Vector [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Robin Cook (Author), Arthur Addison (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

Yuri Davydov, a New York cab driver, is an angry, disillusioned Russian emigre poised to lash out at the adoptive nation he believes has denied him his piece of the American dream. A former technician for the vast Soviet biological weapons industry, Yuri possesses the knowledge to carry out his vengeance on a horrific scale especially after teaming up with a pair of far-right survivalists and neofascist skinhead militia. But before he executes his planned piece de resistance of vengeance, he experiments on those around him. Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery notice a number of highly unusual cases in their work as forensic pathologists in the city's medical examiner's office. But the question soon becomes whether the pair will solve the puzzle before Yuri and his comrades unleash the ultimate terror: a modern bioweapon.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766644936
• ISBN-13: 978-0766644939
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,218,023 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