If you're tired of legal thrillers written by lawyers, read this amazing medical thriller written by Dr. Avner Hershlag who not only knows his stuff, but also knows how to write. Combining a little science fiction with a lot of science fact, Hershlag takes us on a scary journey through the fields of genetics and into the near future. Misconception delves deeply into a subject no less important than the mystery of life itself. Nelson DeMille, author of The Gold Coast When Dr. Anya Krim, the First Lady's fertility specialist, delivers a grossly deformed baby of undetermined sex, she tries to figure out how the child was conceived. But, before she is able to determine the baby's origin, she diagnoses a pregnancy in Megan, a Senator's daughter, who has been in a coma for two years. The question of who has impregnated Megan leads to a shocking suspicion based upon the FBI's DNA fingerprinting results. At the same time, the First Lady's last-ditch attempt to have a child runs amok when the safety of her embryos is threatened. Anya not only has to secure the embryos she created. She must now prove that no one has altered them genetically. Anya, herself, is desperate to have a child of her own, but her fears of having sex threaten to leave her childless. How far will she go to have a child? Unforeseen complications threaten her reputation, her career, and ultimately, her life. Misconception takes the reader on a heart pounding and mysterious, yet intriguing journey, examining new reproductive and genetic technologies through Anya's eyes. Along the way, she must grapple with issues of passion and hate, conservative and liberal politics, morality and medicine and ultimately life and death.
MISCONCEPTION
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Based on his expertise in this rapidly evolving, morally precarious field of reproductive treatments, this novel was written by Dr. Avner Hershlag, a Yale-educated fertility specialist at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Long Island, NY and an Associate Professor at New York and Hofstra Universities. Dr. Hershlag lives with his wife in Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This phenomenal book takes you on a journey of rapid twists and turns in the world of infertility, stem cells, and cloning. Peppered with ethics and politics; it is a page turner that begs for your time to see what will happen next.
The lead character in Misconception, Dr. Anya Krim, allows us to delve into the morality and current pressures that face physicians and the government in the rapidly changing world of medical technologies. It is clear that Hershlag is able to parlay his personal experiences as a fertility specialist into a fascinating and gripping story. This book weaves an intricate pattern of morality, deception, the desperation of infertility and the the human element of the processes involved in the ultimate quest of building a family at any cost.
I am anxious for another masterpiece from the new talent, Avner Hershlag, in the medical thriller genre!
The lead character in Misconception, Dr. Anya Krim, allows us to delve into the morality and current pressures that face physicians and the government in the rapidly changing world of medical technologies. It is clear that Hershlag is able to parlay his personal experiences as a fertility specialist into a fascinating and gripping story. This book weaves an intricate pattern of morality, deception, the desperation of infertility and the the human element of the processes involved in the ultimate quest of building a family at any cost.
I am anxious for another masterpiece from the new talent, Avner Hershlag, in the medical thriller genre!
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Much More Than a Summer Read! A thought-provoking, fast-paced, exciting first novel.
August 14, 2012
By C. D. Kaplan
Format:Paperback
The medical mystery Misconception by Avner Hershlag has been published by iUniverse, Inc. While science fiction in medicine has been rampant, this new novel stands along with giant medical thrillers such as Sinclair Lewis' Arrowsmith, Camus' The Plague, and the more recent best seller by Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone, which detail the angst of the ethical physician caught in medical mystery.
Hershlag, himself a world class obstetrician and fertility expert, brings a master's understanding of the magnificence of fertilization, embryogenesis and conception to the reader. What sounds like science fiction occurs every day in his laboratory, which allows couples struggling with infertility to proceed successfully to have healthy children. His is a world of helplessness followed by the hope and happiness which is so beautifully detailed in a wonderful letter to his protagonist, a young and brilliant fertility specialist Dr. Anya Krim, from triplets born to an infertile mother in which we read "Thank you, Dr. Krim, for not giving up on our mommy. Had it not been for you, we wouldn't have come to this world." This letter tells of the joy and glory of this field. We are, however, treated to the angst of this specialty as well, including the constant concern about assuring the preservation of embryos whose lives depend on the continuous replenishment of liquid nitrogen in the freezers, the reliability of electricity and the assumption that there will be no tampering with such refrigerators by trusted employees.
In this strange test tube world, Hershlag weaves a fantastic mystery of an evil genetically disabled infertile man with Fragile "Y" syndrome who dabbles in the world of cellular cloning of animals and humans and in the world of infertility for nefarious purposes. Here, in this world, a brilliant but less talented young physician who is unable to properly care for human embryos is perverted into the conniving world of a megalomaniacal business man to carry out human cloning and embryo implantations for monetary gain.
Hershlag gives us the far more talented, deeply committed, staunchly honest and ethical Dr. Krim, who slowly unravels a thrilling mystery that carries us into the world of stem cell biology using embryos, contraception ethics and government oversight of a woman's right to have children and to have them made in test tubes. We are thrust into a world where the preservation of life in the infertile mother is looked at so differently than in the ordinary discussion of the pro and anti-abortion world. So many new issues are raised in this book about life in general that this novel stands as a wonderful beginning for any philosophical discussion about what is actually life. In the frozen world of a liquid nitrogen freezer exists happiness for the infertile couple, life to so many future Einsteins or Beethovens, carpenters or cooks. There exists health for patients with irreversibly damaged kidneys or livers and for brittle diabetics awaiting transplantation of islet cells, and for burn victims needing healthy skin. This world, so protected by Dr. Krim and so threatened by outside forces, provides the backdrop for Hershlag's genetic mystery.
