Customer Reviews

Fever

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Fever", one of Robin Cook's earliest novels, is also one of his better ones. Some were better ("Mutation"), but it's much better than some of his recent works ("Abduction" and "Vector"). Like many of his novels, the premise varies little from novel to novel.

This tale centers around a twelve year old girl who has developed a form of leukemia. Her father, a doctor/scientist who has studied and searched for a cure for cancer for the past nine years following the death of his wife to leukemia, is suddenly having to deal with his nightmares again. He has since remarried, but soon conflicts arise between the father and his wife, oldest son, and the doctors who prescribe chemotherapy treatment for his daughter.

The father soon discovers the cause of his daughter's leukemia. That source was also the cause of another child's fatal disease. The father subsequently tries to bring the culprits to justice and continue his work while also trying to find his own cure for his daughter. The believability factor is strained a bit here.

Cook does a masterful job of relaying the tension between the father and his family, but his description and reactions of the girl do seem to fit better with a younger child and not one twelve years of age. Like many of his novels, there is corporate greed entwined with government agencies. Even though it's a bit farfetched, Cook makes it work with his skillful writing. Overall, any fan of Cook or medical thrillers in general should enjoy this one.

Action packed race against time to find a cure for the 'fever'. A great story of one man trying to beat the system he works for in order to save a loved one. Your frustration grows as the main character meets and must overcome obstacles before it is too late

It was very emotional, interesting and wonderfully planned. In short - a great medical thriller! (But too many medical words used.)

Robin Cook is one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed this book as much as all of his others. He's created a doctor/researcher who almost breaks down after an incredible number of problems are thrown at him. He's impulsive, but reacts as any of us might under the same pressures. I read the whole thing in one day, unable to put it down. As a mother, I found what happened to his daughter so shocking that I was both horrified by the book, yet unable to put it down. If you have a horror of sick children, you might want to choose another one of his books. But even if this bothers you, I will just say that the ending does justify reading the book.

A cancer researcher who's daughter is diagnosed with leukemia is suddenly told by the institute that employs him that he should drop his own research to work on project that he doesn't believe in. Benzene found in the river being dumped by a recycling company. All these things add up to another terrific Robin Cook novel.

This was a wonderful book. In typical Robin Cook fashion, it doesn't take very many pages before you are hooked. I guess the real thing about this one it the fact that it is all too real. Big business doing anything they can to protect themselves, a research institute that is willing to do almost anything to keep the money flowing in and a child with leukemia, all very real in this time.

One of the things I liked best about this book, was the way in which Mr. Cook describes people, places and things without going overboard. He keeps it straight to the point without all the miniscule detail that you see from some authors. In addition, Mr. Cook kept the medical terms to a bare minimum (unusual for him), and the ones he used, he managed to follow-up with a layman's explanation.

I guarantee this book will scare the heck out of you. No it's not a scary horror novel, but it will get you to thinking about what is going on in this day and age. Could there really be a cure for cancer that big business is keeping under raps to keep the money flowing in? This book really got me to thinking about things like, millions of dollars flowing into different charities for years and nothing to show for it.

Other books I have read by Mr. Cook include Blindsight, Brain, Chromosome Six, Contagion, Godplayer, Harmful Intent, Outbreak and Vector all of which are good and only one that I didn't really like (Brain).

If you like medical thrillers, and Dr. Cook, don't pass this one up. You won't be disappointed. If you have never read one of Mr. Cook's books, don't hesitate to start with this one.

The beginning of this book markets as more as a medical research book than a thriller, but it quickly takes off. The plot is very simple but thrilling. A man's daughter has developed a form of leukemia and he must find the source before it kills her and other children around him. This was Cook's 4th novel and it was one of his most exciting. Its one of my top 5 favorites but none of his books can compare to COMA. Overall, a great read.

I am a 17 year old senior in high school. We had to pick a book for an anatomy project. I picked this book because it is kind of non fictional. I LOVED IT!!!! It is kind of slow to get into but about 15 pages in I couldnt put it down!!

One of the best books of Robin Cook. It will keep you reading all the time. It also will show you that a family must stand together no matter what and that you must trust your wife or husband. And the end is not out of the reality, at first you will think that that end is not possible, but when you read the explanation of why it can be you will believe it.

This, like all of Robin Cook's books, is an excellent read. Once you begin reading anyh of his books, it's very difficult to put it down.

Robin Cook is a prolific medical thriller writer. I've read most of his books. Fever is not one of his best efforts.

The plot of Fever is somewhat analogous to "Erin Brokovitch". A dangerous chemical is leaching into the river from a reclamation plant. The toxin is giving kids cancer. This novel focuses on the medical drama, rather than the legal. The main character, a research physician named Charles, discovers his daughter is dying of leukemia.

The diagnosis drives the doctor nuts. He becomes certifiable. He was always self-absorbed; now he's self-absorbed AND crazy. Rather than support his hospitalized daughter, or his terrified wife, he abandons them both to attempt to go macho, and shut down the evil rubber plant all by himself. Other than one funny EPA runaround scene, the book is painful to read for the first half. It is hard to care about a workaholic, stubborn and selfish man, doctor or not. To make sure you pity Charles, Cook has him drive around in a old Pinto. I don't care what kind of car the guy drives. He's still a jerk. Charles rationalizes his idiocy by claiming he's an "activist" (that means he gets into fist fights and stomps around and alienates people). Cook seems to be attempting to write a character-driven drama describing the implosion of a family due to a child's sickness. It doesn't work, mainly because the implosion has already happened. This family was never happy. Sadly, the females in Fever are typical early Cook--milquetoasts, afraid to stand up for anyone or anything. So the crazy doctor has free reign.

If you can bear Charles long enough to get through the first half of the book, there IS a payoff! Once the nutty doctor decides to use his brains instead of his muscles, Fever is great fun. The story becomes a good, suspenseful adventure.

But if I weren't so stubborn, I'd never have finished the book and gotten to the end. Hence the two stars.