Rating: 
Summary: This is a badly written pseudo-thriller.
Review: Cook really stumbled on this one. "Vector" is a badly written, derivative book about bioterrorism in Manhattan. The plot of bad guys releasing deadly bacteria or viruses in Manhattan has been done before, but much more skillfully. In this novel, the characters are poorly developed stereotypes. The villains have IQs ranging from 50-70; their stupidity is incredible. The book is so bad that it is unintentionally hilarious. Cook's dialogue is ridiculously stilted. He should have buried this one instead of publishing it. How long will authors get by on the strength of their reputations until the public gets wise? Cook should be ashamed of himself for having written this terrible novel.
Rating: 
Summary: coincedences galore
Review: This novel is a good quick read. It was amazing though, in the big city of New York, how often when something major happened to a character, that person just happened to be related to a good friend of the main character Jack. If that was not the case, this story collapses. I find that just a little to hard to swallow to make this a great book. The story doesn't flow but feels 'set up' because of all the coincedences involved in the unraveling of the plot line.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment from a great author.
Review: I have read every book that Robin Cook has ever written and I must say that he is one of my most favorite authors. He has been able to delve into current medical technology and produce frightening scenarios to thrill all of his readers. Unfortunately, his latest novel is both unoriginal and poorly developed. Both John F. Case (The First Horseman) and Richard Preston (The Cobra Event), have written current novels exploring the possibility of a terrorist attack using biological weaponry within the United States. Both of the novels dealt with the same topic as did Vector yet they were more original and better developed. While Robin Cook is lacking in the development of the overall story, he is also lacking in character development. Jack and Laurie have been popular characters and have appeared in many Cook novels yet we never see a change in either the perspective of the characters or in their relationship. I hope that Robin Cook's next book is not as big a disappoint as this one. If he chooses to steal a theme from other authors he should at least attempt to expand on their ideas and improve upon them. He should not release a shoddy imitation. If readers are interested in the topic of bio-weaponry I strongly recommed both John Case and Richard Preston.
Rating:
Summary: Parallel between Cook/Preston
Review: Just a quick comment. I've just finished reading "Cobra Event" by Richard Preston. When reading the synopsis for "Vector," I thought I was reading the description of "Cobra Event." The storylines are basically identical (psychotic disgruntled foreign doctor threatens NYCity and the rest of the world with a genetically altered virus). I enjoy reading both authors novels, but please, I don't enjoy reading the same book twice.
Rating: 
Summary: You Just Can't Put It Down!
Review: Whenever you think Robin Cook just can't get any better . . . Vector comes along. Vector is a masterfully coordinated plot, quite possibly his best yet. We find ourselves back in Dr. Jack Stapleton's and Dr. Laurie Montgomery's daily lives (Blindsight, Contagion, Chromosome 6). They find themeselves facing tomorrows terror: Bioweapons. Just when you think Cook can't get any better than Toxin, he gets better. Cook never loses his touch. Don't wait for the paperback, grab this one right off the shelves! Vector is fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: Cook remains the master chef of medical thrillers
Review: Many Russians immigrate to the United States, seeking a slice of the American dream. However, most of them end up being disappointed and disillusioned with capitalism and democracy. Cabby Yuri Davydos is one lost soul who is thoroughly disgusted with the so-called "good life." He plans to return to Russia, but before leaving, Yuri intends to make America pay for destroying his hopes and dreams by using the knowledge of his old job back home. He will grow and release Anthrax in Central Park. The Neo-Nazi People's Aryan Army helps Yuri because they plan to set loose the Anthrax in the Jacob Javits Federal Building. This group feels the Federal government is a criminal element stomping all over the Constitution. Two People stand in the way of Yuri and compatriots succeeding. All Dr. Jack Stepleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery have to do is live long enough to stop the terrorists. Internationally renowned Robin Cook has been recognized for two decades as one of the reigning monarchs of the medical thriller. His latest entry, VECTOR, shows the grandmaster still has the regal touch as he delivers a blistering commentary about arms dealers, biological weapons, and self-righteous terrorists within an exciting story line. The characters, who were last seen in CHROMOSOME 6, remain likable and genuine as they struggle with everyday problems and insecurities while coping with what could become a medical emergency. This is a one-sitting, superb story that shall Cook's myriad of fans Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Vector
