Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book was assigned for my terrorism that I'm taking in college. I'm really glad that I read it. It will definatly make you think of all the possibitys that are out there about biological/chemical agents. You need to read past about the first 100 pages to really get into the story.
Rating: 
Summary: gripping at first, last third is a letdown.
Review: The strength of Richard Preston's THE COBRA EVENT lies with how informative it is: it's obvious Preston did his research very thoroughly. One learns how the CDC in Atlanta and the Federal authorities might deal with such a bio-terrorist situation. *SPOILERS BELOW* From a storytelling perspective, the books starts off very well. But by the last third I felt the narrative didn't live up to what was setup in the first two thirds of the book. I guess I was hoping for somethiing much more horrific and on a massive scale. Also the section where the characters were chasing the villian through the subway system was just tiring and cliched. But the major strength of this book lies in its implications: the most horrible weapon won't fall from the sky. It'll be spread silently without anyone knowing about it. That's reason enough to read this book. One can only imagine how former President Clinton reacted to this book (it's rumored he started a special White House commission after reading it). Recommended for folks into thrillers with an international bent as well. FYI: Ehren Kruger, screenwriter of ARLINGTON ROAD, adpated this into a screenplay -- another reason why I read this. Don't know what happened with it -- probably stuck Development Hell in Hollywood.
Rating: 
Summary: A bad ending ruins the book
Review: Preston must have been in a hurry to end the book, so absurd is the ending. Preston should write non-ficition about the subject and not pretend to be a fiction author.
Rating:
Summary: Hang on--Its One Hell of a Ride!
Review: From the first to the last page, Mr. Preston grabs the reader and doesn't let go. He strikes the chord of terror and reality in having dangerous biological weapons dispersed throughout America's metropolis--New York City by a lunatic mad man. Its a race against a biological holocaust that is qucikly ticking to detonation. Spies, viruses, danger, and intrigue all make this a first rate novel. Readers should also check out Preston's "The Hot Zone."
Rating: 
Summary: Fiction that Reads Like Non-Fiction
Review: This is the case of a good story with not-so-good execution. Preston is not a fiction writer, and it shows. While the plot is great and the characters intriguing, it's very jarring to suddenly have Preston (as there is no real "narrator") explain something directly to the reader. There are those who can do this well, and those who can't. I enjoyed the story, but would have liked for it to "feel" like a novel. Instead, it felt like a documentary non-fiction book. Would I recommend this book to others? Probably, with the reservations noted above. Would I read it again? Probably not. I prefer my thrillers to read like thrillers and not "pull me out" of the fictional world every few pages. On the whole, I give it 3 1/2 stars, if that was an option. Not too great as a "novel," but a good account of a biohazard event. Entertaining and interesting, but it was very hard to stay involved in the story when the author couldn't stay involved in it himself. Richard Preston is a good writer, and his books are generally good. If you like bio-medical thrillers, you'll probably like Cobra Event, but be aware that it's not the best book in its field.
Rating:
Summary: Cobra Event is a Smahing Success
Review: This ia a book that grabs and doesn't let go until the last page!Suspense, character development are all in large doses for ages teen to fifty-something folks.. Enjoy this book and share it only as you are ending it or you will be fighting over who reads next..
Rating:
Summary: Ok but....
Review: I actually stopped really reading this book after the autopsy-part. I love to read gory sci-fi/horrorbooks, one of my favorite books is Brite's Exquisite Corpse, but in this book the overtly detailed autopsy just didn't feel right here. It felt like those Faces of Death-videos. or rotten.com. This outshines Hannibal (which wasn't that gory after all :) ) I did flip through the "History"-parts though. :-D
Rating:
Summary: a great buildup towards a disappointing finish
Review: The first 80% of the novel is quite good and a real page-turner, and I do not doubt that the story line is realistic (I'm a grad student in Microbiology). However, the end of the story is contrived and very unsatisfying -- I won't give it away, but it is a 'deus ex machina' sort of ending. Put another way, if 'Silence of the Lambs' had such a plot structure, Hannibal would have been caught and executed, and all would have lived happily ever after -- end of story. Watch '12 Monkeys' instead....
Rating:
Summary: Sobering entertainment that illustrates human vulnerability
Review: Richard Preston's bio-terror thriller shocks, informs, and clarifies as it demonstrates how vulnerable humans are as a species to nefarious techies (or socio-paths, paranoic schizophrenics, or eco-terrorists)that have a whim to decimate the human population using genetically engineered viruses. Were it no so plausible given the growing number of conscience-less weirdo's, it would be the most adreneline pumping tome I have read. The sobering matters with which it deals limits the thrill for me. The plot and characterization are fairly well done, though it is strongest where Preston was brilliant in The Hot Zone: expository material in a narrative context. His style is transparent, nearly without exception, making it a good day's read.
Rating:
Summary: You need to read this book!
Review: Yes, this is the book that caused Bill Clinton to finally realize how real the threat of a bio-strike is on the United States. Too bad this realization didn't come from hearing his advisors but from a book of fiction. Keep in mind, that if this book had such a profound effect on a president, imagine the effect on you. You will come to realize how truly probable a bio-strike is in the near future. The book is unsettling only because it is all too real. True, it is fiction but it isn't far from the truth at all.
| 
