Customer Reviews

Chromosome 6

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Robin Cook, doctor turned writer, has produced a bundle of popular books in the "medical thriller" genre. I've read most of them, so it is fair to say that I generally enjoy Dr. Cook's work. His medical knowledge and use of topical ideas from the health care field make his tales intriguing, and they are always fast-paced. Unfortunately, character development is not a priority, and Cook's plots have tended to become increasingly predictable and far-fetched.

CHROMOSOME 6 is an improvement over some of Dr. Cook's other recent books. He divides the action between the U.S. and an African research facility, and he raises some genuine concerns with regard to cloning and bio-engineering. Also, he brings back a likeable protagonist (Dr. Laurie Montgomery) from a previous book. The action is non-stop, so boredom isn't a problem.

On the downside, though, Cook's plots have become very predictable. There is plenty of action but few surprises. Characterization also remains a problem. Besides the general lack of depth, Cook's mafiosi are so stereotypical that they're more laughable than sinister, and the behavior of the two main female characters at the African site in the face of mercenary troops and flying bullets is totally unbelievable. Finally, as several other reviewers here have mentioned, the story ends quite abruptly, as though the author suddenly ran out of space.

CHROMOSOME 6 isn't, IMO, Robin Cook's weakest book (I'll leave that honor to INVASION), but it's a long way from being one of his best. Unless you're a diehard fan, I'd advise that you skip this one. There are lots of better books out there, including several of Cook's earlier efforts.

This is a thrilling novel about some scientists in Africa that are using cloning to create subhuman monkeys using bonobos so that their body parts can harvested for the specific human who is matched with the animal, and about a medical examiner named Jack Stapleton who discovers at the morgue in New York City while working that something strange is going on. He notices during an autopsy that a man had had a liver transplant but for some reason he has trouble finding out where and when and also the man didn't need anti - immunity drugs, in other words the body did not try to reject the liver. Jack digs deep to find the answer and the two plots finally connect. I really liked Jack Stapleton's character, and his co - worker, Laurie Montgomery, and enjoyed them in Contagion and Vector also. I felt I was educated as I read the book, it was very well detailed with scientific and medical information, but not boring, book keeps a good pace. An exciting read.

I don't know whether it was a case of a bad abridging job or if the actual novel had the same problem, but after spending several hours listening to this compelling story of genetic manipulation and corporate greed, I was severely let down by the lackluster ending. As I listened, I kept thinking, "The last tape's almost over...they can't possibly wrap it up this fast." But they did, and I was left wanting more. What happened to GenSys? What happened to Jack and Laurie and Kevin and all the rest? What was the fate of the creatures? Was Cook leaving the door open for a sequel? I sincerely hope so, because otherwise this was just bad storytelling.

My other complaint about the audio version is the reader, Boyd Gaines. I found his attempts to do different voices annoying--the women all sounded vaguely ditsy, and his "Noo Yawk" accents for the Italian organized crime figures bordered on offensive. I would have preferred a less "dramatic" reading.

Chromosome 6 is a good story that raises a lot of interesting issues, but the ending disappoints.

I was very disappointed with this novel. I have heard from so many people that Robin Cook writes such good medical thrillers. So decided to read this book as part of my research into how society and literature depicts geneic engineering in animal species. This was definately the worst book of the many that I read. The plot was unbelievably bad, the characters were underdeveloped and the "bad guys" horribly sterotypic. Additionally the characters behaved in ways that were senseless. There are many other books that deal with this subject/premise. I felt as if I wasted my time with this one.
I recommend Sims by F. Paul Wilson or Dark Inheritance by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear. Both have more believable characters and offer much more suspense.

The premise of this book was most intriguing but the character development was poor. The main character seemed almost like a rehash of characters found in previous novels by Cook. The scientific details were fascinating and obviously a lot of research went into these details. The geographic descriptions were also quite vivid but the ending was most abrupt and extremely poorly written. This could either be the fault of the author who lost interest by the last chapter or else the editor was overzealous and did a hatchet job on it. Either way, it was most disappointing. If you feel a need to read it, buy a used copy.

