Critical reception for Ebola '76 was mostly positive and the novel also received positive reader responses.[4][5][6] The Guardian was mixed in their review, stating that "Like a medieval danse macabre, Ebola leads a parade of wretches to the grave, but Tag Elsir’s apparent disdain for his characters robs his narrative of empathy and leaves the reader indifferent to the fate of Lewis, the blind guitarist Ruwadi, the washed‑up magician Jamadi and the rest."[7] Asymptote was more favorable, writing that "Though it is a quick fictional account, Ebola ’76 is an educational read about the emergence of the Ebola virus and how it could have possibly spread from the DRC to South Sudan."[8] Reviewing for the American Historical Association, Shatha Almutawa felt that "Despite the gravity of the subject of the novel, the language is witty and the mood light-seeing the world from the perspective of the virus, after all, is very different from seeing it from the perspective of grief-stricken men who lost their lovers."[9]