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Rating: 
Summary: A pageturner about a plauge from Jupiter
Review: A spaceship, long overdue, has returned from it's mission to Jupiter. Sam, a young intern doctor is called up on his Ambulance to arrive at a scene of death and destruction at Kennedy Airport in New York City. As he tries to find someone living among the many dead, the spaceship opens and one crew member comes out, deathly ill. He maganes to write one cryptic message before slipping into unconsiousness.Soon, a plauge spreads through New York City, killing birds, and spreading from birds to humans. All attempts at treatment of the disease fail. People begin rioting, and martial law is put in place. Sam must find a cure, but to do so he has to figure out what that cryptic message really means, and must fight against the politics of those in charge who won't listen. All in all, a decent story. I did find some of the situations unrealistic. And, while there was a lot of attention paid to details of action, there wasn't as much in the way of plot development. Sam falls and another doctor fall in love, but there was very little building of the relationship other than the two of them working through some scary situations together.
Rating:
Summary: A pageturner about a plauge from Jupiter
Review: A spaceship, long overdue, has returned from it's mission to Jupiter. Sam, a young intern doctor is called up on his Ambulance to arrive at a scene of death and destruction at Kennedy Airport in New York City. As he tries to find someone living among the many dead, the spaceship opens and one crew member comes out, deathly ill. He maganes to write one cryptic message before slipping into unconsiousness. Soon, a plauge spreads through New York City, killing birds, and spreading from birds to humans. All attempts at treatment of the disease fail. People begin rioting, and martial law is put in place. Sam must find a cure, but to do so he has to figure out what that cryptic message really means, and must fight against the politics of those in charge who won't listen. All in all, a decent story. I did find some of the situations unrealistic. And, while there was a lot of attention paid to details of action, there wasn't as much in the way of plot development. Sam falls and another doctor fall in love, but there was very little building of the relationship other than the two of them working through some scary situations together.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good
Review: Having read only the Steel Rat series, I couldn't have guessed that Mr. Harrison is more than just a great parody writer. "Plague from Space" (he's got an annoying habit of publishing his books under different titles - I wonder if he thinks it's funny) is a serious, exciting, touching, realistic science fiction thriller. Though not the world's greatest book, it's definitely worth reading. - Olavi Jagg
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: Having read only the Steel Rat series, I couldn't have guessed that Mr. Harrison is more than just a great parody writer. "Plague from Space" (he's got an annoying habit of publishing his books under different titles - I wonder if he thinks it's funny) is a serious, exciting, touching, realistic science fiction thriller. Though not the world's greatest book, it's definitely worth reading. - Olavi Jagg
Rating:
Summary: An intesting read that fails in its futurism
Review: I read this book under the title of "Plague from Space", published by Orbit Books in 1991. The book was first published in 1966, and it shows. Harrison spins an interesting tale of a plague that arrives in a manned ship that returned from a first descent into Jupiter, and how us humans handle it. The suspense is there, but unfortunately, I kept losing my suspension of disbelief because the future described in the book feels "too old". In particular, medicine and medical research, which are so important in this book, seem a little backward (even though some of the devices used are indeed forward looking). This is not a bad read, but anyone who wants a good Harrison book to start with would do better to pick up a copy of Death World.
Rating:
Summary: An intesting read that fails in its futurism
Review: I read this book under the title of "Plague from Space", published by Orbit Books in 1991. The book was first published in 1966, and it shows. Harrison spins an interesting tale of a plague that arrives in a manned ship that returned from a first descent into Jupiter, and how us humans handle it. The suspense is there, but unfortunately, I kept losing my suspension of disbelief because the future described in the book feels "too old". In particular, medicine and medical research, which are so important in this book, seem a little backward (even though some of the devices used are indeed forward looking). This is not a bad read, but anyone who wants a good Harrison book to start with would do better to pick up a copy of Death World.
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