Seizure

Rating:
Summary: (1 1/2) A BARELY READABLE STORY From A Talented Author
Review: If you fall into one of the following four categories you might be considering reading this book, but BEWARE, with the possible exception of number four you will in all likelihood be very disappointed. First, you are a diehard Robin Cook Fan. Second, you read SHOCK and understand that Spencer Wingate and his cohorts at the Wingate Clinic play a relatively small but central role in this book. Third, you are interested in the medical aspects and the ethical debate concerning cloning and stem cell research. Last, you are a speed reader who only skims most novels for the central element of the plot and are not bothered by unlikable characters and uneven writing.

The plot is as described in other reviews and on the book jacket. Dr. Daniel Lowell, a brilliant medical researcher (previously employed by Merck) resigns the Harvard faculty to start his own biotech firm. He is joined by his younger associate, Stephanie D'Agostino, with the hope of commercializing a procedure developed by Daniel, HTSR (Homologous Transgenic Segmental Recombination). Their future is threatened when the powerful Senator Ashley Butler threatens to introduce legislation banning the procedure at a time when Daniel's firm is in need of a further cash infusion from his venture capital backers. Meanwhile, Senator Butler's staff research has led him to believe that the HTSR treatment might successfully provide a cure for his recently diagnosed but rapidly progressing Parkinson's Disease. (Since it would threaten his political career, his disease has been a closely kept secret, known only to his long time aide Carol Manning and his physician.) There are several subplots including a DNA sample extracted from a fragment of the Shroud of Turin, the use of the facilities of the Wingate clinic (which has relocated to the Bahamas), and Stephanie's family connections to the Boston Mob (in an unbelievable use of stereotyping).

As the author has explained, he views himself as writing "faction", and wants to use his books to inform and enlighten, as well as preach whatever happens to be his message of the moment. However, he has apparently forgotten that his stories should also be interesting and entertaining. He claims that he needed to research the political aspects of this book in D.C., and yet the political insights are minimal. The information on the Shroud of Turin was new to me, but the segments on therapeutic cloning were much too technical and lengthy to maintain my interest. Thus a story with several potentially interesting subplots and which had the potential to involve an interesting discussion of the potential ethical dilemmas involved in biotech experimentation tried to do too much and as a result accomplished almost nothing.

In addition, without exception the characters were totally unlikable stereotypes and caricatures. Daniel was a selfish individual lacking in judgment who was only interested in fame and fortune; the Catholic clergy were primarily interested in their political goals; Senator Butler was a totally self-centered fraud, Stephanie was portrayed as the typical female companion who was too weak to resist Daniel's and the Senator's plan even though her instincts and her intuition told her it was wrong and would probably fail; finally, the distractions caused by her family had no discernible purpose except to lengthen the book. And if you plan to read this book to find out what happened to Spencer Wingate, Paul Saunders and Kurt Hermann you will be disappointed as well. Even the dialog and the writng style seem unnatural for much of the book.

The only reasons I rounded up my rating are that there are a few moments of real tension if you plough through the whole book, there is some interesting information presented about the controversy concerning therapeutic cloning, and the plot has promise (although unfulfilled). So , if you fit into category four at the begining of my review, you might find this book marginally worthwhile. Unfortunately, I got over my disappointment with the author's last few books (since I used to be a big fan of his) and read this in my usual thorough style, only to be disappointed once again.

Rating:
Summary: When Medical. Political,& Business Ethics Go Awry
Review: In this novel, Dr. Robin Cook sheds light on the moral and ethical concerns which accompany medical/scientific research. He show us how a senator who takes an absolute and inflexible public stand on controversial research ithat involves the use of embryos, suddenly does an about face, when he develops a chronic and incurable disease himself. The senator volunteers to be the human subject, i.e., "guinea pig" for the *very* procedure that he was so staunchly publicly against ... Why? Because the procedure has a high probablity of curing his Parkinson's disease. The Senator has an unusual request as to the source of the donor cells, from which the embryos will create dopamine making cells ...

The personality of the senator was described fully and in depth, and had the personalities of the main characters, Daniel Lowell, MD, Ph.D. and Stephanie D'Agostino been developed better, I would have given this book a rating of 5. Overall I found this novel to be excellent. It reveals the realities that cause otherwise intelligent and moral people to take unusual risks. These two people risked losing both their excellent reputations and standing in the scientific community and their bio tech research company because Congress did not sanction their medical procedure, although it proven to have successful outcomes on animals. Another interesting twist in this book, is the extreme measures some unique investors take to recover their money, when they realize the value of the stocks have plummetted.

Dr. Daniel Lowell and Dr. Stepanie D'Agostino utilize a research clinic and hospital in the Bahamas to test their procedure on their volunteer human subject. The bizarre circumstances which occur during and after the procedure are all too real ... as anyone working in the healthcare industry can attest. Odd things can and do happen for many reasons ... I am certain this book would be a huge hit as a movie, as so many preceding books by this author have been. The theme is current and relevant. The politician is believable, especially as he does not represent the interests of the public but his own. The main characters when played by a popular actor and actress would have the added benefit of visual appeal which would provide depth to the personalities. This book falls into the "I can't put it down until I am finished reading it" category. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Rating:
Summary: Another ZERO stars
Review: It's time for me to admit that Robin Cook is no longer a writer. After the shocking disappointment of "SHOCK" last year, I had hoped for a new book, not another of what I had suspected was a novice's first steps 30 years before achieving fame and, presumably, some maturity and growth in the art of writing. From other reviews here, it appears that "Seizure" is the dreaded sequel to "SHOCK," but I won't be reading far enough to know for sure (of course, if I had known it was a sequel -- it is never mentioned in the jacket summary -- I would not have picked the book up to read at all since I only made it through three chapters of that one).

