Pandemic: A Novel
Written by Robin Cook
Narrated by George Guidall
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
New York Times-bestselling author Robin Cook takes on the cutting-edge world of gene-modification in this pulse-pounding new medical thriller.
When an unidentified, seemingly healthy young woman collapses suddenly on the New York City subway and dies upon reaching the hospital, her case is an eerie reminder for veteran medical examiner Jack Stapleton of the 1918 flu pandemic. Fearful of a repeat on the one hundredth anniversary of the nightmarish contagion, Jack autopsies the woman within hours of her demise and discovers some striking anomalies: first, that she has had a heart transplant, and second, that, against all odds, her DNA matches that of the transplanted heart.
Although the facts don't add up to influenza, Jack must race against the clock to identify the woman and determine what kind of virus could wreak such havoc—a task made more urgent when two other victims succumb to a similar rapid death. But nothing makes sense until his investigation leads him into the fascinating realm of CRISPR/CAS9, a gene-editing biotechnology that's captured the imagination of the medical community. . . and the attention of its most unethical members. Drawn into the dark underbelly of the organ transplant market, Jack will come face-to-face with a megalomaniacal businessman willing to risk human lives in order to conquer a lucrative new frontier in medicine—and if Jack's not careful, the next life lost might be his own.
Robin Cook
Doctor and author Robin Cook is widely credited with introducing the word ‘medical’ to the thriller genre, and decades after the publication of his 1977 breakthrough novel, Coma, he continues to dominate the category he created. Cook has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce over thirty international bestsellers, including Outbreak, Terminal, Contagion, Chromosome 6, Foreign Body, Intervention and Cure.
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Reviews for Pandemic
36 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pandemic, Robin Cook, author, George Guidall, narratorRobin Cook has chosen a terrific narrator to read this medical mystery featuring the medical examiner, husband and wife team of Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery. This is book number11 in the series about them. George Guidall, the narrator, is a very good interpreter of characters and his reading and portrayal of each one is excellent.Laurie is now the Chief Medical Examiner which makes her Jack’s boss. Jack was married before, but his family was killed in a plane crash. He and Laurie have two children together. Their daughter has recently been diagnosed with autism which Laurie’s mother blames on vaccinations. Jack cannot understand how she can tell two doctors that it is caused by something that has been refuted. The presence of this busybody relative, in their home, distresses him. When a woman suddenly dies on a subway in Brooklyn, for an unknown reason, after the sudden onset of symptoms, Jack throws himself into finding the cause of death in order to avoid going home to deal with his mother-in-law and his numerous problems. The presence of a tattoo indicates the victim is possibly gay, but her identity is unknown. She has had a recent heart transplant, but the autopsy reveals that she is not on any immunosuppressant drugs and other than this recent illness, has recovered and was quite healthy. Because there are so many unknowns, including the victim’s name, Jack fears a possible pandemic in the making.As all known viruses are quickly ruled out, Jack begins to investigate further, visiting the medical center that had been responsible for her care and that had removed her body. He discovers a very successful Chinese business man is running the whole operation in his beautiful new hospital and research facility. Since China is in the news currently, as an unfair business partner, the plot fits right in with today’s politics.Jack must find out the origin and identity of this fast-acting, life-threatening virus. There is no known treatment or cure, as yet. Laurie, however, is calling the shots, and she seems more consumed with the politics of the problem than with the solution. Jack is afraid that there will be more sudden deaths of otherwise healthy people. He wants the authorities notified, but Laurie balks. Will publicity cause a panic? What if it is a false alarm?When the news of this unknown virus is leaked to the press, Jack Stapleton is the sacrificial lamb. He had teased a new medical technician who was incompetent, and he, believing the false narrative that Jack had told him, has leaked the phony information to the press, causing a panic and the city to shut down. Jack is placed on administrative leave by none other than his wife and boss because the mayor needs a fall guy to blame for the costly false alarm.When Jack discovers the horrifying reasons for the additional number of deaths, he confronts the doctors at the new facility in New Jersey, built by the mega rich Chinese businessman, where the first victim was treated. Soon it appears that Jack may be in great danger because he knows too much and will not cooperate. The story doesn’t end in a very satisfying way, but up until the end, when it gets not quite believable, it has the potential to be good for a vacation read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I always like Robin Cook's books---they are fast paced and I like how you move along with the main character's days and thinking, almost minute by minute. It works for me--along with the medical issues Cook continually raises, even with his, of course, novel-fiction-based approach to the ideas.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The premise of this book is good, the execution not so much, which is a shame considering Robin Cook's early books were good. I used to find Jack Stapleton's quirky and sarcastic manner made for an interesting character, however in this book he seems to be more portrayed as unable to cope with the adversity in his life and instead lashes out at others. Then there's Laurie, his wife, who used to be a capable, if a little neurotic, pathologist with a tenacity that had previously uncovered several mysterious, here in this book she's portrayed as the bitchy administrator who doesn't much care about the stress her mother moving into the home of her, her husband and two children is causing. Or that her mother peddles absurd crap like their kid being autistic because he was vaccinated, and her proof is a psychiatrist of all things, the follow up being that it's Laurie's fault for being a pathologist which involves being around chemicals.Once the story gets going it's alright however the attitude of Laurie seems to pervade most actions in the book, and what was once fun authority challenging banter and maneuvering between the ex-boss Bingham and Jack, now just seems awkward and seems to diminish one characters at the expense of the other.Definitely not a highlight of the series, which is a bit sad considering there was some good material there to work with, it does make me wonder if it was ghost written as it seemed to lack the usual Cook pizzazz. Although that being said I did note the author managed to slip in the usual railing against corporate involvement in the health sector which is a common theme in Cook books. You'd be better off reading Contagion for a good Cook virus novel.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A good story which was slow and uncaptivating. A medical examiner investigates a few sudden deaths of young people. While he doesn't discover an epidemic he does uncover a secretive Chinese organization growing human organs in an unconventional way. I had to discipline myself to finish this book. Again, the plot and story was good, but the writing was blah and seemed to be missing something. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While the story was ok, the title certainly was misleading. The story was about disease that was mistaken for a possible pandemic. There really was no chance of a pandemic occurring. It was more a story concerning gene manipulation. Overall a disappointment
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At the start of the story, I believe Cook was trying to illustrate the difficulty of government red tape... IT MOVED LIKE A SNAIL! The characters are interesting (to quote Jack) - so I persevered. The end result was good.
Not his typical medical horror with screaming and bleeding and dying... but it was still horrifying! Something tipped me early as to where this was going- maybe just a large number of Robin Cook books. Still good. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it presented many problems and did not resolve any of them.