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kmesserdova's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition
3.0
Good plot. Interesting science. Horrible writing. It was interesting, as the writing was bad in a different way than I'm used to. This man could just not put together a complex sentence. Also, he over-explained in a very stilted way. Plus, he tended to brain dump at you. It had the feeling that he had written a story with all kinds of notes to himself in it, and then had forgotten to take the notes out. Perhaps an editor should have had a crack at this book.
ingo_lembcke's review against another edition
5.0
Read this one more than once, great book with a good twist at the ending.
Recently (2011-2013) the duo Preston/Child -series about Agent Pendergast took a turn I do not really appreciate with the Nazis. Being a German I that threat is all to real for me and I do not need them as villains in the fiction I read (with them being in the series from Rollins also and others).
This standalone novel is exceptionally good.
Page-turner, highly recommended.
Another book in the same genre, also highly recommended: [b:Quantico|214372|Quantico|Greg Bear|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1172766774s/214372.jpg|1430847].
Recently (2011-2013) the duo Preston/Child -series about Agent Pendergast took a turn I do not really appreciate with the Nazis. Being a German I that threat is all to real for me and I do not need them as villains in the fiction I read (with them being in the series from Rollins also and others).
This standalone novel is exceptionally good.
Page-turner, highly recommended.
Another book in the same genre, also highly recommended: [b:Quantico|214372|Quantico|Greg Bear|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1172766774s/214372.jpg|1430847].
book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
It begins when a New York City teenager has a seizure in class and dies shortly after. CDC scientist Alice Austen is dispatched to observe the autopsy and try to determine if this is an infectious agent. She quickly determines that this is not an accident but an act of terrorism. A deranged, disgraced biotechnician is intent on releasing the deadly Cobra virus in New York, to kill as many “useless humans” as possible.
This is a great thriller, that kept me enthralled and turning pages as quickly as I could. I’d read Preston’s nonfiction bestsellers: The Hot Zone and The Demon In the Freezer, so I knew he had the research background to make this a very plausible scenario. Reading it in the era of COVID19 just makes it that much more frightening, and interesting. I loved the details on how the teams of scientists, public health officials and FBI agents worked to decipher the clues.
If you’re at all squeamish you might want to skip some of the autopsy scenes.
This is a great thriller, that kept me enthralled and turning pages as quickly as I could. I’d read Preston’s nonfiction bestsellers: The Hot Zone and The Demon In the Freezer, so I knew he had the research background to make this a very plausible scenario. Reading it in the era of COVID19 just makes it that much more frightening, and interesting. I loved the details on how the teams of scientists, public health officials and FBI agents worked to decipher the clues.
If you’re at all squeamish you might want to skip some of the autopsy scenes.
mandyd74's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mswatek's review against another edition
4.5
Fast-paced and frightening. An eerie read, especially after covid
ermw0's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I started to freak out while reading this book because I got a cold and displayed some of the same symptoms as the virus. This was intense and thrilling, I couldn't stop reading. I loved the heavy handed science and history background, so that was right up my alley. I felt the ending was rushed and a bit too convenient so the book could wrap it all up nicely. The "romance" at the end came out of nowhere and absolutely didn't need to be present. This book was chilling and tense, but I still prefer "The Hot Zone."
daphnaios's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mason verger expanded cinematic universe
dethklok1985's review against another edition
I did not realize that those book was fiction. I assumed since it was a part of Richard Preston's Dark Biology series, that it was nonfiction with some fictionalized events. As soon as I found out, I DNF'ed. I appreciate Preston's skill as an author, however I have no interest in fictionalized bioterrorist events. I'll be moving on to Demon in the freezer.