This is a horrible book. I liked "Abduction", but Chromosome 6 is a piece of trash in comparrison. The main problem is the characters. They are ridiculously unreal. At one point, there are two female characters who coerce a workmate into visiting an island although they're in the jungle, and they know that guerilla soldiers are all around the island. It's like they don't care about life. Not only that, but they talk like a couple of barbies, like for example: It would be totally fun to check out that island. Good idea, Melaine, why didn't I think of that!

The girl's first attempt at reaching the island is disasterous. Guards shoot at them then arrest them. A few hours later when they are released. One of the fearless girls says something like: That totally pisses me off. I'm going to get on that island if it's the last thing I do. The other fearless girl agress, and that same night, they are trying a different route to get to the island!

They want to get onto the island to check on some monkeys they've been experimenting on.

They try again and then get shot at again, but this time they are able to run away without being arrested. The next day they try again! Meanwhile, they call their male companion a chicken for not wanting to go with them because he's scared of being killed! They rationalize every moronic thing they do. They say something like: They certainly won't expect us to do it again. So we should do it! Duh!

When they get to the island, they find the monkeys, but these monkeys are big. Almost two hundred pounds. For the next few pages, these three idiots are debating whether they sould approach these monkeys for, "a better look," but they are afraid they might scare them away! What! Scare away two hundred pound wild animals? If I would have been there, I would have been running so fast in the opposite direction that I could have run back on the damn water!

The monkeys obviously almost kill them all! Didn't see that coming, yeah right!

Anyhow, the book is filled with stupid characters running through a forseable plot. It stunk.

I've read 2 or 3 Robin Cook books and this will most likely be my last. To be fair, I didn't read this one, I heard it as a book on tape.

The story idea is quite original - scientists are using bonobos (a chimp-like primate in West Africa) to grow hybrid human/bonobo organs for the ultra-rich. These are specifically matched to each client and held in an animal preserve until needed. Unfortunately, there may be unintended results by mixing animal and human DNA...

Good premise for the story. Poor, poor, poor dialogue and awful follow through. There are stilted, silly sentences that sound unnatural when spoken out loud. Unexplained odd illogical behavior such as the downright stupid employees at the morgue. How stupid are they? The body of a mob boss disappears. The mayor is super angry and making telephone calls. People's jobs are on the line. The media is everywhere and asking questions. Do the morgue employees even bother to open up ALL of the body drawers just to see if the body was just misplaced? N0, because if they did they would have found one of the biggest clues of the mystery at the beginning of the book rather than towards the end.

The premise of the book is a sound one and it would have been a heckuva read if it had been placed in the hands of a different author.

My grade: C-

This is the only Robin Cook book that I have read so far. I found it to be very interesting and exciting. The medical stuff wasn't too deep that an ordinary person couldn't at least understand it to a certain extent. Plus there is a glossary of terms at the back of the book. But...the beef that I have with it, is the poor ending. I was getting so excited during the last third of the book, but the ending was so abrupt, it was like getting the wind knocked out of you. It left a lot of questions up in the air. Maybe he left it open for a part 2, I don't know. But I do wish we could know what happened with GenSys and the research facility in Cogo. Also, what happens to the Bonobos? What about Kevin, Melanie and Candace? So many questions left unanswered.

Robin Cook truly expresses the horrors of genetic engineering gone wrong.A young scientist in the deep jungles of Equatorial Guinea tries a Hi tech experiment with bonobos and finds out he has created a class of entirely different creatures! Meanwhile in the USA,Jack and Laurie r puzzled by the death of a mobster and the disappearance of his body.Their search and passion for adventure leads them to the same jungles of Africa where they encounter Kevin,the young scientist and xperience the horrors of his experiment gone wrong. The book has a lot of complex genetics involved and the reader has to be quite well versed with the concepts of meiosis,transponases etc..But the action and mystery and the horror is worth doing some research.If anyone hasn`t read a Robin Cook novel,this isthe best one to start with.Ittruly deserves the five stars.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and was all set for a great ending, but no such luck. The book just stops. It wraps up in about 1 1/2 pages. Very disappointing! What happened to all of the other characters in the story? What happened to the operation in Africa? What happened to our gangsters?