Rating: 
Summary: Wickedly Cool Cover
Review: I bought this one on cover originality alone. Nah, seriously I've had this on the bookshelf for a couple years, and that damn cover kept glaring at me to read it. Good thriller, although I wish the bad guy had more background and story time. A bit unplausible toward the end, it was still money well spent, and still better than anything at your local cineplex.
Rating:
Summary: Who Sneezed?
Review: A lot of times when I read a medical thriller, I always tend to get a little paranoid. Every cough, sniffle, or sneeze takes on serious overtones. I think of books like this one, where millions became very sick or even die, and get antsy. I also start to think of the possible implications of going out to a movie, a concert, or any other place where large groups of people gather. I'm a student at a large university, and people are ALWAYS spreading around some illness or another there. Therefore, these types of books scare me more than most horror/suspense/psychological novels do. "The First Horseman" is one of these scary books. The author of "The First Horseman," John Case, is actually a pseudonym for a husband and wife team. They haven't written a lot of books, but this one must be one of their best.The story incorporates several real life events into a fictional account about a potential viral Armageddon. The story starts out with an unusual incident in the backwaters of North Korea, where a small village suffers a high death toll from a strange illness that causes its victims to turn blue and suffer a host of ills before they die. A doctor from the capital, Pyongyang, visits and cryptically refers to the "Spanish Lady" before he leaves. One of the villagers, while out collecting wood for dinner (this is North Korea, after all), witnesses the destruction of the village by North Korean military officials. His defection to South Korea and his report of the incident set off a high level investigation involving the CIA, the FBI, and various intelligence services. Caught up in the unfolding events is Frank Daly, a reporter form the Washington Post on a one year assignment to a specialist magazine, and Annie Adair, a scientist who is on a mission to excavate some Norwegian miners buried in the Arctic Circle in order to look for traces of the influenza pandemic of 1918. Also emerging into the storyline is Solange, the mysterious leader of a religious cult called, "The Temple of Light." The resulting story lines are all weaved together into a taut, suspenseful thriller that kept me captivated until the last page. Although the cover of my copy of the book says this is a novel of suspense, it is more than that. It is also a book about journalism. A good portion of the book is about Frank Daly investigating a story. We see how a journalist works to uncover facts. Frank makes phone calls to sources, digs through satellite images, tracks down names and numbers, wrestles with his publisher and his expense account, and occasionally deals with dangerous people who wish he would quit digging around where he's not wanted. For some reason, I kept picturing Daly as a certain Fox News channel talk show host-persistent, unflappable, and with a swaggering sense of humor. I guess most journalists have that type of commitment to their stories, but I couldn't shake the image. Character development in "The First Horseman" is uneven. Daly is drawn well, with good background into his childhood and his interaction with other characters. The Annie character is not as well done. I didn't seem to have the connection with her I got from Daly. Annie is supposed to be this brilliant, big shot scientist but she comes across as a shy, giggling teenybopper type. She's always blushing about something and always putting her foot in her mouth about something she says or does. Solange, the cult leader, is portrayed as a psycho with little development outside torturing someone or giving orders to people. I still got a thrill out of this book and found it difficult to put down. Not only does it have a novel type of torture (shook up Pepsi shot through someone's nose!) but it also moves at a fast pace, which is essential for a thriller. If you like thrillers, especially of the bioterror/medical type, pick up this book and give it a go.
Rating: 
Summary: A story that hits home
Review: The second book by the team of Carolyn and Jim Hougan writing under the name of John Case is just as enthralling as the NY Times bestseller The Genesis Code. Any good thriller needs to have a believability or a basis in fact. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, this applies to The First Horseman.
Rating: 
Summary: Creapy Realism
Review: Looking for a truly frightening ride? This book is just as scary as the Haunted Mansion, but with the effort of a merry-go-round. Case's book, "The First Horseman" is a bioterrorism thriller. The best part of this book-- making the whole ordeal worth reading-- is it's conclusion. Although the ending was not as surprising as his "The Genisis Code", Case ties the fictional events of his story so well to reality, I found myself surfing the internet for evidence to prove his story was just a story. This book is an easy read and isn't very complicated, but it's interesting and exciting. You're left feeling insecure about your existence on this planet and insecure about the power of the government.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed but Interesting
Review: First Horseman is a fast read with an interesting plot line, but the story is flawed by the occasional irrational action by the main character. Luckily the author is able to keep the story going with enough twists that he almost makes up for the stupidity of his lead. If you want a light read on the timely topic of bacterial/germ warfare, this is not a bad start.
Rating:
Summary: A Book For The Times
Review: A deadly virus is about to be unleashed on the world. Journalist Frank Daly is gathering the clues. This story certainly strikes a chord at this particular time. The reader needs to be a little patient in the beginning, but the story soon starts to pick up pace. A scary scenario, but a story well told and timely.
Rating: 
Summary: Hasty ending
Review: Sure the book was interesting and even exciting at first, but when the plot starts to unfold, it seems that the author lost interest in writing and decided to end the book quickly. The book leaves you with a cheated feeling after finishing. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone except to readers especially interested in the "global destruction - good guy versus bad guy" kind of books.
Rating:
Summary: Sure Case is no Vonnegut...
Review: But so what. I've read both his books (and am looking forward to #3) and they both have been fun. He does a good job of research and has a decent enough writing style. I've loved the way he has dealt with relationships in both books as well, just plain leaving it out of Genisis and playing it down here. I did think the ending was a little anti-climatic, but I may have just been disappointed that the book was done. I really liked the last paragraph. So my suggestion, is if you are looking for a thriller, then read it. It's much better than the books churned out by most of the current crop of mystery/thriller writers.
Rating:
Summary: If you're going to choose mainstream
Review: If you're going to skip the classics and look for a mainstream type of book you might as well look for something by John case. I find his books to be a step above your everyday Grisham and James Patterson novels. This book touches on a very real and dangerous topic in today's world. Biochemical warfare is not talked about much by the government because the results of which would be devastating. Overall with all the books i've ever read I would probably drop this rating to a three.... but I choose to rate books based on the type of books they are; this would make a good tavel type of book.
Rating:
Summary: Good book!
Review: This book is excellent. I couldn't stop reading it. The entire plot seems split so far apart that it wouldn't ever make sense, and when it does, you're on the edge of your seat reading until you finish it! I also recommend The Genesis Code!
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