Top Ten bestselling author Tess Gerritsen delivers a thoroughly menacing new thriller. A brilliantly compulsive page-turner from the author of The Surgeon. Dr Emma Watson, a brilliant research physician, has been training for the mission of a lifetime: to study living organisms in space. Jack McCallum, Emma's estranged husband, has shared her dream of space travel, but a medical condition has grounded him. Now he must watch from the sidelines! The mission aboard the space station turns into a nightmare when a culture of single-celled organisms begins to regenerate out of control -- and infects the crew with agonising and deadly results. Emma struggles to contain the deadly virus, while back home Jack and NASA work against the clock to bring her home. But there will be no rescue, as the astronauts are left stranded in orbit where they are dying one by one!
Gravity
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Tess Gerritsen used to be a doctor, so it comes as no great surprise that the medical aspects of her latest thriller are absolutely convincing--even if most of the action happens in a place where few doctors have ever practiced--outer space.
Dr. Emma Watson and five other hand-picked astronauts are about to take part in the trip of a lifetime--studying living creatures in space. But an alien life form, found in the deepest crevices of the ocean floor, is accidentally brought aboard the shuttle Atlantis. This mutated alien life form makes the creatures in Aliens look like backyard pets.
Soon the crew are suffering severe stomach pains, violent convulsions, and eyes so bloodshot that a gallon of Murine wouldn't help. Gerritsen brilliantly describes the difficulties of treating sick people inside a space module, and how the lack of gravity affects the process of taking blood and inserting a nasal tube. Dr. Watson does her best, but her colleagues die off one by one and the people at NASA don't want to risk bringing the platform back to earth. Only Emma's husband, a doctor/astronaut himself, refuses to give up on her. As we read along, eyes popping out of our heads, all that's missing is one of those bland NASA voices saying, "Houston, we have a problem--we're being attacked by tiny little creatures that are part human, part frog, and part mouse."
Other examples of Gerritsen's controlled medical horrors: Bloodstream, Harvest, and Life Support. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Gerritsen (Bloodstream) meshes medical suspenseAher specialtyAand the world of space travel in another nail-biting tale of genetic misadventure. Much of this scary thriller is set aboard the International Space Station, where a team of six astronauts suddenly find themselves threatened by a virulent biohazard. Victims first register a headache, followed by stomach pains; then their eyes turn blood red. Finally, they convulse so violently they literally bash themselves apart. Most frightening is what spills out of their bodies: green, egg-filled globules. As astronaut Emma Watson, the station's onboard doctor, struggles to fight the outbreak, her colleagues are dying one by one. A Japanese astronaut, the first to get sick, is sent down to earth via the space shuttle, but he's dead on arrival. Panic spreads when military physicians discover a deadly mutantAa creature that's part human, part frog and part mouseAin the eggs that spill from his body. The military, fearing bioterrorism or even an extraterrestrial invasion, quickly traces the contaminant to an experiment on the space station that was funded by a company researching tiny organisms in the ocean off South America, where an asteroid hit thousands of years ago. Meanwhile, back on the station, Watson is the only one left alive. The military says she's already infected and must be left to die in space, but Watson's husband, fellow astronaut/physician Jack McCallum, won't tolerate that decision, and scrambles to find a way to get her home. It's a tribute to Gerritsen, herself a medical doctor, that such an outlandish tale can be told so compellingly and convincingly. Thanks to her impressive research, the novel's detailed descriptions of life in space consistently ring true, and the progress of the breakout is satisfyingly horrific. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild and Mystery Guild main selections, Doubleday Book Club Super Release; Simon & Schuster audio; author tour. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
I'm a physician as well as the New York Times-bestselling author of medical thrillers and the Jane Rizzoli crime thrillers.
Readers who are familiar with my graphic autopsy scenes and forensic details may be astonished to learn that my very first published novels were actually ... romantic suspense. So why did I leave writing romances and turn to thrillers?
It was all because of a chance dinner conversation some years ago. The man sitting beside me at a restaurant one night was an ex-cop who 'd recently been traveling in Russia. Moscow cops had told him that orphans were vanishing from the streets, and they believed the children were being kidnaped and shipped abroad as organ donors.
I was horrified by the tale. Weeks later, unable to forget those missing Russian orphans, I knew I just had to write a book about them. I wanted to bring into it all the medical and autopsy details that I'd learned from my years as a physician. The sights, the smells of the autopsy and operating rooms -- everything.
My first medical thriller, HARVEST, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked my debut on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list. It was followed by my medical thrillers LIFE SUPPORT (1997), BLOODSTREAM (1998), GRAVITY (1999).
In 2001, my books took another abrupt turn, to forensic thrillers. THE SURGEON was my first Jane Rizzoli thriller. Since then, I've written THE APPRENTICE (2002), THE SINNER (2003), BODY DOUBLE (2004), VANISH (2005 -- and an Edgar Award nominee), and THE MEPHISTO CLUB (2006).
I believe my readers want me to tell them secrets. And that's exactly what I try to do. I take them into the autopsy room, and show them what I've seen. But most of all, I hope I'm revealing what lies in the hearts of my characters. Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isles are real people to me now. I hope they're just as real to everyone who becomes acquainted with them!
Readers who are familiar with my graphic autopsy scenes and forensic details may be astonished to learn that my very first published novels were actually ... romantic suspense. So why did I leave writing romances and turn to thrillers?
It was all because of a chance dinner conversation some years ago. The man sitting beside me at a restaurant one night was an ex-cop who 'd recently been traveling in Russia. Moscow cops had told him that orphans were vanishing from the streets, and they believed the children were being kidnaped and shipped abroad as organ donors.
