Acceptable Risk

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing plot--didn't live up to promise
Review: The more Robin Cook books I read, the more disappointed I get. This one is at the bottom of my list. The historical story providing the plot (the Salem witchcraft events were caused by poioning) is intriguing and, as his bibliography idicates, has some merit. However, he doesn't do it justice. Instead, he veers off into the predictable--the bad guys are all punished, and Our Little Heroine (Kim) comes away with Deep Insight into herself. Not to mention being reunited with her ex-boyfriend. It makes me a little nervous to think that Robin Cook is a doctor, considering his lack on insight into how people, particularly women, truly interact. At the beginning, Kim breaks things off with Kinnard (the ex she's reunited with at the end) because he skis and fishes. Yep, those are good reasons to me. On top of the unrealistic characters, there is the problem with the truly awful, wooden dialogue. No one talks like the characters do, not even the most pompous egotist. And things pretty much go down hill from there. It's a shame, because the premise of the book (both the historical aspects that the events in Salem in 1692 were due to ergot poisoning and the questions he raises about all problems being solved by popping a pill) are intriguing. The book just doesn't live up to its promise.

Rating:
Summary: Average COok, but it's marvellous to read
Review: This is a typical Cook book, but only this time he crated a sort of historical plot, verging on the famous Witch Hunt of Salem. By the middle of the book, much of the impact is lost, but anyway it is a good fun-reading.

Rating:
Summary: Page After Page to the end
Review: I read Acceptable Risk and found the book entertaining (the main reason I buy fiction..excapism).There are facinating explanations with refrence to the Salam Witch Trials. I had absolutly no interest in this part of history before, the background facts I appreciat! This book is at times TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE! But HELLO it's FICTION! I disagree with some of the other reviews, I think that it gives you a good read and offers you with a point to ponder as to resonable explanations to the past. But I did not find the charcters overly interesting, although I enjoyed other mentioned elements to this book. This book is different from other Cook books I have read. I appreciate this that way Cook keeps his style (which I love ) but explores his art in the characters (which i did not love). Give him a break at the book had low points but it did give us wonderful highs in Cook fashion. I am glad he had a new book out so I could read it, regaurdless of some faults it is worth the dollars you spend on it.

Rating:
Summary: great mix of past and present
Review: This is my favorite Robin Cook novel, mainly for the blending of science and history. Starting in the 1690s, with a twist on the cause of the Salem With Trials, it moves into the present with a comparable story of scientists exploring a supposedly 'perfect' drug that could eliminate depression. Cook raises a great issue with the idea of a 'happy pill' that negates the idea of personal self-examination -- just take the pill, and all your problems are solved. Of course, being a thriller, that doesn't happen. I found the characters to be more sympathetic and real than in some of Cook's other work. I also liked the historical research of Kim into her ancestor Elizabeth's trial and execution in the 1690s, and Kim's discovery of the irrefutable 'evidence' of witchcraft used to convict Elizabeth. I also enjoyed the suspense and the moral component at the end.

Rating:
Summary: wish i could unread it
Review: I'll be patient with almost anything with a germ of a good idea, and i thought lab analysis of hallucinogenic mold as an explanation for the witch trials was compelling...together with the pharmaceutical industry, new drug development plot deal...but this book is refried reefer madness (remember? smoke pot and you'll murder the neighbors)...utterly ridiculous, offensive, icky...

Rating:
Summary: Unacceptable writing
Review: Verging on illiterate, this book will be impossible for any discerning reader to get through. When things are this ham and this clunky, it's impossible to believe in or care about anything that happens. Awful.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: The book is worth reading, but as usual in Robin Cook books, the conclusion to the story tells you almost nothing you want to know. The story has an excellent Salem Witch Trials back story, but at the end, when "the mystery was solved", the concept was abandoned. I would recommend reading this, but don't expect anything that will give you a want to read it again

Rating:
Summary: An excellent tour to the supernatural world of literature!
Review: This suspenseful book is full of witchcraft and great for the everyday scientist. When Kimberly Stewart, a descendent of an accused witch who eventually was hanged in Massachusetts in the 16th century, meets Edward Armstrong things get romantic, but when they find Elizabeth's(the accused witch) portrait things get freaky.

Rating:
Summary: A thought provoking, frightening look at medical ego
Review: After having read most of Robin Cook's novels, I thought I was prepared for anything. That assesment was incorrect. A mild mannered, shy doctor (Dr. Edward Armstrong) is literally transformed by ego and greed into an unfathomable character. He brings along a group of fellow practioners, as well as his romantic partner on his horrific journey. Meanwhile, Kimberly Stewart, our heroine, is seeking answers to accusations about an ancestor of hers believed to have been a witch. Their paths run concurrent as both learn secrets of personality altering drugs, their sources and potential uses. Mounting suspense may not prepare you for the final 40 pages. Be prepared! A great ride for my imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, first of many
Review: This book was my first book I've read by Cook. I thought it was a compelling story. I will keep reading his books for years. If you're wondering if you want to buy this book, do it now.