Customer Reviews

The Gabon Virus: A Novel (TSI)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Interesting premise: take a historical fact ~ the plague in a small town in 1600 England ~ mesh it with a unleashed virus today and see what happens. How do the two relate and what can the remains of an old Blue Monk tell a scientist of today. The story moves at a fairly good pace. The switches between the past and present, and England and Africa move smoothly without any jarring or hesitation. The detail in the scientific, medical, and military sides of the story seem to be plausible. I didn't feel like the authors didn't know what they were talking about. The religious threads were also believable which is difficult in this kind of a story with historical myths and scientific doubt combining to question any research. I read through the story in a day. Although I wouldn't say that it was gripping, it was definitely well written and mostly believable.

This book could have been so much more. It's disappointing to think of how good it could have been, to what it really was.

This is my first TSI book, a series I was unaware of before this book. I love the BSL4 virus books in general, and I was looking for the same in this book. The plot setup was engaging and interesting, and really had a change to be a great book. Unfortunately, it really lost its steam, focus, and direction in the last 1/3 of the book. So I'll break my review into two sections, the spanning the first 2/3s of the book for the first part and the last 1/3 for the second part.

The first part is quite engaging. It sets up a great plot line, above-average dynamic characters, and a suspenseful narrative. The various factions are introduced with enough information to be understood, but leaves you wanting to know so much more about them. There's a good amount of action and pace to the scenes and dialogue, and was definitely a page-turner. There was sufficient medical and scientific knowledge added to give the outbreak depth, rather that a simple generic and cliched virus. You had a hold on a fictional account of a "real" virus and the search for a "real" cure. The characters and story line revolved around theology, and although I am not religious, was still a highly engaging wrinkle. The problem is that all of this was lost in the last third of the book.

Strangely, the tone of the book shifted dramatically, moving away from the spread of the virus to the trials and tribulations of the individual characters as they searched for a cure. From here, the book basically changed into an expose on the Christian explanation to why there is evil and suffering in the world. The main characters were highly dependent on their faith, and all of the issues or conflicts that arose were basically solved by resorting to faith. While this is not necessarily a problem, it came across as a shallow and half-hearted attempt to merely convince the reader that faith in God solves all of your problems instantly. It did many of the important arguments for faith a disservice and didn't even give non-faith arguments a shot. Had the book stayed focused on the scientific aspects of the virus, and left faith as an important but secondary issue, this wouldn't have been a problem. But too many of the books seminal moments and twists were dictated less by knowledge and understanding but more by chance/luck/God's grace. The characters easily dealt with complex issues, merely because they trusted in God. It reflected an argument for Christianity you would find in beginner Sunday School pamphlets. It really felt like the authors wrote the book with the sole idea of using a virus to explain how God can allow suffering in the world.

This also affected the medical and scientific credentials of the book. While many attempts were made to remain true to scientific underpinnings of reality (and was done so well in the beginning), most of the solutions came from (or were implied to have come from) God rather than science. As a biological researcher, I felt a bit cheated on a chance to appreciate and understand a real solution, even if it were to be far-fetched in realistic implementation. This culminated in the finality of the book, which violated so many obvious protocols and safety standards, that it again overshadowed the efforts of the authors to remain true to science. As a reader, I want to know what book I am reading. A book that deals theology, science, and medicine is fine. But if you want people to believe that you are writing in a particular style, you can't change that style at the end for a more impressive ending or for effect. While I appreciated the climax and resolution of the plot, it was so grossly out of character that it left me confused as to the whole point of the writing.

As I said before - it could have been so much better (and was for a good majority), but the resolution of the issues just left much to be desired.

I saw this book at a bookstore and thought it might be interesting. Turned out I was correct. Suspense, terror, and disease especially a disease being manipulated by man makes for a very exciting read.

There were Christian overtures to this book but it didn't get in the way of the story and in fact made it more interesting as a read. This is a fiction book but we all know that in today's world Ebola is just a flight away from any major city in the world. I have always found Ebola to be fascinating and add to it the Spanish flu and the 14th Century plague and you've got all the elements for a page turning thriller.

I look forward to the next book by the authors if they can keep that tension and storyline going. Pandemics are not always a great read but this one was truly frightening in the scope of what could happen one day.

I can't believe I just read The Gabon Virus this week. I LOVE Paul McCusker's fiction (Especially The Mill House and his Time Thriller Trilogy) and I'm a also a fan of Dr. Walt Larimore. The Gabon Virus is a can't put it down, fast paced, extremely well written book. I won't go into the synopsis - but I will say that the story line had so many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The concept of a TSI (Time Scene Investigators)Team is brilliant. I don't have a lot of time to kick back with a good book and this surpassed all my expectations. I can't wait to read the next book in the TSI Series. Keep 'em coming, please.

I could not put this book down! I carried it with me everywhere and read it every single chance I got. Every chapter, every page had my full attention. If the book description sounds like something you would really like, you won't be disappointed. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys this type of story line.

An excellent book. Dr. Larimore has done a great job in his transition to include fiction writing in his stable. This book kept me going back as often as I could to keep reading, and I ended up finishing it during the night.
The plot is a stark reminder of the dangerous world we live in, from the real perils of deadly viruses, as well as out of control and untreatable bacteria to the radical groups populating our planet that have no moral conscience about taking other lives to achieve their evil schemes. One can only hope that science will be able to keep up with these dangerous illnesses to keep them in check.
Gently mixed in the book was the spiritual conflict that one of the main characters was experiencing and the help that he received to appreciate the influence of God in our lives.

This book was a gift for someone special and it was greatly enjoyed and I would recommend it

This book is a serious page turner. Continuous action, hard to put down and well focused in these difficulty times. The heroic "Ludlum"esque characters make it a great read for the thriller lover and the spiritual backdrop meets the needs of those desiring a clean read safe for any audience. I await the next TSI novel and hope it flows a swell. Bravo to the authors!

The first in the TSI (Time Scene Investigators) series, this book is a nice balance between gripping suspense and scientific reality. The story switches back and forth between 1666 and the present time as the TSI team scrambles desperately to seek a solution to a global pandemic that had it beginnings in the country of Gabon in Africa. The writing is excellent and the plot is believable....all too believable...and I liked the development of the characters involved. If you enjoy international espionage and medical type mysteries, you will enjoy this new series by a couple of great writers.

As a physician I very much enjoy medical-oriented mysteries and am an avid reader of Robin Cooks novels. The Gabon virus ranks right up there and I cannot wait for a sequel. Open the book, start reading and try putting it down - very hard to do. If this were a TV series it would hold attention like Jack Bauer's 24 as things happen very fast! One is constantly wanting to turn the page to see what is next. The entire plot is incredibly believable which makes it even more scary. The medical sophistication of virology is their but Walt Larimore is a master at making anyone understand complex medical issues. I highly recommend this book for all. Last but not least, if you are a medical professional and do not know what argyria is, and I sure must have missed that day in med school - buy this book!

Thomas Dayspring MD, FACP, FNLA