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Summary: Action-Packed Page Turner
Review: This Book is great. Cobra Event is loaded with action. It has a very realistic plotline and by realistic I mean that it is something that could very well take place in real life. Preston did a ton of research for the book with experts in various fields at the FBI, the CDC, and other places. This book is great and I would highly recommend it.
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Summary: Not bad but not a novel.
Review: As others have recommended, perhaps Preston should stick to non-fiction because this does not read like a novel at all. Where he tries those things fiction is supposed to have-- like characterization-- this gets bad, but otherwise it has many interesting aspects. If you what a book about the effects of biological warfare try Bob Mayer's book titled simply "Z". More realistic and the action scenes are much better. Mayer is a former special operations officer who knows what he's talking about.
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Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: This story struck me as an adolescent-like attempt to impress with excessive amounts of blood and gore. The plot itself was simplistic. The characters were fairly interesting and likable. But the only good thing going for this book was the action filled conclusion. Still, not worth wading through the main body of the story to get to the end. This book was wildly different from Preston's first book, The Hot Zone and a big disappointment
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Summary: Nobody does disease like Richard Preston
Review: I couldn't put this book down, until the author shifted focus from the disease to the final chase of the culprit. When describing the creation and spread of the new malady, Richard Preston at times gets gruesomely graphic but always keeps the reader moving along a complex, surprising and fast-paced trail. Things only slowed in the final few chapters when the cause and spread of the illness has been established and Preston turns his attention to (uninteresting) characters and chase scenes. Still, just as fascinating and scary as the nonfiction Hot Zone.
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Summary: Cobra Event doesn't measure up
Review: I really looked forward to reading Cobra Event after having read Hot Zone and I am still looking forward to reading First Light. I applaud Richard Preston for the research necessary to write a book of this kind. However, I feel Mr. Preston would do well to stick to non-fiction. Cobra Event bordered at times on being just plain silly.
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Summary: A good read, but the plot is too simple.
Review: Richard Preston has returned to what he is best at: scaring his readers with things unseen. He has moved from the nonfictional 'Hot Zone' to the fictional 'Cobra Event', combining the style of the 'Zone' with his imagination. Once picked up, the book is hard to put down before reaching its' end. The story is too simple somehow, the plot is too predictable, the reader is hooked more by the question of how the author manages to outdo the latest bloody details than by how the situation will be solved. The atmosphere in the final chapters seems to stem from the reliquary - why remains to be seen by the readers. The end is quite unsatisfying, because contrary to their former doings people start acting illogical, the outcome is surprising, though.Anybody who liked 'Hot Zone' and Lincoln/Preston's 'Mount Dragon' can buy this book without hesitation.
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Summary: STUPENDOUSLY CHILLING
Review: I have some professional experience with viruses, and I think Mr. Preston has a pretty good idea about what he's writing. His development of the virus was superb, his characters were somewhat abbreviated but pretty cool for scientists, and the action was exhausting. This was a non-stop, edge-of-your-seat thriller; I will never look at the subway system in the same way. You never know what that "nice man next door" is up to, do you? A must-read for anybody who likes thrills, chills, and a hint of terrifying spills!!!
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Summary: The Cobra Event educates while entertaining.
Review: The Cobra Event is worthwhile science fiction because of Richard Preston's obvious understanding of science and his ability to communicate about real, cutting-edge scientific activity well enough to educate while entertaining. There also is impressive evidence of real research. On one level, this is the sort of book that ought to be included in high school science courses, because it teaches about science and scientists (as does The Hot Zone) in ways that offer young students a glimpse of what scientific careers are all about. At another level, of course, it's an enlightening illustration of the possibilities today when science goes astray.
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Summary: Another well written thriller from Preston
Review: It's great to see Richard's writing style improve even more. Can't wait for his future works. And enthusiasts should try "American Steel" for a fascinating look into the gritty, dangerous business of steel production. The author approaches technical research in non-fiction like Tom Clancy does in his techno-thriller works.
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Summary: Not suitable for weak stomaches!
Review: This book is absolutely GREAT! It got me up and jumping around the room while I read it. It really is as thrilling as they tell you on the back of the paperback (which I bought at my local bookshop and really seems to be available). The virus is wonderfully horrifying, and the way Preston describes it is just great. I already thought he was a great non-fiction writer when I read The Hot Zone (the book that got me hooked on viruses in the first place), but with this book, he shows he can write thrillers as well as his brother Douglas Preston, who wrote Mount Dragon, The Relic and Reliquary together with Lincoln Child. The only minor point of the novel is the unnecessary love-story between Alice Austen and ... (if you want to know who, you'll have to read the book! I won't tell you!), which is quite predictable and which doesn't go very deep. The novel would have worked as well without it. Maybe even better, as Alice Austen might be seen as an example of Girl-Power, the popular saying the Spice Girls advertise with, and she really doesn't need a man. I would recommend this book to anyone who is into viruses, biotechnology, or just thrillers with psychopaths in it. GREAT!!!
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