I was horrified by the tale. Weeks later, unable to forget those missing Russian orphans, I knew I just had to write a book about them. I wanted to bring into it all the medical and autopsy details that I'd learned from my years as a physician. The sights, the smells of the autopsy and operating rooms -- everything.
My first medical thriller, HARVEST, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked my debut on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list. It was followed by my medical thrillers LIFE SUPPORT (1997), BLOODSTREAM (1998), GRAVITY (1999).
In 2001, my books took another abrupt turn, to forensic thrillers. THE SURGEON was my first Jane Rizzoli thriller. Since then, I've written THE APPRENTICE (2002), THE SINNER (2003), BODY DOUBLE (2004), VANISH (2005 -- and an Edgar Award nominee), and THE MEPHISTO CLUB (2006).
I believe my readers want me to tell them secrets. And that's exactly what I try to do. I take them into the autopsy room, and show them what I've seen. But most of all, I hope I'm revealing what lies in the hearts of my characters. Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isles are real people to me now. I hope they're just as real to everyone who becomes acquainted with them!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just try to defy 'Gravity'!,
This review is from: Gravity (Hardcover)
I just happened to pick this book up because I loved the cover. It also happened to have a blurb by my favorite author, Stephen King, across the front and I quote, "She is better than Palmer, better than Cook...yes, even better than Crichton." That's a pretty high recommendation, so those 2 factors encouraged me to read this book and boy, does it live up to the potential! Emma Watson, a brilliant research physician, has been training for the mission of a lifetime: studying life in outer space. Emma's ex-husband, Jack McCallum, has also shared her dream of space travel, but a unforeseen medical condition leaves him grounded and very bitter. He must watch Emma take the chance of a lifetime and watch her go into space without him. Once Emma reaches the space station, however, things begin to go wrong. An experiment runs deadly, stranding Emma aboard the station with no way to get home without threatening the Earth's population. The rescue attempts have all but failed, and one by one the astronants are dying...what happens next will amaze you! This is a fabulous read, nice and easy, but yet, keeps you on the edge of your seat. After reading Gravity, I went back and read Tess Gerritsen's other books. You will too, and you won't be disappointed
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You CAN judge this book by its cover!,
By Josh (Wyoming) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gravity (Hardcover)
I'm one of those people who picked up this book because it just had too cool of a cover to pass up (that, and I'm a Robin Cook fan, so I was challenging King's cover quote). So, is Tess Gerritsen better than Cook? Hard to say; can't really compare the two. Tess leans more towards the sci-fi, while Cook sticks to terrestrial diseases. But, that doesn't make Gravity any less thrilling! This is one of the few books to actually give me the chills! Strong characters, vivid and graphic pictures of what exactly the crew members of the ISS are facing combined with superb research and writing skills make Gerritsen an author I'll be returning too. I eagerly look forward to reading her other books! Gravity is a roller-coaster of a read and one you won't soon forget.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-paced, Creepy & Extremely Well-Written,
By
This review is from: Gravity (Mass Market Paperback)
This is my second reading of my favorite Gerritsen book so far. Dr. Emma Watson is on the International Space Station doing scientific experiments when something goes terribly wrong. One of the crew is afflicted with stomach pains, vomiting and blood-red eyes. Soon, he's dead and his body seems to be liquifying before their very eyes. NASA is being told they have to abandon their astronauts; they have no clue what is happening to their crew members, so they can't allow it to come here and kill more people. But Jack McCallum, Emma's soon-to-be ex-husband, is back on earth trying to figure out what has gone wrong - and how to save Emma and the rest of the crew from dying from this strange disease that has somehow made it onto the space station. Where did it come from? How did it make it through all the security regulations for an ISS experiment?
I loved this book - it's fast paced, creepy, and extremely well-written!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
He was gliding on the edge of the abyss. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
flight control room, restraint bag, crew lock, hab module, restraint board, deorbit burn, convoy leader, equipment lock, main truss, sleep station, astronaut corps, flight assignments, shuttle commander, docking system, comm unit, service module, jet pack, shuttle crew, solid rocket boosters, air lock, flight controller, hyperbaric chamber Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gordon Obie, Mission Control, Woody Ellis, White Sands, Jill Hewitt, Todd Cutler, Kenichi Hirai, White House, Cape Canaveral, Emma Watson, Helen Koenig, Jared Profitt, Leroy Cornell, Diana Estes, Randy Carpenter, Luther Ames, Space Command, Colonel Harrison, Tess Oerritsen, Flight Control Room, Palmer Gabriel, Toss Gerritsen, Commander Vance, Flight Crew Operations, Gretchen Liu New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
He was gliding on the edge of the abyss. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
flight control room, restraint bag, crew lock, hab module, restraint board, deorbit burn, convoy leader, equipment lock, main truss, sleep station, astronaut corps, flight assignments, shuttle commander, docking system, comm unit, service module, jet pack, shuttle crew, solid rocket boosters, air lock, flight controller, hyperbaric chamber Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gordon Obie, Mission Control, Woody Ellis, White Sands, Jill Hewitt, Todd Cutler, Kenichi Hirai, White House, Cape Canaveral, Emma Watson, Helen Koenig, Jared Profitt, Leroy Cornell, Diana Estes, Randy Carpenter, Luther Ames, Space Command, Colonel Harrison, Tess Oerritsen, Flight Control Room, Palmer Gabriel, Toss Gerritsen, Commander Vance, Flight Crew Operations, Gretchen Liu New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
- Life Support by Tess Gerritsen in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- New Mexico (His The New enchantment of America) by John Allan Carpenter on page 159
- Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas on page 83
- Moon Shot : The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon by Alan Shepard on page 68
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