Rating: 
Summary: A very compelling story that should wake up America!
Review: Richard Preston has done the citizens of our country a BIG favor, by highlighting the dangers of bioweapons.
However well he writes about the details, he does need to work on his characterizations.
The scant sketches of his main characters left me cold and uncaring about their future and if they would survive.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick to nonfiction
Review: While I have not read The Hot Zone, I do know that it is nonfiction and I can't help but feel that Mr. Preston should have stuck to that form of writing. I found the scientific information in this book fascinating and terrifying, but couldn't help but wonder as I read the scientific background material: "Is this true, or is it fiction?" The characters were were nothing more than vehicles to propel the plot, and I (as others before me have mentioned)felt that the CDC would have been more directly involved in such a catastrophic outbreak. They would not have (hopefully) sent a mere individual (and one with a very limited background if I read correctly) to investigate. If they had, they certainly would have (hopefully!) increased their presence after the true nature of the outbreak was discovered. This book is an obvious attempt to earn a "real" paycheck via Hollywood. Too frequently I read bestselling popular fiction and get this same feeling. Books like these (and many, many more that are far, far inferior)are meant for commuting on the train or passing an unendurably hot and humid summer day. I would much rather spend my time reading character driven novels and/or books about ideas, such as those by Eric Kraft, John Irving, Sinclair Lewis, George Orwell, or Kurt Vonnegut, not to mention so many others.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-researched, but devoid of any character developement
Review: There's nothing like a gripping thriller that keeps you reading until 4:00 in the morning. Unfortunately, the Cobra Event is not one of them. The setting and storyline are not only plausible, but intriguing. And Preston has done an exceptional job of research. But the characters are never fleshed out beyond their one-dimensional attributes, leaving the reader indifferent to their plight. Most importantly, the villain is given no rational motivation beyond some vague concept of "overpopulation." It's hard to believe that anyone (even in a work of fiction) would go to these lengths for a motive so ill-defined.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, up-to-date, provocative page-turner!
Review: Excellent book! Don't plan on doing anything productive once you begin reading this book! No Christmas shopping, no taking care of the kids, no yardwork...nothing of enduring value. It is a chilling reminder of the very serious threat of a biological and/or chemical attack on the U.S. As a frequent traveler to the Middle East and one who has to listen to all my friends ask how I could travel so often to such a "dangerous part of the world", my holiday gift to them will be the Cobra Event. It will put a new twist on who it is that is really in danger!
Rating:
Summary: What a ride!
Review: I read this book in one sitting. Once begun, there was no way I could put it down. The story is totally compelling and, even though the autoposy scenes and the descriptions of the devasting effects of Cobra on its victims were especially brutal, I found myself completely drawn into the plot. It is my sincere hope that mankind will not unleash this kind of terror onto itself. But, if it does, I hope the deep East Texas woods will protect me.
Rating:
Summary: The Cobra Event-One of the Best Thrillers Available
Review: From the moment it was given to me for my 14th birthday, I knew that THE COBRA EVENT would be a great book. Even so, the quality of the book was mind-blowing. The plot was easy to follow, yet complex enough to show the work that Preston put into it. It was extremely realistic, and showed the threat that biological weapons pose to the world. It's a definate MUST READ!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Too real to be fiction, too frightening to be real!
Review: Having read "The Hot Zone", I expected a similar flavor in "The Cobra Event". However, I read about ebola with a feeling of a safety net because it was a virus that 'happened in other places". Anything 'bioengineered' should be taken seriously - and the virus in "The Cobra Event" is a prime example. As I read about viral events happening in places very familiar to me because of where I live, I began to become absorbed into the book, taking on the personality of Dr. Austen (a coincidence that our names are both Alice). I would find myself saying 'I've been there, I know I have.' My husband works for the railroad, so I am aware of the underground tunnels and the edge of human existance that dwells there. It was so real, it could not be fiction. But, it was too horrific to be real! Do we know what lurks in those little boxes of second hand stores? I found the insights into the CDC chilling and thrilling. With a background in science and an unsatiable affinity for computerized technology, I found "The Cobra Event" well written and a very believable piece of factual fiction. Of course it's fiction, but say that the next time you see a rat!
Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag - initially excited about book: then reality check
Review: I got this book today (Dec 4) and peeked at it during breaks (entering data at Phi Kappa Psi (ugh)). Then plunged into it and go through the entire novel in one sitting! Comments: I kept getting the idea he was writing this for the movie (coming out? 1999?) instead of a book that is then made into a movie! Enjoyed the glossary page in the back but would have appreciated a list of characters (I filled up two pages writing down characters to keep track of them!). Warning: Going to give some stuff away: SPOILERS. Don't read any further if you haven't read the book! The character of Austen I found so frustrating - especially the attitude she had after she found the virus in the apartment of the 17 year old girl who one of the index cases. She simply tells the housekeeper not to enter - I would think she would be calling CDCP and getting them out to the apartment quickly to seal off the entire apartment ("...don't turn on the air-conditioning!" ugh). The use of U.N. inspection teams element in the book was well timed considering all the Iraq U.N weapons inspection headlines recently. Liked the details of the autopsy that the book provided. You need a strong stomach (no pun intended) for those portions of the book (particularly around pages 65 - 72). Particularly disheartening when the author discussed the way nations have ignored the 1972 Bio, Tox, Weapons Convention.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but a bit over the top in places
Review: I was intrigued by the primary topic of this book (biowarfare) and by the huge impact the author's previous book, The Hot Zone, had on everyone who read it. This one was not quiet as real, as Preston dipped into Steven King's inkwell a few too many times in an effort to make the story more chilling. There also were some pretty hefty stretches to make the plot work for the heros.
Rating:
Summary: 'Silence of the Lambs' meets 'Hot Zone'
Review: We knew Richard Preston could write terrifying nonfiction ("The Hot Zone"), but "The Cobra Event" proves he has a pretty good grip on the fictional tale as well. The book is a tricky balancing act; Preston tries to cram as much factual material between the covers as he can, all while scaring the bejeezus out of us with his thinly fictionalized account of a bio-terrorist loose in New York. The chapters on invisible history sometimes slow the narrative pace to a crawl, but the book is never boring, always frightening, and amazingly cinematic. I can't wait for Hollywood to come along and royally screw it up. "The Cobra Event" may not survive to become a true classic of horror like "The Hot Zone" (which also was a classic of creative nonfiction). Still, one should not miss reading it.
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