Rating: 
Summary: Bearly up to standard
Review: First: I love Greg Bear's books. His ideas and knowledge rival that of Arthur C. Clarke. Vitals: Mr. Bear has a thing about writing about smart viruses and bacteria. I suppose it wasn't the best idea to read Blood Music just before reading Vitals. Both books have many of the same themes running through them and though I find Blood Music to be a better read, Vitals is more mature and shows Mr. Bear's growth as a writer. However: Vitals tends to get more and more confusing as it moves along. It is at times a good creepy thriller that really makes you wonder about stopping the aging process and mind control and just what we don't know about history and what the governments and wealthy of the world are really doing. At other times, however, the action and events tend to become muddied to the point you not sure just what is happening. Also, this book tends to suffer from the "too many character syndrome." Maybe it is just me but if a book has too many character that tend to pop up here and there I tend to lose track of them. I think if he had taken more time with this book, focused on a single main narrator and gave us a more conclusive ending it could have been one of his best books yet. In the end: YOU SHOULD NOT PASS UP THIS BOOK. It is worth read in for nothing else, to listen Mr. Bear describe these creepy crawly bacteria and how they together might be smarter than us.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to Greg's standard
Review: **1/2 It beats being stuck on the beach with nothing to read. I've enjoyed all of Greg Bear's books that I've read so far. This one just doesn't cut the mustard. It starts out with all his cylinders clicking as usual. We get some convincing, heart-in-mouth deep sea exploration footage. We get a plausible and intriguing science fiction premise about how a bit of archaic bacteriology could turn us all into Lazarus Long, and it really makes sense that it leads to our hero poking around in the Juan De Fuca trench. We get a couple of neat scientists we'd like to see a bit more of, and we get an unsettling, mysterious series of phone calls from dead people. Unfortunately, the phone calls remain mysterious - or at least only lamely explained. The well thought out longevity theme gets swallowed up in a slapped together bacterial mind control theme. Characters we cared about disappear, and characters we never get time to know wander on and off stage. In short, it's a terrific first reel. But don't buy any popcorn, because you may find yourself ready to leave the theater before you get to the bottom of the bucket. Bear can do, and always has done, better than this. And the first third shows he still has the stuff. I won't be dissuaded from trying out his next offering.
Rating: 
Summary: The X-Files to the Nth power!
Review: This book is quite a departure for Bear. Normally he writes novels which contain intriguing big-science ideas but are somewhat plodding in the plot department. Here he tries for a conspiracy techno-thriller which has both an interesting science basis and plenty of fast-moving action to keep the pages turning. He doesn't quite pull it off but I applaud him for the effort. Hal Cousins is investigating the role of ancient bacteria in the human aging process and finds that an obscure Russian scientist working decades ago went much further and was able to use the bacteria for mind control. (The Russians did in fact investigate phages during the 1930's.) Cousins quickly finds himself targeted by a shadowy conspiracy able to induce violent behavior at will in anyone Cousins comes into contact with. The closer he comes to tracking down the conspiracy, the fewer people he can trust. Unfortunately the author goes overboard with the plot twists and the book becomes a confusing mess. The introduction of a second narrator halfway through doesn't help. The book ends without the conspiracy being defeated, but how else could it end? A James-Bond style defeat of the bad guys in the last few pages would have been totally unrealistic. It is much more chilling to imagine that the conspiracy regroups and goes on, while the narrator (reading between the lines of the last chapter) descends into paranoia and madness, becoming another version of the Banning character. "Vitals" could have benefited from a lot of editing and tightening up. On the whole however, I found it an interesting and gripping read.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing.. in this book and the author
Review: I was very disappointed is this book. I've read a number of Greg Bear novels, the Eon, Legacy and Eternity series and Darwins Radio and enjoyed all of them. This book was just boring! As other reviewers noted it started out as scifi then turned into a bad mystery/conspiracy. The ending? Very unsatisfactory considering how I had to force myself to finish the book. I don't think Greg Bear put much thought into this novel (maybe he had a book contract to satisfy). I won't be so quick to buy any of his new books after reading this one.
Rating:
Summary: Too incredible of a tale
Review: Vitals starts out as the quest of Dr. Hal Cousins to dectermine the bacteria that inhibits life extension. Okay, so you think you're going to read a story about immortality or the attempts to get there? (Well sort of.) But things start going wrong when the the driver of the DSRV attempts to kill Hal, and when they get back to the mother ship another scientist is shooting everything that moves. Okay, so there are people who don't want to live forever. This book morphs from science fiction into a world wide conspiracy run first by the Russians, then the CIA and ultimately (the ever available) secret government cabal. Of course, you never really meet the the government cabal, you just read scene after scene after scene about normal looking people whacking other people. This is all explained as the results of bacterial research, which has the ability to control people's actions. Even if you accept the premise, the plot and story tend to roll over the edge of a cliff. Each scene seems more incredible than the last. Perhaps, this is the intent, but somewhere along the line this book needs to reign itself in. Ultimately, the good guys (an ever changing cast based on what they ate) confront the bad uys on a cruise ship. I think there might be 2 or 3 good books in here, but everything was rolled into a less than satisfying novel. On the plus side, the writing and dialogue keeps you reading, it just doesn't seem like it is going anywhere.
Rating: 
Summary: A Complete Waste Of Time!
Review: This is my first book by Greg Bear & my last. It is one of the worse books I have ever read. I read half of it & I simply couldn't take anymore of it. I skipped to the ending & it only confirmed my opinion. I read a lot & I rarely don't finish a book unless it is really bad. Save yourself & don't bother with this book!
Rating:
Summary: Review of the audio book version
Review: 1) The reader of the audio book did a fair job and wasn't boring. Not as lively and entertaining as BD Wongs reading of Tick-Tock by Koontz or Roddy McDowell's readings of anything by L. Ron Hubbard. 2) After listening to the tapes and then reading the other reviews I just thank God this was the abridged edition. Even the audio book had it long portions 3) Interesting science and theories on controlling the aging process. 4) The epilogue was a fair wrap up of summarizing some answers to questions left needing answering. The ending is to me enjoyable and adds to the paranoid facination of the book. 5) Overall this audiobook was a fair book but if you have the option on reading or listening to something else then you won't miss out on anything if you bypass this one.
Rating: 
Summary: X-Files Is Greasy Kid's Stuff!
Review: I am not subject to paranoia, but this book got to me. I found myself becoming more relaxed after finishing the book. Whew!
Rating:
Summary: Very Unlike Greg Bear -- One of His Worst Books
Review: If you had become a Greg Bear fan like me after reading his great works like The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, or Queen of Angels, you will be sorely disappointed with Vitals. I am about halfway through it already and seriously considering dropping the book altogether. The book starts with a simple and powerful idea, but the core theme and the characters fail to develop to the degree of leaving a rusty taste in your mouth with feelings of being cheated out of your valuable reading time every time you set it aside. Lots of seemingly connected but irrational behavior with hardly convincing conspiracy theories. You could do much better with a comic book. Or skip to the next Greg Bear title.
Rating:
Summary: Typically good Greg Bear (after the first few chapters)
Review: Typically good Greg Bear. Really interesting science, great story, thought-provoking ending. But what happened to first first few chapters? They're so badly written I seriously wondered if the great man had subcontracted the scene setting.
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