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A review by book_bookman
Coma by Robin Cook
3.0
Audiobook. I’m not sure which is worse: male narrators using a higher register for female characters, or female narrators using a lower register for male characters. This was my first time encountering the latter and it’s off-putting.
Anyway, this is a decent ‘70s paranoia jam. The aspect of a woman struggling in a male-dominated field is surprisingly progressive for this kind of thing, and still relevant today. The Crichton-esque clinical approach to prose and exposition is decent, as is the unnerving hospital atmosphere. The highlight is of course the part this book is known for, the sinister coma facility. It’s a creepy little set piece in an otherwise horror-free novel.
The downside is that the latter half has a lot of traditional thriller tropes that feel at odds with the low-key procedural mystery up until that point. Assassins, stealthy escapes, drugged liquor, and the like all feel like something out of a bad spy story. Maybe if they had actually gone with a downer ending instead of a last-minute rescue I’d be a little more forgiving. It’s a shame this wound up being so blandly conventional when the lead-in was compelling.
Anyway, this is a decent ‘70s paranoia jam. The aspect of a woman struggling in a male-dominated field is surprisingly progressive for this kind of thing, and still relevant today. The Crichton-esque clinical approach to prose and exposition is decent, as is the unnerving hospital atmosphere. The highlight is of course the part this book is known for, the sinister coma facility. It’s a creepy little set piece in an otherwise horror-free novel.
The downside is that the latter half has a lot of traditional thriller tropes that feel at odds with the low-key procedural mystery up until that point. Assassins, stealthy escapes, drugged liquor, and the like all feel like something out of a bad spy story. Maybe if they had actually gone with a downer ending instead of a last-minute rescue I’d be a little more forgiving. It’s a shame this wound up being so blandly conventional when the lead-in was compelling.