Vector [Hardcover]

Robin Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

When Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery (both last seen in Cook's "Chromosome 6") witness some unusual cases in their capacities as New York City forensic pathologists, the question soon becomes whether the pair will solve the puzzle before a terrorist unleashes ultimate terror in the form of a modern bioweapon.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Robin Cook's latest plot--the threat of an anthrax [bacterium] turned loose in a New York government building and in Central Park--is ripped straight from the headlines, and as such it may be charitably described as having a certain lumpish quality in the prose and an overabundance of cuteness in the lead characters.

Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, the dueling forensic pathologists who bounced off each other in Cook's Chromosome 6, collide and combine once again as a mad Russian cabdriver, who used to work in a Moscow bioweapons factory, comes up with a plan to punish America for not welcoming him with open arms. The cabby forms an unlikely alliance with two firemen who happen to be white supremacists; they fund his anthrax research to further their own lunatic schemes.

Cook is, as ever, best at creating scenes of perfectly realized medical terror which plug into the paranoia of the moment. But if you want deep characters and sensitive description, read Fay Weldon. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

In this age of lethal bioweapons, there's a frightening logic in the idea that your next breath might kill you. Alas, Cook's latest, about an impending bioterrorist attack in New York City, is more ho-hum than horrifying. The premise has promise: cab driver Yuri Davydov is a disillusioned Russian immigrant haunted by his involvement in a tragic accidental release of government-produced anthrax that killed hundreds, including his mother. Armed with hatred for America and practical skills in how to build a biochemical weapon, he's joined forces with Curt Rogers and Steve Henderson of the People's Aryan Army. This catastrophic coalition aims to attack the Jacob Javits Federal Building and the Upper East Side; but for starters, Davydov tests his weapons on his own much-maligned wife and random, innocent rug merchant Jason Papparis. When medical examiner Jack Stapleton (last seen in Cook's Chromosome 6) does an autopsy on Papparis, the first of a series of plot-deadening coincidences occursAhe meets Davydov, who just happens to be cruising by to see if Papparis is dead. Too much "just happens" throughout this novel; worse, the investigators maddeningly bumble around obvious clues the reader has long since pieced together. Stapleton just happens to play basketball with the brother of Davydov's murdered wife; when autopsying the body of Aryan Army informant Brad Cassidy, he has a contrived hunch, and tests the body for anthrax poisoning. The whole plot, including the finale, hinges on happenstance, and Cook seems to know itAhis characters say things like, "What kind of weird coincidence could this be?" Cook's biotechnology research is rewarding, the pace is as pleasingly hectic as you'd expect from the author of Toxin, etc., and some of the characters are well drawn. But in the end, this potentially spine-tingling premise is undermined by a disappointing plot manifesting authorial machination rather than authentic, character-driven events.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1ST edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399144714
• ISBN-13: 978-0399144714
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #990,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Doctor and author Robin Cook is widely credited with introducing the word 'medical' to the thriller genre, and over twenty years after the publication of his breakthrough novel, Coma, he continues to dominate the category he created. Cook has successfully combined medical fact with fantasy to produce a over twenty-seven international bestsellers, including Outbreak (1987), Terminal (1993), Contagion (1996), Chromosome 6 (1997) and Foreign Body (2008).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't Seem Like Fiction Anymore, October 27, 2001

By 

James E. Carroll (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vector (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bumbling Losers Lose!, September 17, 2004

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Vector (Paperback)

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!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hmmm..., February 15, 2000

By 

G J GILLHAM - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vector (Mass Market Paperback)

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