Rating: 
Summary: same old
Review: There is no thought-provoking discussion of 'issues'. The book doesn't get us to think about issues. The scientific technology is just a convenient vehicle for yet another 'scary' Frankenstein story. The story line was fraught with huge plot holes. The main characters (two molecular biologists) were without dimension and their conversations were insipid. The author seemed to have gotten together some nice sounding molecular biology technical catch phrases that he strung together to try to make the story more scientifically believable. If he were writing a technical manual, it might sound credible, but putting it in the framework of an implausible storyline with unrealistic characters.... Ok, what really mad me mad was 1) it was another typical 'Frankenstein' story about what horrible things happen when we do molecular biology. Enough already! 2) the molecular biologists were totally amoral, so clichéd and typical of the Frankenstein story plot, 3) the ending while dramatic was pointless and abrupt as if the author said, ok 325 pages, that's it, the end, and again 4) the molecular biologists were moronic. For instance, they discuss the Shroud of Turin and after reading a book from the popular press come to the conclusion that the shroud is the authentic shroud of Christ. Really scientific! Why did the author put that in anyway? It wasn't integral to the plot. The author seems to have used his novel as a convenient vehicle for conveying his own personal beliefs about the srhoud, putting them in a form to make it appear as if they were scientifically valid and acceptable. That would be forgivable if it was done in some believable fashion with some substance, with some real discussion of pros and cons, with some actual scientific analysis but it was as if the author didn't want to exert any intellectual energy at all. At least make the characters talk like scientists instead of being puppets to mindlessly mouth whatever you wish. I don't care what the author believes but to make his science characters utter nonsense is utter nonsense.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING!!
Review: This book is boring!! Don't bother...Also WAY too preachy about medical ethics and Dr. Cook's personal beliefs. I kept reading and hoping but the book never delivers. Too many attempts at an interesting story; the congressman, the researchers, the Italian family -that just don't hold together. Read Cook's MUCH MUCH earlier works (e.g. COMA) if you want a good medical thriller. Or try Michael Palmer's work!
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Disappointing
Review: This book was not only diappointing, it was boring and anti-climatic. Robin has lost his golden touch. Time to return to doctoring. Robin's use of his books to make political statements takes reading for the sheer joy of it obsolete.Poorly written!!
Rating:
Summary: No stars
Review: This book was so boring; I could not make myself read it. It was on my desk for 6 weeks, I would read a sentence and leave it there. Finally, I just skimmed trough pages.
No plot, no characters, no action, to excitement, no suspense, medically incorrect, technically unbelievable - total waste.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Cook story: gripping suspense, humor, & ethics issues
Review: We've read all of Cook's medical "thrillers" (even his Egyptian mystery, the "Sphinx"), and would argue that some are a lot better than others. But along comes "Seizure", just possibly his best ever! A current affairs-type premise finds two intellectual doctors trying to save from impending financial ruin their stem-cell research company with a promising technology to grow disease-curing cells. They approach a US Senator to help stop a bill to outlaw their procedures, only to learn he has Parkinson's disease and proposes using himself as an experiment -- completely illegal of course! To add an incredible twist to the idea, he wants the DNA necessary to come from the Shroud of Turin (implications, to use Christ's DNA). What happens therafter is a roller coaster ride of trials and tribulations for our leading characters, with finally the operation on the senator at first glance a success. As yet another interesting touch, Cook reprises the evil doctors from "Shock" who fled the U.S. to re-open the Wingate Clinic (from that story) in the Bahamas to skirt federal medical laws. There's much more than a fun story to captivate readers with this novel. The discussions of the Shroud, apparently proven years ago to be a fraud, were intriguing and will probably stimulate new interst in just where and how the famous relic came to be. The scene where the senator meets with a Cardinal to "negotiate" getting a sample of the shroud was one of the most humorous we've read in a long time. Lastly, the ongoing ethics of the human experiment, and whether the type of research described in the story should be banned or not is a central theme for which the author has serious positions to unfold, even elaborating on what he thinks is right in an author's note at the end. Cook also admitted his fascination with learning so much about the Shroud and refers us to other books on that subject should we care to pursue it. Robin Cook often grabs us with a provocative premise but then sometimes peters out. In this book, the action, the interaction of the characters, and the entertaining and amusing side issues all wrap up into a fine summertime read -- don't miss it!
Rating: 
Summary: another good thriller
Review: Wow, after reading some of the other reviews i feel like i must have been reading a different story. i liked this book. it was typical robin cook. all his books have "issues" to be explored and this one is no exception. i think he brings an awareness to his novels that others do not. it was a fast paced story. it was not his best effort but he definitely had you thinking by the end of the book and i think that is his intention. the characters are well developed and you can feel a range of emotions toward them. i would recommend this book to anyone. keep writing robin.
| 