I am currently on page 49 and cannot continue reading. I have yet to meet a character with any redeeming qualities, one that I can empathize with and care about, one that will give me some hope, inspiration...maybe even a little plot or mystery? I kept waiting for something to happen, something to pique my interest -- nope, nothing. Forty-nine pages is too long to wait. Once again, there is no plot, no meaningful dialogue, no time to be wasted on this book or this author ever again.

Robin Cook needs to go tend to his three-year-old. Cook was 60 years old at the birth of his first child and told interviewers last year that he gave up his writing room for his son, using a card table, instead. Well, Cook needs to get off his soapbox cardtable and turn to doctoring and daddyhood, giving us medical mystery fans who have given him our loyalty for so long a needed break. His not-so-subtle political statements, such as any politician that is against abortion must be "a member of the Republican hard right" (page 21), are trite and misplaced. I will not finance or further his causes while he pretends to be a writer of fiction.

For a good mystery involving DNA science that is, admittedly, more science fiction than pure mystery (but filled with suspense), I recommend Sigmund Brouwer's 1995 "Double Helix". He was obviously way ahead of Cook in predicting the medical issues of the future. For the best medical mystery reading available today (clean, with no sex or language), I recommend Michael Palmer. All of his books are excellent, the most recent being "Fatal."

Rating:
Summary: newsflash: 8yr old ghostwriters penned this one!!!!
Review: midway through this shockingly BADLY written novel, i put it down!! after reading the other reviews here, i see i'm not alone in my opinion, but...even MORE startling: it's pretty pathetic when amateur reviewers write BETTER than the highly accoladed Dr. Cook, begging the question, "did he use his advance to employ a staff of 8 yr old ghost writers! yes, the dialogue was THAT stiff and juvenile, the characters and plot THAT slimly drawn, making Seizure a total waste of money and time.

Rating:
Summary: Seizure?
Review: Perhaps you may learn something of stem cell technology but it is not worth slogging through this very boring novel to do so. The story is predictable, lineal, corny, and without a single character to like or relate to. Seizure is a catchy moniker but is a red herring title creating anticipation of a story line and excitement that Cook never delivers.

Rating:
Summary: Another formula plot from the previously brilliant Dr. Cook
Review: Please, Robin Cook, in your apparent effort to raise awareness about stem cell research (with which I happen to agree), you have potentially misrepresented temporal lobe epilepsy as some kind of grotesque, aggressive, Frankensteinian disease which it is NOT. TLE is almost never violent, and is highly treatable with common anticonvulsants. I think you may have done more to scare people from epilepsy than to tweak their interests about stem cells.
I used to be glued to your earlier books, but the predictablity has increased and your newer books are almost tedious. Please, also, stop being so condescending about explaining every little nuance of technology.
Susan Daly Schneider, MD, MLS

Rating:
Summary: B O R I N G
Review: Quite possibly the most inept, inane and boring book I have ever read.
Though the scientific explanations are accurate,
the action (or lack thereof) is like molasses.
The dialogue is 8th Grade English at best.
The scenic descriptions are more than tiresome, they are irksome.
And,after having read more than 3/4 of the book, it is hard to believe that the reviews were written by anyone who read past page 10.

Rating:
Summary: Robin Cook Casserole
Review: Remember when Robin Cook wrote tense medical thrillers? Books that combined medicine with interesting characters that you actually cared about as a reader, and could almost identify with?

That's not this book.

Instead, take the mobsters from "Blindsight", the megalomania of "Godplayer", the Wingate Clinic from "Shock", the human cerebral experimentation of "Brain", the FDA procedural flouting of "Acceptable Risk", and a tiny pinch of the archaeology of "Sphinx", and you'll have "Seizure", a story that seems like a hodgepodge of Cook's other novels thrown into a blender and half-baked to a distinctly unsatisfactory conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: Too Far Fetched
Review: Robin Cook had me hooked when I first read Coma. I read all of his books with a vicious furor. Then as I read more of them, I noticed that they started to take on a sci-fi type story. That's when, in my opinion, Cook started to go downhill and hasn't stopped since.
Like Coma and Cook's other books, this book revolves around controversial medical issues. Two scientists involved in stem cell research and therapeutic cloning are forced by a conservative Southern senator to use their untested gene therapy to cure his Parkinson's disease. Since the procedure requires DNA, the senator asks them to use blood from the Shroud of Turin. The scientists must travel from Boston to Italy to the Bahamas, constantly avoiding scrutiny by people trying either tostop them or to discover their plans. The procedure finally takes place within the last 70 pages, making for an anticlimactic ending, especially given the possibilities established by the overall premise. With a number of loose ends not tied up in a completely satisfactory way, the book almost begs for a sequel but I don't think I'd even bother reading it. This book was way too far fetched.

Rating:
Summary: Great plot idea!!
Review: Robin Cook has again created an excellent plot, with good characters. This might have been a five-star, if not for the occasional slow-moving dialogue.