Tooth and Nail

by Craig DiLouie

Schmidt Haus Books 2010

Craig Di Louie presents readers of a story about a company of soldiers who are trying to survive during a massive outbreak that renders its victims as rabid maniacs. It further recounts the struggle of a scientist trying to find a cure to the disease and her fight to survive when her colleagues become infected.

Mr. DiLouie doesn't make this apocalyptic story about zombies but makes it about a widespread plague. He creates a situation that is highly believable and which has real possibilities of occurring. The story reads a lot like "Platoon" meets "Outbreak" with a little end of the world as an icing. The book had a breakneck pace and a crisis around every corner. "Tooth and Nail" takes place in New York City where the author has laid out a vast landscape which the characters have difficulty navigating. The setting adds to the pervasive tension, is easily visualized and presented with exacting detail . The reader will feel like they are there along side the characters every step of the way.

The military characters were "dead on" accurate. They were very realistic soldiers and they even had the acronyms to a fine point. Other characters were very well written. One of which is a scientist trapped in a lab that is trying to find a cure for the disease. What I liked about this character is that she is convincing and pragmatic when confronted by the infected. The writer does a good job at keeping his characters grounded in fact. I also think that most people with military experience will recognize the characters, maybe even identify with them. It even has a glossary of acronyms in the beginning for the civilian reader. “Tooth and Nail” was a very skillfully written suspenseful and thrilling novel.