I just recently re-read a very good novel named Pandemic, written by Joan J. Johnson and William E. Rose. My Aunt Mandy gave it to me as a Christmas present a couple of years ago because she knows one of the authors (and of course because she knew I’d enjoy it).
The book is about an avian flu pandemic that eradicates as much as 75% of the world’s population. I was in between new books and decided that it was appropriate given the H1N1 situation.
Despite such a huge global plot, the story is best when it focuses on the ways life changes for a small group of families in rural New England who survive the initial pandemic and band together to try and make the best of a suddenly difficult and dangerous world. It reminded me of another post-apocalyptic storyline that I enjoyed in the TV series Jericho, in that the end of the world (as we know it) isn’t as interesting as the way that the characters deal with it.
I highly recommend both Pandemic and Jericho if you get the chance…