Rating: 
Summary: Is my book missing the final chapter??
Review: I usually like Robin Cook reads so picked up this one. What a waste of money. I was disturbed and disgusted by the book disappearing into thin air. Wish I had read the reviews here before I wasted my money and time. UGH.
Rating: 
Summary: Mildly entertaining at best...
Review: If you are in a jail cell or stuck in an elevator you may want to read this. What started as a good storyline faded fast. The concept was intriguing, but frankly the finish was incredibly weak. Obviously, he was up against a deadline to finish. It is likely his worst work to date.
Rating:
Summary: If I could rate it less....believe me I would
Review: This book was so bad that upon completion (which I only managed due to the lack of alternative entertainment on a very long flight) I didn't even leave it for another traveler - I promptly threw it away. I just kept waiting for it to pull together, but sadly, it was just a really bad read.
Rating:
Summary: did Cook really write this book
Review: I own and have read every one of Robin Cook's books, some several times. They are riveting, exciting and well written.
With Shock, I was in shock. Here are two female post grads from Harvard, no less, with newly acquired Doctorates in Economics and Microbiology. Then in comes Laverne & Shirley. How Cook expected to pass this off as a well written mystery beats me, the two girls giggled, argued, made a mockery out of average intelligence(to wit, the first and only day on the job, like no one noticed they took 1/2 hour breaks every hour, met at the water fountain and disappeared with no notice) and it was supposed to be a medical mystery. The only mystery is how he managed to keep a straight face as he wrote it. Would not recommend it at all. Unless you get it free or on loan, but remember, I told you so.
Rating:
Summary: It is Laverne & Shirley!!
Review: I should have listened to the reviewer who pegged this book as a lost episode of Laverne and Shirley.
The story line is weak, the characters have a mental age of about 9 and are driven to face danger without enough apparent motivation (sort of like robbing a bank for lunch money).
What drivel.
Avoid this book unless you get the audio book from the library and want a laugh while driving to work.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most ineptly written books of all time
Review: I've read most of Robin Cook's earlier novels and enjoyed them immensely, despite his tendency to send protagonists on foolish, "Nancy Drew"-style amateur investigations. This one, sadly, is far below Cook's usual standard. If a lesser-known writer had produced this, it would never have been published.
Rating:
Summary: Shock - ingly Bad!
Review: The title Cook gave this novel was "Shock". The title should have been "Laverne & Shirley Meet Dr. Frankenstein". If this novel was translated to the screen without major dialog modifications, I suggest it be done as a comedic farce. The female lead characters are at once Ph.D. candidates yet devoid of any common sense, planning ability or street smarts. At no time was this reader ever concerned about either heroine [the gene pool would have improved without these two ditzes in it]. The "menacing" staff at Wingate were uniformly two-dimensional and about as scary as last year's Halloween costumes. To make up for the stringy and fragile plot, Cook bores the reader incessantly with long-winded descriptions of barely relevant scene, building and equipment details. {A Reader's Digest condensed version of this novel would contain half the words without degrading this story.} I hadn't read a Cook novel for years and the contrast between this one and, for example, Coma is striking. Cook needs a new editor who will prod him to write well again or suggest he take a sabbatical or try a new career.
Rating:
Summary: Shock-ingly awful
Review: I have been a huge fan of Cook for a long time, but I probably won't pick up his next book. Shock was an absoultely appaling novel. There are so many things wrong with this book that it is difficult to know where to begin. I guess perhaps the compelte implausibility of the plot would be a start. I can't believe Cook thought anyone would buy this story. I have worked in human resource positions, and there are very few laboratories or clinics that would hire new employees without verifying Social Security numbers (I would say none do, but I'm sure I could be proven wrong). The ridiculous nature of the story simply continues from there. My second huge complaint is the dialogue, especially between the two graduate students at the center of the novel. I don't know any graduate students who talk in the stilted, superficial way these two characters do. What ever happened to spontaneity? Slang? CONJUNCTIONS???? The dialogue is horrid! I can't remember the last time I read something so uncreative. Finally, is the buzz I hear about a sequel true? God forbid! If a publisher has agreed to a sequel to this book, I won't feel sorry if they go under in the future. Editors and publishers are supposed to protect us from drivel like this, not inflict it upon us. DON'T read this book. Read one of Cook's earlier works, like Coma or Fever, even Toxin for that matter. You'll be much better off.
Rating:
Summary: I cannot believe this book ever got printed
Review: Facile, predictable and badly written. This possibly the worst book I have ever read. A poorly educated teenager with a medical dictionary could have done a better job.
Rating:
Summary: This robin's nest should be cooked.
Review: Shock was terribly terribly sad. What a waste of trees. I can't believe that there is a supposedly sequel to this story that went from bad to worse and ended terribly. This was my second Robin Cook misfire. I will not repeat this mistake again. I'm sure there are people who enjoy his books, but I am not one of them. What a waste of time and energy. I love to read and was therefore gravely disappointed. :(
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