"Levinson handles myth, history, science, and police procedures
with equal skill earning high marks for intelligence and originality in the process. " — Booklist

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR MEMORY?

From the winner of the Locus Award for Best First Science Fiction Novel comes an intriguing blend of science fiction and hard-boiled police-procedural mystery.

The Consciousness Plague is about how the loss of memory can subtly wreak havoc on everything from serial murders to the most basic of human interactions. Phil D'Amato, NYPD forensic detective, investigates a spate of unusual cases of memory loss and finds evidence of a bacteria-like organism that has lived in our brains since the beginning of our species and may be responsible for our very consciousness.

Now a new antibiotic crosses the blood-brain barrier, inadvertently killing this essential organism. D'Amato himself becomes a victim of memory loss, and must struggle to get the authorities to pay attention before everyone loses so much memory that they forget the very essence of community and society!