Customer Reviews

Vector 1-10-00 (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

The anthrax letters sent to government and news organizations after 9-11-01 sent me reading Robin Cook's Vector. And I must confess, it is a page-turner! I picked it up in Penn Station waiting for my train, and I couldn't stop reading it all the way home. Cook's story line is frightenly similar to today's headlines; in Vector, Cook unites a disgruntled Russian emigre cab driver in New York and two domestic terrorists working in of all places, the NYFD, in a plot to release anthrax spores in a federal building's ventilation system and over Central Park. When bodies start appearing as the bio-weapons are being tested, Medical Examiner, Jack Stapleton, becomes the dogged, underpaid, public health professional who won't let the coincidences go away unexplained. Cook's knowledge of biotech lends credibility to the story. If it all seemed implausible when this book was first released, then the time to rethink those opinions has arrived. An easy read for anyone, you will not be disappointed.

Most writers set up the villains as pretty challenging characters (such as occurs in the James Bond novels). Robin Cook has pulled a reverse of that and put together some of the most incompetent villains ever. Despite their incompetence, they make great progress towards unleashing a bioweapon on Manhattan. This reversal added a comic element (not too far from the Keystone Kops) that made the novel much more entertaining than it would otherwise have been.

The developing attraction between Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery is the other interesting plot element. Laurie meets someone and starts to get serious, which presents nice plot complications that you will enjoy.

As to the main story, it is about as far-fetched as you can imagine except for the relative ease of creating the anthrax-based bioweapon. I hope that the details in the book are not too accurate. I would hate for this book to become a terrorist's training manual.

The characters are relatively vivid. Jack Stapleton's ability to create disorder is charming. This makes for a good read. I hope that Robin Cook will write more novels about Stapleton and Montgomery.

Cook obviously likes people, because he even makes the villains more attractive than they absolutely have to be. That slant on making the characters more sympathetic gives the story an engaging quality that will keep you turning the pages well into the night.

One word of caution. There's some material in here about skinheads that will be very upsetting to some people. If you are easily upset by graphic descriptions of inhumane acts, this is not the book for you. Otherwise, enjoy!

While I found the book enjoyable, I was rather disappointed by the "OK guys, sit down and I'll tell you everything" ending. Otherwise, I feel the plot was fairly plausible and the book as a whole was solid (save the end) - however, this is a far cry from books like Fever and chromosome 6, both of which I was extremely pleased with. C'mon Dr. Cook, kick it up a notch

This book was amidst several books another booklover passed on to me. I hadn't read his books before and for some reason I have been blessed with several of them from different people lately and as I am a booklover, I appreciated them all.

The book was written in 1999 and was eerily prophetic to what happened on 9-11 in 2001, so it held my interest. Of course, it is a different tale altogether, but still there is a similarity.

Yuri Davydov, a Russian taxi driver, who emmigrated to the U.S. to find the good life is very disillusioned at the failed promises of what he thinks the "Jewish media" (his paranoid delusion) had promised for those coming to America. He can't find a better job than that of driving a taxi. He had worked in a Bioweapons factory in Russia and figured he deserved better.

He hooks up with a couple of white Aryans of the radical right militia belief who want to destroy the "the Zionist government" and are extremely prejudiced against anyone not white, etc. They concoct a plan that the Aryans will supply Yuri with the materials and he would develop anthrax and a botulinum toxin.

Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, who are both in the pathologist forensics department, are presented with two separate cases that are seemingly unrelated until further investigation. His case is the death of a man from anthrax and her case is about a young man that has been killed in a horrible manner as a result of what looks like his connection to a neo/Nazi gang.

I thought it was a rather interesting story and made me wonder at what causes so many evil thoughts and feelings in people that they would want to do such cruel and inhumane actions. It also makes you wonder about the scientists that develop these weapons and if they ever feel guilty about their satanic projects.

The book makes you think and kept my interest to the end.

This was my first Robin Cook novel, and will probably be my last. I simply cannot understand how this guy sells so many books.

Not once during the entire reading of this book did i feel the least bit concerned over how it would turn out. This is a bad sign, if you're reading a "suspense" novel. Also, the dialogue is abysmal. He has no sense for how people really talk to each other. The characters sound like they're reading from a Hardy Boys novel (this is no dig at the Hardy Boys, i love those guys).

