicago. Danny is getting more and more cases of people acting strange. Lawyers shooting up passengers on the L system, paperboy’s attacking their customers and one of Danny’s own co-workers busting caps at a bike messenger. Gemma, the star anchor of a reality, paranormal television show, sees some of these actions as the perfect fodder for her work. It’s not until other events occur that force her to take a step back and rethink this decision.
As the east coast becomes more and more inundated with case after case of ‘noids patients, Danny and Gemma make a decision to leave the city and head west.
Ammon’s Horn is an excellent story about the fall of civilization caused by the release of a manmade virus. The medical issues are well researched and highly believable. The tension and action is spot on and the story is an evolution of the characters not only as they try to come to terms with what is happening around them, but also as the undertake a literal and physical journey.
Scott Timmon’s Ammon’s Horn is not to be missed.
