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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
Really drew me in...makes me not want to have surgery....
I was too young to read Coma when it originally came out, so I wonder now how much of a nod to that idea is given in this book. Extremely interesting!
I was too young to read Coma when it originally came out, so I wonder now how much of a nod to that idea is given in this book. Extremely interesting!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An entertaining and provocative story with a fun mystery and tense adventure. While not a complete standout, this is a very good run by Robin Cook.
I did have one criticism that affected my enjoyment of this book substantially. One of the characters in the book is black. He and many of the characters discuss his “black talk” and ability to switch between Ebonics and “Oxford English.” While code switching is real and the use of Ebonics in general is not objectionable, this felt like a bizarre attempt by an old white man to be hip and cool. It struck me as a little racist. This is a small enough aspect of the book that it didn’t completely take me out of it, but it was jarring.
I did have one criticism that affected my enjoyment of this book substantially. One of the characters in the book is black. He and many of the characters discuss his “black talk” and ability to switch between Ebonics and “Oxford English.” While code switching is real and the use of Ebonics in general is not objectionable, this felt like a bizarre attempt by an old white man to be hip and cool. It struck me as a little racist. This is a small enough aspect of the book that it didn’t completely take me out of it, but it was jarring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Rape, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
Minor: Racism
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Stalking, Murder
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Man, Robin Cook has one jacked up brain. I am basically suspicious of every hospital and doctor because of his stories.
This is your run of the mill medical thriller but with a decent payoff.
This is your run of the mill medical thriller but with a decent payoff.
I marked it as having been 'read' but the truth is it was unfinishable. In desperate need of an editor this one was. Cardboard characters. Implausible plot. And cheers to the reviewer who pointed out that Michael......is black.
Terrible book.
Waste neither your time nor your money.
Terrible book.
Waste neither your time nor your money.
This review might be a bit tainted by the fact that I’ve been reading a lot of Jonathan Kellerman lately, and arguably I’m comparing apples and oranges here, but I feel like this should be pointed out.
Here we have two white men who’ve been writing medical thrillers and psychological thrillers, respectively, since 1977 (Cook) and 1985 (Kellerman).
This book, as many other reviewers have noted, reminds the reader that Michael is black and Lynn is female approximately every other page, and loads Michael down with as many stereotypes as it can. This book was published in 2015.
Kellerman — on the other hand — was publishing books in the *1980s* featuring an openly gay male detective as one of the main characters. I mean, that’s a fucking accomplishment in 2020, let alone in the 80s.
Anyhow, not a lot of a point to this review; I just wanted to point out that I’ve so far found Cook’s books a bit of a slog to get through partially for this reason. The plot to Coma, for instance, was great, but I almost gave up a few times because of the blatant sexism. Cook, do better, man. Kellerman was doing better 30 years ago.
Here we have two white men who’ve been writing medical thrillers and psychological thrillers, respectively, since 1977 (Cook) and 1985 (Kellerman).
This book, as many other reviewers have noted, reminds the reader that Michael is black and Lynn is female approximately every other page, and loads Michael down with as many stereotypes as it can. This book was published in 2015.
Kellerman — on the other hand — was publishing books in the *1980s* featuring an openly gay male detective as one of the main characters. I mean, that’s a fucking accomplishment in 2020, let alone in the 80s.
Anyhow, not a lot of a point to this review; I just wanted to point out that I’ve so far found Cook’s books a bit of a slog to get through partially for this reason. The plot to Coma, for instance, was great, but I almost gave up a few times because of the blatant sexism. Cook, do better, man. Kellerman was doing better 30 years ago.
Caffeinated Aspects:
Decaffeinated Aspects:
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
- We meet Lynn Pierce a fourth year medical student on the morning of her boyfriend’s routine knee surgery. Carl fails to regain consciousness after the procedure. Lynn and fellow classmate Michael investigate and uncover something disturbing.
- I loved the investigation and all the geeky medical talk; it had an easy of readability and kept me flipping the pages to uncover what was happening. Cook shared the story of other patients ramping up the suspense angle and the threat to our protagonists.
- Russians, hit men, and those in power added twists and turns as we uncovered what was happening to patients. Middleton Healthcare and their partner, Sidereal Pharmaceuticals with profit as their end game were believable villains.
- The convalescent center and its futuristic care system and diabolical treatments are sure to please your inner geek. Some aspects felt plausible and will give you cause to shiver.
- While Lynn sometimes annoyed me, her tenacious determination to uncover the truth made her a strong heroine. Michael was the more level-headed of the two and I admired him from the start.
Decaffeinated Aspects:
- Michael is black and about to graduate second in his class. While I love diversity, I do not believe his race, nor his ability to speak both as if from the “hood” and as an “English professor” should have been so heavily weighted. The author I believe was trying to shed light on racism but I hated the attention drawn to the color of his skin. While I certainly respect the message, I would have preferred a showing not telling approach. I felt like I was reading one of those learning books in school that was meant to be fun but teach a lesson. It was unfair to Michael who was a strong, humorous and bright character.
- Discussions on the of cost of medical care, pharmaceutical companies with their hands in Congress’s pockets and the cost of new drugs took up a significant chunk of page time. While I completely agree, it did not flow well and felt more placed into conversations for "the message".
- Having read Coma by Cook, Host felt like a revamped “newer” version leaving me feeling a tad disappointed. The similarities were substantial.
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer