Customer Reviews

The Miracle Strain

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

"The Miracle Strain" is a good try by first time author Michael Cordy. It has something for everyone. You will learn more about gene therapy than you can shake a stick at (the Robin Cook connection) and you will be engrossed by the Brotherhood of the Second Coming, a religious international cabal, while not focusing on world domination, but which definitely has plans for a new world order - vintage Robert Ludlum. The book even has a 3-word title, which is a Ludlum trademark.

Dr. Tom Carter seeks the perfect gene to help save his daughter Holly from impending brain cancer. His pursuit causes him to cross paths with the Brotherhood, who originally try to have him killed. The Brotherhood has their own assassins with colorful names like Gomorrah and Nemesis. One of the assassins is even a woman. The Brotherhood, originally formed by Lazarus, is awaiting and has evidence of the Second Coming.

But because this book trys to be all things to all people, that turns out to be a shortcoming. There is the medical thriller aspect, the hunt for the gene, there is the international intrigue of the assassin tracking Carter down, and there is the religious overtones of the impending Second Coming, reminiscent of the "Left Behind" series. If Cordy could have concentrated on just one of these venues, he might have had a better book. Still a good first try. However, if you would like to see what this story would be like after Cordy had a couple of novels under his belt, try "The Genesis Code" by John Case.

The Miracle Strain seems to open a whole can of worms upon its reading. The book brings about a strong ethical question; is it all right to search for the body of Jesus? This question is answered by many people in many ways throughout the book. The main character, a doctor, believes it to be the only way to cure some of today's worst diseases, i.e. by finding the only perfect human being. His arch nemisis answers the question quite simply, "Why else would a mortal search for the genes of God? If not to become God himself?" The book is a very creative journey, and an excellent first novel. Although some parts of the plot could be considered a little far fetched other pieces make up for it. The Miracle Strain is a good book, well worth the money.

If you are a fan of "realistic" science fiction then this is your piece,combined with the paranormal and the unexplained all taking place in our modern world of politics,religon as well as the ruthless quest of power earthly as well as heavenly this book effectively combines the usually conflicting contents of religon and science in one explosive drama of epic proportions.

Michael Cordy's debut novel "The Miracle Strain" is a superbly written gripping thriller. It is a fast-paced, easy-read page-turner. From the first paragraph you are hooked to the story and the interesting characters. Cordy's character development is simply brilliant. "The Miracle Strain" is an experience that any thriller fan must live. You experience the lives of the characters, day by day, over coming adversities, and seeing the world through their eyes. You soon begin to feel as if you are a part of the story, with the words flowing round you like music. But be warmed this is not for the faint-hearted. Cordy goes into some detail regarding the righteous killings and the harrowing past of several characters, mainly, Maria Benariac & her childhood experiences at a Corsican orphanage and Dr. Tom Carter & his involvement with his mother's suicide. "The Miracle Strain" has everything a modern day thriller should have, from brutal kil! ! lings, undercover operations, secrete treasures, etc. But above all else it has humanity intertwined beautifully between science & technology and faith in God.

All I can say after reading this abomination is that I have never read anything like it. The plotter is utter compost, and I would have enjoyed watching grass grow more that reading this mind-numbing plot. And beyong the sleep-inducing storyline of this "story," the depth of the characters, or lack there of, left me yearning for a more intelligent and in-depth book, say, "Run, Spot, Run?" Read this book only if you are extremely depressed, you may well get a good laugh out of it!