Review: When I decided to return to the arena of medical thrillers for some summer escapism, I figured: what better author to return to than the king of the subgenre, Robin Cook, who thrilled me with Coma so many years ago? And in truth, Vector is a lively read. But it has a few problems. This story lets you peek at both the machinations of the bad-guys--in this case, a disillusioned Russian emigre to the U.S. who has forged a sinister alliance with an extreme right-wing organization called the People's Aryan Army--as they cook up a plan, and the ingredients to unleash anthrax and botulinum threats in New York, while also checking in thoroughly with our hero, Jack Stapleton of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who, through his gruesome work, unknowingly comes across hints that terrorism is fermenting around him. This means that there is not much mystery to the story, of the superb type I recall from Coma. We have, layed out for us, all aspects of what's going on, and most of the suspense derives from the reader knowing of dangers that Jack does not know, or can't seem to figure out fast enough to save hundreds of thousands in the Big Apple, smart and intrepid though he may be. Thankfully, he gets some help and inspiration from various associates, among them Laurie Montgomery, who unsettles him when she introduces her to dashing Paul Sutherland, new love of her life (thus is the romantic triangle subplot spring upon us--although, call it a love trapezoid, as we have another fella named Lou, likeable Doctor-guy, also pining for Laura). But the romantic dithering is a less than satisfying aspect of the novel, as is the book's final stages, where a clever bit of surprise-inclusion comes in tandem with a rather dull final confrontation between heroes and villains, in terms of action and all-out excitement. Anthrax and botulinum do come across as very nasty weapons when in the hands of terrorists, in this story. Jack Stapleton is a character with scads of moxey--bucking proper process and putting his job in the line to follow up slim clues that a few seemingly random deaths point to a ticking clock of certain doom--and I like his style (especially on a bicycle immersed in New York city traffic while a small army of gun-toting terrorists are pulling up beside him, or when talking cool at the point of a pistol held by a paranoid bioweapons expert in a room loaded with anthrax spores). But everything is so obvious to the reader, that I kept hoping for something to leap out of nowhere and shake up the story. I also felt that the story hinged on a few big coincidences--and besides that, didn't generate the kind of heart-stopping suspense a first-rate medical thriller could do. But it was a fun read, in an unnerving kind of way, and it was a treat to return to Robin Cook's work after so many years; I had been quite frightened by the film Coma as a youngster and eventually went on to read the book. Vector is too open and obvious in its machinations to compete with that earlier, chilling story, but it has its moments.
Rating: 
Summary: relevant to today
Review: This book was amidst several books another booklover passed on to me. I hadn't read his books before and for some reason I have been blessed with several of them from different people lately and as I am a booklover, I appreciated them all. The book was written in 1999 and was eerily prophetic to what happened on 9-11 in 2001, so it held my interest. Of course, it is a different tale altogether, but still there is a similarity. Yuri Davydov, a Russian taxi driver, who emmigrated to the U.S. to find the good life is very disillusioned at the failed promises of what he thinks the "Jewish media" (his paranoid delusion) had promised for those coming to America. He can't find a better job than that of driving a taxi. He had worked in a Bioweapons factory in Russia and figured he deserved better. He hooks up with a couple of white Aryans of the radical right militia belief who want to destroy the "the Zionist government" and are extremely prejudiced against anyone not white, etc. They concoct a plan that the Aryans will supply Yuri with the materials and he would develop anthrax and a botulinum toxin. Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, who are both in the pathologist forensics department, are presented with two separate cases that are seemingly unrelated until further investigation. His case is the death of a man from anthrax and her case is about a young man that has been killed in a horrible manner as a result of what looks like his connection to a neo/Nazi gang. I thought it was a rather interesting story and made me wonder at what causes so many evil thoughts and feelings in people that they would want to do such cruel and inhumane actions. It also makes you wonder about the scientists that develop these weapons and if they ever feel guilty about their satanic projects. The book makes you think and kept my interest to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Good... but not great
Review: Yuri Davydov is a disillusioned cab driver in NYC with unused skills in biotechnology. He's decided that the "American Dream" is all a bad joke and he'd rather return to Russia and take his chances there. He teams up with some white supremacists to unleash bioweapons (anthrax and botulism) upon the Zionist citizens of New York City. Dr. Jack Stapleton is a medical examiner with a sad past who stumbles upon some unusual cases and becomes wrapped up in trying to prevent the impending disaster. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, some parts of which were rather tense and exciting. The romantic subplot between Jack and Dr. Laurie Montgomery was a bit tiresome, however, and some of the wording sounded downright "cheesy." And while the white supremacist characters were thoroughly despicable and constantly spouting rote propaganda lines, I found myself feeling sympathetic toward the Russian cab driver (even though he was plotting an attack!). The surprise ending was quite satisfying, however. I listened to this book on CD and was rather impressed with the many accents and voices the reader used (I may have misspelled some names above because of that). And while I wasn't totally impressed with this book (I think it's the first of Mr. Cook's books that I've read) I'll probably read another by the author. It wasn't perfect but it was kind of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Ruined by the author's heavy-handed personal agendas
Review: This is an amazing book! From start to finish it's an interesting read. The ending will surprise any reader. I recommend this book to any Robin Cook fan, or anybody interested in reading one of his book and doesn't know where to start. This is definatley one of his best (if not his best.)
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