Hershlag aptly gives the reader the genetic background to appreciate the complexity of the DNA world, while captivating the reader with a work that cannot be put down until the mystery is solved. This book reads with compelling speed as the story evolves. It is a must for any physician, for the ethicist, for the molecular biologist and for any couple who has tried to have children. It is also a wonderful mystery for the general reader with features as startling as the horse's head in Puzo's Godfather and the discussion of the ethical dilemma of the doctor in Camus' The Plague. The wonder of Hershlag's world is transmitted to the reader and brings his emotional world into our being. His is a world of trust, wonderment and joy, which requires the highest of ethical commitment to his patients coupled with the greatest of scientific skill. This book should be read by all medical students, nurses and health care workers who would best emulate the courage and ethics of Hershlag's remarkable Dr. Anya Krim. This is much more than a summer read. It is a read which raises so many issues of our modern world while providing a unique outlook of a dedicated physician with the strongest of moral intent. We are lucky to have Hershlag and his Anya Krim.
Hershlag, himself a world class obstetrician and fertility expert, brings a master's understanding of the magnificence of fertilization, embryogenesis and conception to the reader. What sounds like science fiction occurs every day in his laboratory, which allows couples struggling with infertility to proceed successfully to have healthy children. His is a world of helplessness followed by the hope and happiness which is so beautifully detailed in a wonderful letter to his protagonist, a young and brilliant fertility specialist Dr. Anya Krim, from triplets born to an infertile mother in which we read "Thank you, Dr. Krim, for not giving up on our mommy. Had it not been for you, we wouldn't have come to this world." This letter tells of the joy and glory of this field. We are, however, treated to the angst of this specialty as well, including the constant concern about assuring the preservation of embryos whose lives depend on the continuous replenishment of liquid nitrogen in the freezers, the reliability of electricity and the assumption that there will be no tampering with such refrigerators by trusted employees.
In this strange test tube world, Hershlag weaves a fantastic mystery of an evil genetically disabled infertile man with Fragile "Y" syndrome who dabbles in the world of cellular cloning of animals and humans and in the world of infertility for nefarious purposes. Here, in this world, a brilliant but less talented young physician who is unable to properly care for human embryos is perverted into the conniving world of a megalomaniacal business man to carry out human cloning and embryo implantations for monetary gain.
Hershlag gives us the far more talented, deeply committed, staunchly honest and ethical Dr. Krim, who slowly unravels a thrilling mystery that carries us into the world of stem cell biology using embryos, contraception ethics and government oversight of a woman's right to have children and to have them made in test tubes. We are thrust into a world where the preservation of life in the infertile mother is looked at so differently than in the ordinary discussion of the pro and anti-abortion world. So many new issues are raised in this book about life in general that this novel stands as a wonderful beginning for any philosophical discussion about what is actually life. In the frozen world of a liquid nitrogen freezer exists happiness for the infertile couple, life to so many future Einsteins or Beethovens, carpenters or cooks. There exists health for patients with irreversibly damaged kidneys or livers and for brittle diabetics awaiting transplantation of islet cells, and for burn victims needing healthy skin. This world, so protected by Dr. Krim and so threatened by outside forces, provides the backdrop for Hershlag's genetic mystery.
Hershlag aptly gives the reader the genetic background to appreciate the complexity of the DNA world, while captivating the reader with a work that cannot be put down until the mystery is solved. This book reads with compelling speed as the story evolves. It is a must for any physician, for the ethicist, for the molecular biologist and for any couple who has tried to have children. It is also a wonderful mystery for the general reader with features as startling as the horse's head in Puzo's Godfather and the discussion of the ethical dilemma of the doctor in Camus' The Plague. The wonder of Hershlag's world is transmitted to the reader and brings his emotional world into our being. His is a world of trust, wonderment and joy, which requires the highest of ethical commitment to his patients coupled with the greatest of scientific skill. This book should be read by all medical students, nurses and health care workers who would best emulate the courage and ethics of Hershlag's remarkable Dr. Anya Krim. This is much more than a summer read. It is a read which raises so many issues of our modern world while providing a unique outlook of a dedicated physician with the strongest of moral intent. We are lucky to have Hershlag and his Anya Krim.
By Shanda Emra
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It was an ok book. It was a little long on the medical speak and a little low on the action, but it was an interesting read in some parts.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A medical thriller circling around pregnancy, a riveting read
Children can be the joy of lives, but they can also be a dreadful omen. "Misconception" tells the story of Dr. Read more
Published on August 7, 2010 by Midwest Book Review
5.0 out of 5 stars
timely exhilarating medical thriller
Fertility expert Dr. Anya Krim has DC's leading women as her patients. Currently she is working with the First Lady Janet Cartwright trying to keep her client's embryos safe from... Read more
Published on May 29, 2010 by Harriet Klausner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Move over Robin Cook. Dr. Hershlag has taken over the case.
Move over Robin Cook! Dr. Hershlag is now the specialist in the medical mystery department. Misconception takes the reader on a dazzling roller coaster of emotion and intrigue as... Read more
Published on May 13, 2010 by Michael C. Edelstein