I have read all the other critic's of Mr. Cordy's book, and I disagree with most of them. This book is clear, too-the-point, and well-written. It left me wanting for more. It seems to me Michael Cordy should continue writing novels. This is one of the best novels I have ever read

I read science fiction a lot, in fact, it is my favorite type of book. One of the reason I like si-fi so much is usually it presents you with something to think about, or something to learn about. Often a the moral issue on a new technology, I new view on the future, or just a new idea about technology, medicine, colonization, society or a number of other issues. There was nothing to think about in this book nothing to take away. This was a series of event that would and could never happen because the author put no reality in it. There was no magic, no new world to explore, no new friends to meet. The better the book the more that it brings you to another world. The ability (or disability as the case my be) to do that shows the quality of the writing. The quality of writing is not the complexity, nor the correctness but only the amount of empathy it evokes. A good book will have you laughing, crying, screaming, and loving. This book does not have that quality. The characters are cardboard shells and even at the end you feel no empathy towards them. Afterward I could not tell you what they were like. I could tell you what they looked like and what they were good at, but only because the author told me. I could not infer anything because they were not people to me they were merely words. In this book the author actually proposed some interesting ideas. Like the idea the Christ may have had some special abilities through his DNA. Without getting into a argument with Christians, I can say that some of the things that Christ was supposed to have done were physical impossible, but most stories do start from a fact of real life experience. Taking into account the fact that his abilities may have been greatly exaggerated, it is an interesting idea that Christ may have had some special abilities because of his DNA. The author proposes this idea, but instead of exploring it he used it to help the plot (if you can bare to call it a plot) along. Another interest idea that he proposes and then does not explore is the idea of a machine that can read DNA. Assuming that it possible, it would be interesting to explore what it would do to society. If a person know that they will die at a young age from cancer, would they bother going to school after the elementary level? I mean if you know you will never get a chance to use the abilities you learn, why learn them at all? Also another issue he could bring up would be the one whether it is moral right to have a machine that can tell the future. It is almost the same as finding a way to not ever die. You must ask is that not defying nature? I would not recommend this book to anyone. The plot, by the end, is so ridiculous it becomes funny. Anything that bad is not worth your time. Then again maybe you should read it, if you can bare it's pathetic nature, it will after all make all the books you read afterward seem highly enjoyable!!!

This is a pretty bad book. The writing level is lower than Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code and the ideas are just as improbable (some would say preposterous). The book is also very anti-Christianity if that sort of thing bothers you. The plot is so rudimentary and the conclusion so obvious, it's hard to enjoy the cardboard characters going through the motions.

Even for a beach read, the ethics of the main cardboardies are problematic. For example, Tom Carter -- the hero of the novel -- is secretly and illegally keeping a DNA database of all individuals he scans with his geneto-scope device. He justifies his actions by claiming that the data will only be used for the "good" of medical science. Apparently violating all your patient agreements and a law specifically prohibiting such a database is nothing to lose sleep over. At a later point in the story, Carter advocates breaking another law and says it's only illegal "if you get caught." That's a well thought out argument. By that logic, murder is only illegal if you get caught, too.

The author doesn't seem to know very much about actual scientific research or biology, so if you're marginally familiar with these fields, you probably want to skip this book. When a mouse has spontaneous remission of brain cancer, the first speculation of the researchers is -- I kid you not -- that faith cured the tumors. As far as I know, mice aren't known for being particularly religious and there is no indication that it was a church mouse, so I'm unsure why that was their first hypothesis. I guess the author knows some "new science" that's been hidden by the silly secret brotherhood of the book.

i read this book almost 2 years ago when my friend lent it to me. until now, i do have some memories of the book coz it has this very intriguing plot and almost gripping at times. the plot makes u think a lot too. if i am willing to risk some punishment for reading this book secretly during class, i believe u can tell how much i longed to devour the fantastic plot.

I read this book after it was highly recommended by a friend who works in a bookstore - the concept, the story, the twists were all fabulous, I loved the blending of ultra modern science with religion and secret brotherhoods. I'd say that the story kept me hooked, but I couldn't help feeling dissatisfied with the writing style, and the characters were a bit too cardboard-like for my taste. But worth reading anyhow because the story is so intriguing. I hear the film rights have been sold, so perhaps this might be a case where the film will be better than the book.