Dead Head [Mass Market Paperback]

Allen Wyler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Brain Surgery or Murder?
 
When brain surgeon Russell Lawton is abducted at gunpoint by terrorists, he's sure there's a mistake: how could he be useful to them? To his horror, he learns they have kidnapped his only child, eight-year old Angela.  Unless Russell does what they want, they will bury her alive.

To buy time Russell agrees, and is immediately confronted with a seemingly impossible surgical problem.  He must develop an innovative computer that can manipulate a robot by using brain activity. And fast, or his daughter dies.

Why? When Russell finds out why the terrorists need the computer, and how they plan to use it on a human being, he can't believe they're serious. But the consequences for not taking them seriously are his daughter's life,  and the lives of millions of innocent people.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A creepy, bizarre premise—terrorists want to remove a comrade's head and keep it alive long enough for him to help plan an attack—provides the basis for Wyler's second medical thriller (after Deadly Errors). Neurosurgeon Russell Lawton's research on brain-computer hookups puts him in the sights of a Middle Eastern terrorist cell after the cell's key associate suffers a near-fatal motorcycle wreck just before an intended attack. Faced with his body's rapid deterioration, the terrorists hit on the scheme of removing his head in order to salvage his brain—with the help of a kidnapped Lawton. After Lawton's abduction, he's forced to play along in order to save his daughter's life. The first half of the novel suffers from credibility problems, notably the terrorists' leap to adopt the unlikely plan and the speed with which they assemble the pieces. Also, what might have been a tense subplot involving Lawton's daughter falls flat. Wyler, a brain surgeon himself, keeps things moving despite the missteps; the gritty, graphic details of cutting-edge surgical procedures, capped with an exciting conclusion, should keep fans of the genre riveted. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"With its lightning-paced excitement and fascinating science, Dead Head has everything you could hope for in a medical thriller!"--Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Mephisto Club

 

"Once I started Dead Head, I couldn't put it down. It's a skillful merging of the medical thriller and political thriller...Tom Clancy meets Tess Gerritsen!  Dead Head is an expertly crafted thrill-ride. The suspense builds and builds in Allen Wyler's riveting page-turner. Bravo!"--Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Victim and Killing Spree

 

"Deadly Errors is a wild and satisfying ride!  This is an 'up all night' pass into troubled places that only hard-working doctors know about, a turbulent world of trusting patients and imperfect humans struggling with the required image of perfection.  Only a gifted surgeon like Allen Wyler could craft such a wild and wonderful best-of-the-breed medical thriller!"--John J. Nance, New York Times best selling author of Pandora's Clock

"Deadly Errors gave me chills again and again - it's original, insightful, and brilliantly paced - the sort of a thriller that only a doctor could have written .Wyler's sense of the worlds of the hospital and operating room are unsurpassed. You'll feel as if you are right there. This is a tense, taut, very scary book. It will be hard for any reader to put down."--Michael Palmer, New York Times bestselling author of Miracle Cure and The Sisterhood 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765355965
• ISBN-13: 978-0765355966
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,479,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a neurosurgeon and author. See www.allenwyler.com for more details.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good medical thriller, February 8, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Head (Mass Market Paperback)

Abducted at gunpoint by terrorists, brain surgeon Dr. Russell Lawton, thinks this is a mistake--what could they possibly want with him? To his horror, he finds out they have kidnapped his only child, Angela, and are threatening to bury her alive if he does not help them with a plan to carry out an attack on the United States.

The terrorists have a diabolic plan including totally obliterating all of America's computer systems, thereby throwing the nation into complete chaos. True to form, the terrorists will use explosive devices to execute their plan. Meanwhile we are given, glimpses of little Angela and her experiences as a hostage. The FBI became involved when Russell's ex-wife, Marci, accuses Russell of kidnapping his own child, (due to a brutal child custody suit). With the clock still running, the situation results in a macabre surgery that Russell must perform to satisfy the wants of the terrorists in order to preserve his daughter's life

Russell works for days on end, with little rest or nourishment. The constant threats begin to work on him emotionally and mentally. Being hounded by these intruders always observing his life is maddening, and they outman him and he can see no good coming from any of this.

Dead Head is a medical thriller written by a real brain surgeon. Although there are many medical scenes, these are usually explained in dialogue or monologue to help readers understand the action. This form of writing is very enjoyable, and maintains thereader's attention. Very realistic characters also draw you into the fast-paced action.It's got the good guy versus the bad guys element coupled with a well-written novel.

"Sure I know the syndrome. (locked in) It's a neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles except those that control eye movement. It could be the result of a head injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, or drug overdose..."

Armchair Interviews says: A thriller filled with terrorists to make any reader's day.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Frightening Look at a Possible Terrorist Scenario, February 2, 2007

By 

J. T. Cooper (Marietta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Head (Mass Market Paperback)

Russell Lawton is a neurosurgeon who works for the NIH and is presenting a paper on his research at a medical meeting. His special interest area is brain-computer connections. He is kidnapped by Muslim terrorists and is forced to help them preserve the body and brain of one of their critically injured colleagues. His daughter's life is in the balance, along with the brother of his assistant, whose life is also threatened. He must devise a way to let the injured terrorist speak to his co-conspirators, even if his head is separated from his body and preserved. Dr. Lawton overcomes obstacle after obstacle in his need to have his daughter spared a horrible death. The action and plot are non-stop and grab you from the moment you read the first few pages. The ending is somewhat of a surprise and is well written.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mix of neuroscience and suspense, September 28, 2007

By 

Konstantin Slavin (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Head (Mass Market Paperback)

Start reading it - and you won't be able to put it down until you're done! Writtn by a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, the book gives you plenty of scientific information in very understandable way.