Other random complaints:
A character named 'Chet' (always a bad idea)
At least 5 instances of the term "B-ball", as in "I like to play B-ball." Come on.
Far too many adverbs, nobody simply says anything, they say things wryly, or angrily.

The author's note is a far better read than the actual book (this is not to say that the author's note is particularly good, but i'm a sucker for author's notes). Overall, for someone who's trying to read more "bestsellers" this book has been a huge disappointment.

Avoid this book like the plague.

Yuri Davydov is a disillusioned cab driver in NYC with unused skills in biotechnology. He's decided that the "American Dream" is all a bad joke and he'd rather return to Russia and take his chances there. He teams up with some white supremacists to unleash bioweapons (anthrax and botulism) upon the Zionist citizens of New York City. Dr. Jack Stapleton is a medical examiner with a sad past who stumbles upon some unusual cases and becomes wrapped up in trying to prevent the impending disaster.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit, some parts of which were rather tense and exciting. The romantic subplot between Jack and Dr. Laurie Montgomery was a bit tiresome, however, and some of the wording sounded downright "cheesy." And while the white supremacist characters were thoroughly despicable and constantly spouting rote propaganda lines, I found myself feeling sympathetic toward the Russian cab driver (even though he was plotting an attack!). The surprise ending was quite satisfying, however.

I listened to this book on CD and was rather impressed with the many accents and voices the reader used (I may have misspelled some names above because of that). And while I wasn't totally impressed with this book (I think it's the first of Mr. Cook's books that I've read) I'll probably read another by the author. It wasn't perfect but it was kind of fun.

The mystery in Cook's writing lies less in the fiction than in readers like me who keep buying ridiculous books like Vector. Although the spectre of biological terrorism provokes valid interest, Vector provokes little more than boredom. The "terrorists" in this far-fetched goon show are so inept that few readers could imagine them succeeding. The medical examiner protagonist is believable as a pathologist but almost malignantly benign as a human being. He frequently exclaims, "My word!" as he rides his bike through a stupendously one-dimensional existence toward the novel's stupifyingly predictable conclusion. In my opinion, this is a truly bad book.

This has got to be one of the worst books I have ever read. I'm very much into "virus" books, and once I read a lot of the ones which are either true or based on true stories (Richard Preston, William Close, etc.), I thought I'd try medical thrillers.

I've read some of Robin Cook's other books, and they've been OK. They're very predictable. But this one was so poorly conceived and even more poorly written, I couldn't even finish it. The characters have no depth, and their personalities were developed according to what makes the headlines about skinheads and Russian immigrants. Does Robin Cook REALLY know anything about the mangled mindsets of Neo-Nazis? And with Laurie and Jack -- enough already!

Maybe it's because I've read enough about the real threat of biological weapons to know that Yuri couldn't have had that lab in his basement the way it was described. And his wife couldn't have popped open the lock, walked in and not gotten sick then.

I could go on and on, and I only read half the book. I very much doubt it gets any better. If you want the real thing, read Richard Preston's The Cobra Event.

I have read all of Robin Cook's books. However off late each one is becoming more and more predictable. There is hardly anything to hold as suspense. Completing the book was just going through the motions. I would still prefer the God Player, Harmful Intent types.

Many Russians immigrate to the United States, seeking a slice of the American dream. However, most of them end up being disappointed and disillusioned with capitalism and democracy. Cabby Yuri Davydos is one lost soul who is thoroughly disgusted with the so-called "good life." He plans to return to Russia, but before leaving, Yuri intends to make America pay for destroying his hopes and dreams by using the knowledge of his old job back home. He will grow and release Anthrax in Central Park.

The Neo-Nazi People's Aryan Army helps Yuri because they plan to set loose the Anthrax in the Jacob Javits Federal Building. This group feels the Federal government is a criminal element stomping all over the Constitution. Two People stand in the way of Yuri and compatriots succeeding. All Dr. Jack Stepleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery have to do is live long enough to stop the terrorists.

Internationally renowned Robin Cook has been recognized for two decades as one of the reigning monarchs of the medical thriller. His latest entry, VECTOR, shows the grandmaster still has the regal touch as he delivers a blistering commentary about arms dealers, biological weapons, and self-righteous terrorists within an exciting story line. The characters, who were last seen in CHROMOSOME 6, remain likable and genuine as they struggle with everyday problems and insecurities while coping with what could become a medical emergency. This is a one-sitting, superb story that shall Cook's myriad of fans

Harriet Klausner