The Syndrome (Nova Audio Books)

Rating:
Summary: Psychological Thriller, doesn't
Review: I was really hooked into this book in the beginning, however it took 3/4 of the book for anything to really start happening. With so much time spent developing the characters, the ending was anti-climactic. And, predictable. Dare I say disappointing?

I realize this is fiction, but shouldn't it seem plausible? Couldn't the bad guys have tracked them by credit card transactions? How could people on the run and in hiding have so many fancy dinners? Isn't it amazing how they escape every bad scenario without a scratch? They kept returning to locations they were known to frequent or would likely be and these places were never staked out. Why didn't Dr.Duran suffer any long term effects from having his brain messed with so substantially? Everyone is so multi-talented as to be sickening.

The premise of the book was excellent and worth the read if only to broaden your mind as to how freaky things really are in the world. But, once you get halfway through, figure it out your self and put the book in your yard sale box.

Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed the book, but could have been much shorter.
Review: Jeffrey Duran is a Psychologist that has two patients, both with severe psychological problems. One thinks he has a worm that lives in his heart, and tells him what to do... he is totally controlled by it. The other thinks that she was a victim of Satanic Ritual Abuse. Neither stories are true.
Dr. Duran also has a problem, he very rarely leaves his house, even has groceries delivered.

Friction between the SRA victim woman and her sister, her sole living family member, becomes great because of the false idea of the SRA.

The false victim kills herself, and the sister wants revenge against Duran. An assault on Durans apartment arupts while the sister is there with him, which binds them together in hiding and solving the mystery of the attack, in hiding and searching they discover the attack is part of a much bigger conspiracy involving false pasts and hypnosis mind control.

This book was wonderfully enjoyable, but enjoyment is not the only thing you take into account when reviewing a book; so let me explain why there are only three stars. The book seems to linger on the unimportant details in the beginning, before anything really starts happening, ehich stretches it out longer than it needed to be. When you read a book you are investing great amounts of sometimes precious time, so you want to get to the climax, idea, or whatever and not waste time with lenthy life stories. Anyway... if you do have plenty of time, pick up this book, a few chapters in and you will be totally immersed in the great, smart, conspiracy plot.

Rating:
Summary: Two Out of Three Isn't Bad
Review: The husband and wife team who wrote this book under the pseudonym of John Case have two excellent novels to their credit, i.e. The Gensis Code and The First Horseman. This book, while it has an excellent premise and storyline, somehow doesn't bring the story off with the usual panache as their two previous efforts. The start is quick, but after they establish that things are seldom what they seem with two of their characters, the story, to my mind, bogs down terribly while the sister of one of the story's victims tries to sort things out and understand what is going on. Well, what is going on is the evolution of mind control experiments which began back in the 50's and with the help of some experts in the field she is able to recover the identity of one of the principals in the story. The mystery being solved, the rest of the book is dedicated to getting revenge for the damage that has been caused and the pace of the action picks up considerably. It's not a bad book, but it seems to have sufferred, in this instance, from over writing. I will hope for a better result the next time these two collaberate.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, Intriguing Story But Lacks Believability
Review: The Syndrome captured my attention and lured me into an exciting story. I read it over a few days whenever I had a chance. It is a page turner.

The story involves conspiracy, secret governmental experiments on humans, assassination plots, false memory and mind control. With those topics at the center of the story, the details become blurred and the believability of the events lessens. But even so, the action is exciting, the main characters likable and not too simple, and the writing is pretty good. There are plenty of surprises.