Rating: Summary: A book that everyone should read! Review: One day I picked up this book and started to read it thinking that it would be a casual read for those few spare moments. For the most part, I read this book until the very end with few breaks. It was difficult to put down. The characters are likeable and well-written; The plot never dulls. Finally, the end was satisfying. After reading this book, I am eager to read more from Richard Preston. Although Saddam may not have had WMD's (that we were convinced he had), this book is informative and pertinent to our times. I would reccommend THE COBRA EVENT to anybody!
Rating: Summary: Pete Review: One of the best books I've ever read, and I've read tons. The plot and characters are very realistic. The story moves along without getting bogged down at any point. And the ending is satisfying.
Rating: Summary: Preston Proves Himself, Again Review: Wow, where do I start? This was such a great story and I cannot count the number of times I was sitting covered head to toe in goosebumps from fright. Preston again uses his knowledge of dark biology and his emaculate attention for detail to grab ahold of his reader and not let go until you put the book down. I devoured this book in two sittings and that was only becuase I started it late at night. If you are interested in dark biology at all or if this type of information interests you at all, I would strongly encourage you to pick this book up and you will not be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: Terrifying - the more so for being fact-based Review: This is the 2nd book of what Richard Preston now refers to as his Dark Biology trilogy. He is undoubtedly one of the most informative writers on this topic, which certainly should be giving great cause for concern. This novel is all the more effective because of the background information accumulated for his 1st book, painting a terrifying picture of what could happen. I would also recommend the other 2 (non-fiction) books : The Hot Zones is about Ebola; The Demon in the Freezer is about Anthrax & Smallpox.
Rating: Summary: A glimpse of a possible future..... Review: If this book doesn't alarm you, probably nothing will. Although supposedly a work of fiction, this book is well researched in the science behind bioengineered weapons "black biology" and possible government responses to a terrorist event involving such weapons. A superb account of what could happen in our country if a terrorist utilized biological weapons.....
Rating: Summary: Realistic Thriller for Our Time Review: As he did in 'The Hot Zone', Richard Preston tackles a killer virus - this time fictionally. 'The Cobra Event' is a great medical thriller that intersperses facts (the Iraqi, Russian, and US bioweapons experiments) with fiction: a seemingly random list of victims begins appearing in New York City whose simple colds liquefy their brains. Alice Austen, with the CDC, is sent to investigate the mysterious death of a teenager in New York City; an autopsy reveals blood-filled blisters, golden irises, and a brain that has literally turned to mush. The next case, a homeless man, has no logical connection to the first victim, but when one of the morgue doctors becomes ill, the FBI is called in, leading to a full-scale, multi-agency search for answers. The investigators discover that the illness is not random: someone has manufactured a virus that contains material found in butterflies, modified with other elements to be easily communicated to humans. In this day and age, the fear of bioweapons makes this a pertinent read, as do Preston's insertions of information on mobile bioreactors in Iraq, secret labs in the Soviet Union testing biological bombs, and the US tests at Johnston Atoll in the late 1960s. When the perpetrator is discovered, his motivation is known only to the reader; the other characters only find that he himself has been exposed to the virus as he attempts to detonate homemade devices in the NY subway. Preston keeps the action going well, although a hint at romance between Austen and an FBI agent seems like an afterthought that isn't needed for the characters or the plot. Worth reading.
Rating: Summary: Best fictional read of my life Review: Amazon just prompted me about this book, undoubtedly due to my pattern of hits. However, I've already read it, continue it recommend to anyone I think might have an interest and am searching for stories even close to its entertainment value. While reading it approximately 5 years ago, I could not put it down and was actually losing sleep. It was as if I were watching a movie, reading as quickly as I could comprehend and picturing the scenes in my head. I had a friend (in the medical field) who could not finish the book due to its gruesome details. But, it's the understanding of that unsettling detail presented earlier in the book that facilitates later comprehension. Buy this book and hang on.
Rating: Summary: Richard Preston does it again. Review: After reading Richard Preston's 'The hot Zone' I was looking forward for 'The Cobra Event' and i was not dissapointed.
Rating: Summary: One big biological mess. Review: It would be wonderful if the FBI and the CDC in Atlanta could work as smoothly together in reality as they do in this book. I found it too strange that the very first case of this newest virus is found almost immediately and suspected of being a biological weapon. This was the second time I have read the book, (hoping to get a little more out of it) and it just doesn't make much of a grade. The ending is a fast paced whirlwind of activity that does not match the rest of the book, and though some of the story does center on the actual human beings contracting this "virus", too much of the story is centered on the individual sleuths attempting to solve the puzzle and the mechanics of biological warfare. This aspect of the writing makes the book less of a good read and more of a definition of biological warfare, which can surpass the average layperson so easily that the reader can get lost quickly. Thumbs down, The Hot Zone was so much better.
Rating: Summary: Good Storytelling, Questionable Believability Review: The Cobra Event exhibits many facets of a great story. The characters, particulary the heroine, are well-rounded and humanistically detailed. The plot unfolds with an energy I wish more authors would consider. The language throughout the book resounds with intelligence and insight. Perhaps the most attractive detail in the book centers around the science the narrator lays out for us; strong forensics and biology contribute a credibilty, or believabilty to the story that was invaluable. Had these aspects not been present, the story would have undoubtedly fallen apart.As it stands, the finished product failed to succeed despite its relatively strong parts; fatal flaws within characterization and plot tore it apart. In certain characters we see them behaving contradictorily to what pages and pages of text had set them up to be; a laboratory technician made into a criminal arresting hero, an experienced virologist failing to take fundamental safety measures, an obssessive-compulsive suddenly forgetting to follow the steps he had previously followed for months. And this discongruity of characterization necessarily radiated out into the plot, leading to downright puzzling and awkward denouements. The novel was quite fun to read (not hard on the ol' brain), but to give it too much credit would be out of line. It entertained but it did not satisfy. I would recommend The Cobra Event to fans of thrillers and medical mysteries who are looking for a light read as well as anyone posessing that apocalyptic bent. Thank you. R. Petalver
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