Customer Reviews

The Donor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A great book, and a real page-turner! I began reading "The Donor" yesterday on the train in to work; I finished it last night late in bed, not being able to put it down. Nice plot and very well developed characters, you really feel for the protagonist and wonder how it'll all end. The author's written some fine books in the past; this is up there with "The Dark Beyond the Stars" as the best of them. Highly recommended. One minor complaint -- if there was someway to give the proofreading one star, I would, as there are a number of typos that distract from an otherwise excellent book.

From page one through to the end, The Donor is a first rate thriller and page turner that grabs the reader and won't let go. Frank Robinson's tale is believable and so hauntingly realistic that it leaves you crying out for more.

Most other thrillers have one dimensional characters, but Dennis Heller lives and breathes on every page. With Heller so well written, you live and die on each page as he makes his way to the end.

Without a doubt one of Frank Robinson's best and he has had some great books to top with The Power, Glass Inferno, Dark Beyond the Stars and Waiting.

~REV|EW~

Last Summer, as a thriller enthusiast and novel newbie, I bought this book when it was displayed in a book store. It was a chilling ten days flipping through near 400 pages full of chases, betrayal, and conspiracy...yes, I'm a slow reader, thank you. A thrill ride that it was, somewhere along the line, I had an uncomfortable feeling that I was forced to take that ride. It wasn't my conscious, it's the book.

Here's how "The Donor" and the thrill begins. It was at night, and college boy Dennis Heller and his drinking buddy Graham were having a blast when they drive back to their campus, until Graham accidentally crashed into a telephone pole. Dennis was unconscious, and later he was sent to a small hospital...OF DOOM (*dramatic effect*). He was operated and well-prepped, but when he overheard the nurse and the heavy spanish-accent doctor from the side, he knew they have no intention to make him leave. So, he escaped the conspicuous hospital and was founded by a couple who took him to a different hospital. The doctor there told Dennis that the doctors that operated him from the previous hostipal took away his liver without his consent. For that fact, he changed his idenity and live with the couple, hoping to avoid the black market people that're after his organs, but they won't leave him alone after these people killed the couple. He's not only on the run again, but he needs to figure out who's responsible for this mess before they take him to the final operating room.

And that's where the thrill ends.

"The Donor" isn't a bad read, and there are few more thrilling scenes than the ones I mentioned, but by the time I finished it, it didn't blew me away more than it tested my weary patience. The interesting concept with this novel is that it follows two character perspectives: one on Dennis, and one on Robert Krost. Krost is another colleague who's searching for clues as to why his hateful rich daddy Max, who had a fatal illness, be suddenly in tip-top shape. Too bad his father's always one step ahead of Krost's mission. The clues he find would eventually cross paths between him and Dennis's situation.

Krost's perspective of the story is necessary, but why did it have to be so unnecessarily slow? The genre on his side of the story is mystery, and mysteries are lengthy and collective, so I spend most of my reading time exhausting myself hoping to get back to Dennis's side of the story. Mystery and thriller usually coincide with a great deal of balance, but more mystery here means less excitement, so I had a problem with the book's balance issue. The dialogue here didn't help the matter either. Though I'm new at novels, I didn't find most of the characters' lines to be very convincing in their situations. The dialogue's also corny, like when one of the sub characters said that Krost's father had the Paschelke's disease. Paschelke's?

With everything said and done, there's nothing terrible about this title. "The Donor" has a fresh story, the two character perspectives were set up well, and the experince was as intense as a needlephobiac on a blood drive. But at certain parts, "The Donor" can also the equivalent of being in a waiting room: slow, tiresome, and hoping to get out as soon as possible. But then again, I'm new with novels, so my judgement is raw.

F|NAL WORDS: A cut-up for its genre, but not exuberant for a second read.

Great thriller with scientific angle that is fascinating. The characters are strong and entertaining and the plot has more twists and turns than an old-fahioned steeple chase. I couldn't put it down. Hats off to the author!

Congrats to Frank M. Robinson for a good idea and page-turning plot. But the writing is often clumsy, and typos are littered throughout the published work. It makes you wonder what -- if any -- was the editing process involved. How can a finished work have THAT many errors in it? And how many times and ways can coffee be used as a "literary device" in one novel? One can only conclude that Mr. Robinson is either (a) obsessed with coffee or (b) the victim of no outside editing. At any rate, it's a very imperfect, but still pretty enjoyable read. It can also easily be pictured as the basis for a movie screenplay.

A well rounded thriller from start to finish. Robinson's latest novel should make his fans happy as well as create new ones. One of his best.

Recommended for thriller readers.

Yeah, I saw those typos but it's still a strong read. Best thriller of the summer so far.

Dennis Heller, a college student from Boston attending school in San Francisco, discovers he has been an unwilling organ donor. Twice. And it might be his heart and lungs that are needed next. He is the adopted son of a cold father and distant mother. He begins a search for the person receiving his organs and his biological mother and father. Meanwhile, Robert Krost, a young man living in Boston and working for his billionaire father, becomes suspicious of his father's near-death illnesses and miraculous recoveries. Both young men are on a quest for the truth and they are drawn closer and closer together. This wasn't an original plot, but Robinson has added some interesting twists and peopled the story with several strong characters. This story held my interest from beginning to end. This was the first book by Robinson that I've read and I intend to follow up on other novels by him. A very good read.

This is the first book I have read by Frank Robinson, but it will not be the last. I was very impressed with his storytelling. The characters are very strong, and you really get to know them. The plot is constantly changing, and it just an exciting read. I would reccomend this book to anyone wanting a great Thriller. Great Job Frank!

Michael Palmer fans and Robin Cook fans will be very happy to get their hands on this book. Robinson's story moves along with lightning speed, engaging characters, and just enough medical jargon to keep it in the genre. If you're a thriller fan, pick this book up, and get ready to do nothing else until you've steamrolled your way through the story.

An excellent and entertaining read.