Vital Signs

Rating:
Summary: answer pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaasee
Review: all i want to know is WHERE THE BOOK TOOK PLACE??? where did she live at the very beginning????? i read this book for american lit.....well half of it, i couldn't finish the thing in a whole month......someone PLEASE answer this!!! thanks

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant enough book, but leaves room for improvement.
Review: Although Robin Cook is a good medical thriller writer, I was a bit disappointed in this specific novel. I took an immediate dislike to the lead female character, Marissa, when she blamed her husband for being insensitive and worried about only money. I felt her attitude was insenstive as well, since her husband obviously felt uncomfortable about in-vetro fertilization and did not want to continue. I felt that she had been callous towards his feelings, and it cannot be said that he did not want any. He was even willing to adopt. The plot was a bit thin too, when it seemed a bit transparent as to why the Chinese doctors were present. As in most of his books, money played a major part in the scheme. It just took a matter of figuring out how money could be made. I would have to say that Vital Signs had not exactly matched my expectations compared to his other novels.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Although the subject matter of this book, in-vetro fertilization and the corruption of the experimental fertilization industry, is highly interesting and controversial, the book itself was a disappointment. Cook could have done so much more with such engaging and timely subject matter, yet contrary to the reviews provided on the book's back cover, the story is NOT believable (great white shark attack, Hong Kong mafia, and illegal smuggling of Chinese Buddhist monks into Australia). I found that the book was drawn out with unnecessary and boring descriptions, and plot tangents that had nothing to do with the story itself. Although it keeps the reader in mild suspense until the last pages, I thought the ending was predictable and not interesting enough to justify the time I spent to finish it. I write this review to help save others from wasting time on an only semi-interesting book. Try another of Cook's medical thrillers, this one is unfortunately a flop.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: And very predictable. I've read quite a few of Robin Cook's earlier books and this one started out promisingly enough. He does stretch credulity somewhat though when his characters break into a medical facility and are able, within minutes, to access confidential medical information on other patients.

Mr Cook is also a lot more at home in Boston. I suggest he keeps his future books located there. His bloopers regarding Australia were legion and the idea of two caucasiaan doctors going to Hong Kong with the idea of getting information from one of the triads there was naive at the very least.

I will persevere with some of Mr Cook's later books and hope that they are an improvement on 'Vital Signs'

Rating:
Summary: Good reading, except for one major problem
Review: Being a fan of medical thrillers and Robin Cook in particular I can understand the frustration som readers have felt that this book is not believable. This more than some of his later works is a fictional romp backed up with some alarming medical facts. As in all his books the premise is the same, this time a doctoe desperate for a baby is in IVF. Her rare condition turns out not to be rare. She and an old friend, another doctoe with the same condition become suspicious. What was a departure for Cook was the chase round the world as they are persued by mafia, triads and gangsters. If you read it with the understanding it is only a piece of fiction you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Fact and Fiction
Review: Being a fan of medical thrillers and Robin Cook in particular I can understand the frustration som readers have felt that this book is not believable. This more than some of his later works is a fictional romp backed up with some alarming medical facts. As in all his books the premise is the same, this time a doctoe desperate for a baby is in IVF. Her rare condition turns out not to be rare. She and an old friend, another doctoe with the same condition become suspicious. What was a departure for Cook was the chase round the world as they are persued by mafia, triads and gangsters. If you read it with the understanding it is only a piece of fiction you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Hmm...Are two stars low enough?
Review: For those of you who don't know, Vital Signs is the continuation of Cook's character Marissa Blumenthal from Outbreak.
In this novel, we find Marissa married and wanting a child. However, Marissa is barren, and it is the conspiracy behind her (and many other women's) infertility that is the basis for the rest of the novel.
First of all, Marissa's new husband received no introduction whatsoever. Not being mentioned in Outbreak, he seems like a character thrown in there to make the plot work. I hate characters like that...no soul, just a name on a piece of paper.
Second, what little personality of the characters that existed was so inconsistant from one scene to the next that it was annoying.
The plot was thrown together quite carelessly. Except for the medical knowledge present in the novel, I got the feeling that Cook didn't spend too much time worrying about trivial things as advancing a plausable plot. His characters are unbelievable...
good guys or bad.
As always, Cook's prose is awkward. Anyone should be able to tell he wasn't an English major. However, his style is easy to read, which is probably where much of his sucess stems from.
Anyway, if you want an intense read, read somethign else. If you want something to fill the time, this will do just fine.
Vital Signs is nothing spectacular (or even mediocre), but if you are bored this should cure it.

Rating:
Summary: Hmm...Are two stars low enough?
Review: For those of you who don't know, Vital Signs is the continuation of Cook's character Marissa Blumenthal from Outbreak.
In this novel, we find Marissa married and wanting a child. However, Marissa is barren, and it is the conspiracy behind her (and many other women's) infertility that is the basis for the rest of the novel.
First of all, Marissa's new husband received no introduction whatsoever. Not being mentioned in Outbreak, he seems like a character thrown in there to make the plot work. I hate characters like that...no soul, just a name on a piece of paper.
Second, what little personality of the characters that existed was so inconsistant from one scene to the next that it was annoying.
The plot was thrown together quite carelessly. Except for the medical knowledge present in the novel, I got the feeling that Cook didn't spend too much time worrying about trivial things as advancing a plausable plot. His characters are unbelievable...
good guys or bad.
As always, Cook's prose is awkward. Anyone should be able to tell he wasn't an English major. However, his style is easy to read, which is probably where much of his sucess stems from.
Anyway, if you want an intense read, read somethign else. If you want something to fill the time, this will do just fine.
Vital Signs is nothing spectacular (or even mediocre), but if you are bored this should cure it.

Rating:
Summary: This book was very exciting and interesting.
Review: From reviews that I have read on this book, many people have found this book to be not one of Mr. Cook's best book. To me this book was fascinating. To see what people would do to get money is amazing. Keep up the good work, Dr. Cook. Looking forward to reading your other work.

Rating:
Summary: Great summer reading on the beach or the plane.
Review: Great summer reading on the beach or the plane