In this future, the United States has become a second rate power, forced to its knees by what amounts to biological warfare. Meanwhile, Mexico has risen to a powerful position among the world's nations, and has achieved local dominance. The Holy Republic successfully occupies the States of New Mexico and Arizona, and has plans to annex Texas. Mexico is also home to the pilone network, an invention of Joaquin Delgado, which is presumably a reference to a founding father of mind control, Dr. Jose Delgado. Pilone is biotech, beyond software, a biology based system that enables all its user to literally connect in an internet of the mind. The problem for other nations, is that pilone has a physiological limitation, in that it is only viable for those with a particular Mexican ancestry. Added to this mix is a resurgent Holy Renaissance within Mexican society, corrupted authorities, the cybernetic sabihonda Rosangelica, prophecies from activist nun Sister Domenica, and the continuing spread of infection. This is the complex and inventive backdrop to Stark's mission almost impossible, which is to contain the outbreak, locate patient zero and devise a cure. Patient Zero, by the way, is not satisfied with merely spreading the virus, dubbed "Big Bonebreaker" on the pilone net, he has a private mission of his own; to kill the prophetic voice of the people.

The Patron Saint of Plagues is billed by its publishers as a biological thriller, but that's only half of what it offers. The other half is an exploration of what might happen in our future, if agriculture is decimated, and fanatic religion controls revolutionary science. Nothing here is unique, the pilone net brings to mind Star Trek's Borg collective, and dozens of novels have dealt with the effects of plague and pestilence. But, the melding of these well trodden themes with descendants of a culture that goes all the way back to the Aztec and Incan empires, crossed with reversed roles for Mexico and the United States, does create something with a subtly different flavour. As for negatives, I didn't find the broken US completely convincing, and occasionally Anderson falls into the trap of having his characters display foreknowledge that they should not have. But the most serious flaw, mentioned at the top of this review, concerns his decision to have the lead character speak in a strange, abbreviated patois. This is apparently supposed to reflect the radical changes in society since current times. But for me it made Stark sound like he was nowhere near as smart as he was supposed to be. One other minor irritant is the pandering to market forces whereby the hero is still American, in an age where the US is supposedly on its knees, and Mexico is the dominant power. These issues aside, The Patron Saint of Plagues is a competent, often exciting work, well worth a look if the theme appeals.