Thought-provoking, feasible and very hard to put down, Spring Fever is Thomas Legendre's third novel set between Nottingham and London. Somewhat dystopian in its depiction of a futuristic virus that affects both people and technology, the story follows protagonist Amanda Nigh meeting American ice hockey player Craig Merlau as they set about finding a cure for Spring Fever...
When I picked up a book titled Spring Fever, I assumed I already knew what the book would be about. Or the inspiration for it, at least. But author Thomas Legendre didn’t take his inspiration from the COVID lockdown. The book was already well into fruition before then, perhaps eerily so.
Spring Fever depicts a virus of the future, one which affects both people and technology. The lines are blurred, with the virus affecting social media profiles and privacy settings, but also the ways people think and act. People randomly begin speaking about ‘quantum superposition’ and ‘gravity quakes.’ The quantum physics world, usually unseen and unquestioned, leaches its way into the forefront of people’s minds in an all-consuming way.
For everyone but Amanda Nigh, that is. Amanda works at HocusLocus, where she recrafts digital content with viral potential. She also beta-tests new technology, which offers guidance on what you should eat, when you should exercise, what you should wear - all based on your biomarkers. This device, Amanda's IS (Intelligence System) feels unnervingly more feasible than one would have thought at Legendre's time of writing back in 2023. The AI boom happened in late 2022, after Legendre had completed the book. The conception of which makes these sorts of technology seem all the more realistic.
When I say everyone but Amanda Nigh is affected by Spring Fever, that isn’t strictly true. Craig Merleau, an American hockey player, is also unaffected. He catches Amanda’s attention as alongside his incredible talent on the ice, he speaks like a European philosopher. Legendre’s inspiration for this character was in fact a French philosopher, Maurice Merleau, with whom Craig shares his last name. Where Amanda is relatable and transparent, Craig is intriguing and unusual. Legendre said the idea for Craig came for him whilst watching a post-match ice hockey interview, in which a goal scoring player was asked what he was thinking about when he scored a goal. Legendre thought how interesting, if not slightly strange, it would be if the player replied in flowing, highly philosophical prose. This idea was the first spark in the creation of the novel.
The novel made me think deeper about so many issues. Perhaps most prominently to what extent technology should impact our lives? Arguably, there are more examples in the book of peoples’ lives being negatively impacted by technology, and this really does raise the question of if this level of technology is too much - where do we draw the line?
Speaking to Legendre, he said: "I hope the novel gets the reader to question the rift between appearance and reality." Legendre said this is often something he thinks about with regards to social media, but also is true on a quantum physics scale. Our perception of the world glosses over so many phenomenon that are visible through a scientific lens. There are many examples in the book of different worlds interacting, this being the quantum and classical worlds, or the online and offline ones.
A Creative Writing lecturer at the University of Nottingham, Legendre said he always knew the book would be set in the city. For anyone living in Nottingham, the book has countless descriptions of the city centre and Beeston that, through remarkable imagery, leave little doubt as to where the scene is set. Amanda works in London, and Legendre said he visited key settings in order to be able to write those scenes with the same descriptive skill and familiarity.
Legendre's writing skill is hard to miss as a reader. One of my favourite scenes (and also Legendre's favourite to write) is the scene where Amanda attends an ice hockey game for the first time. Reading the passage, I got such a vivid pictiure of what Amanda was experiencing. Legendre is a keen ice hockey fan and enjoyed writing the ice hockey scenes for those who might have never come across the sport before.
I found the novel very hard to put down. It's fast-paced, gripping, somewhat dystopian, and I feel where this novel really excels is in its feasibility. Legendre described it perfectly: that the world in which Amanda and Craig live maybe isn’t a step ahead of the world in which we live in, but it could well be a diagonal step away.
Would I recommend this book? Most definitely. I’m not someone who usually reads quantum / techno / romantic / sci-fi novels (it’s positively hard to define the novel of this book!) so initially I was a little unsure whether or not I would enjoy it. But I think the feasibility of the world Amanda and Craig live in, along with the relatability of Amanda’s character, make Spring Fever enjoyable for those who may not usually read this sort of work.
Overall, it is an uplifting book. Despite the challenges thrown at the characters, and the somewhat freaky resemblance to where one may argue the world is heading today, the final takeaway I got from the book was clear. Human courage, love and instinct will always have more power than we realise.
Spring Fever was published by Valley Press, and the book available to purchase on their website, or through Amazon.
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