Customer Reviews

Whiteout

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

This story involves the juxtaposition of two currently popular plot devices. The first is one frequently utilized by the author in several his previous novels - thrillers based on the nefarious agenda of a group with motives related to a "headline topic" of current interest. (E.g. THE THIRD TWIN, which was published during the initial period of the debate over the ethical and practical questions regarding cloning). The second is the attempt by many authors to capitalize on the book purchasing aspects of the holiday season by incorporating (often in a quite nominal fashion) a Christmas element into a story true to their traditional genre, thereby appealing to both their traditional readers and a wider audience looking for a Christmas story. (THE CHRISTMAS THIEF by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark - two star review 12/6/2004 - is an example of this trend.) Unfortunately, Follett's effort results in a novel that neither lives up to its potential nor is likely to satisfy his myriad fans.

The story starts off as a pretty formulaic thriller, Antonia "Toni" Gallo, the security chief at Oxenfeld Medical, a Scottish research firm, discovers a discrepancy in the BSL4 (the most secure BioSafety Level) on Christmas Eve and then discovers that lab tech Michael Ross never returned from his recent vacation. As Toni and her staff investigate, the stakes soon escalate and worries erupt about the potential for a virus to have escaped the lab. Toni is the central character in the novel, her career having been resurrected by Stanley Oxenfeld (the company's founder and research director) after her forced resignation from a promising career in the local police department had left her at a seeming professional dead end. Toni is determined to control the problem, both in order to prove to Stanley his confidence in her was not misplaced and because of the catastrophic nature of the biohazard posed by the involved virus. As the story proceeds, lab security is again breached and the problems of the police, Toni and her security staff, and the perpetrators are compounded by a ferocious blizzard that literally WHITEOUTs the entire landscape.

This engaging and well plotted scenario is juxtaposed with several intrapersonal struggles and potential love interests. Toni is attracted to Stanley but convinced that his interest in her is simply professional. Meanwhile, through an unfortunate circumstance Police Superintendent Frank Hackett is assigned to be the lead investigator on the case; he had unceremoniously ended his romance with Toni when she was forced to resign from the force. In addition, a local reporter refuses to stop pursuing Toni, both for information about the situation at Oxenfeld and to try to convince her to date him. At the same time, Stanley's Oxenfeld's dysfunctional family is gathering at his remote country house for the Christmas holidays, and when Toni is invited she is appalled that she will be forced to interact with Stanley's son Kit, who was fired by his father based on evidence of theft that Toni uncovered. A further complicating factor is the role in the story that will be played by the attraction of Stanley's teenage grandson Craig (Stanley's daughter Olga's son) to Sophie (the sullen daughter of the fiancé of Stanley's other daughter Miranda). Of course, the villains also are an intriguing group, especially Daisy, who seems to be a true sociopath.

This is a very easy and enjoyable book to read - it is fast paced with the chapter titles consisting of the time sequence of the events evolved; it is composed of short chapters (longer than James Patterson but in his style) which alternate among the various participants. It contains some occasionally moving sequences regarding human emotion, and the idea is actually quite clever. In addition, Toni Gallo is a an interesting and well developed character.

However, despite the fun that I had reading it, it was not what I or probably other Follett readers expect and certainly not the book that "rockets Follett to a class by himself" as the dust jacket claims. The ending becomes foreordained, and while I actually appreciate that Follett concluded the story without the seeming obligatory violence and landscape strewn with dead bodies that authors of this genre often employ, the story gradually deteriorated from the standard thriller to a Christmas tale of love and betrayal, and the attempt to provide a feelgood ending went beyond the believable, particularly the last two pages of an unnecessary final chapter. For most of the time that I was reading this book, I felt sure that my rating would be a minimum of four stars. And I still want to emphasize that it is an enjoyable read and many individuals may consider it to be an interesting story; it will probably be especially attractive for speedreaders because there are few nuances and there is little need to worry about complexities. Nevertheless, I decided to round down my final rating to three stars because my reaction to the contrived conclusion was so lukewarm that the more I contemplated the story in preparing this review the more I realized how disappointing it was in comparison with many of the author's previous efforts.

Tucker Andersen

Set in Oxenford Medical, a biomedical facility in Scotland, a lab technician is found dead at home, presumably the victim of a deadly Ebola virus variant housed at the facility. Beautiful and brainy females are often front-and-center in Ken Follett novels; in "Whiteout" it is Toni Gallo, former cop and current director of security for Oxenford, developer of anti-viral drugs to combat these deadly viruses. It is these drugs that attract the attention of a band of international burglars, commissioned by a presumed competitor to steal Oxenford's latest research. Kit Oxenford, the spoiled and sniveling son of Oxenford founder and CEO Stanley Oxenford, was the designer of the lab's security systems before being dumped from the firm for embezzlement. Up to his eyeballs in gambling debt and furious with his father for not cashing him out, the despicable Kit joins the band of thugs, providing all the information needed to override Oxenford security. But as the freak Christmas Eve storm shifts course towards the Scottish coast, this story of high-tech thievery becomes a tale as much about the weather as it is about bio-terrorism.

While this unlikely story is predictable and a bit over embellished, it is nonetheless gripping entertainment, hooking the reader in the first few pages and keeping them turning until the last bad guy is finally dispatched. Follett is never one to let rationality get in the way of a good story, and "Whiteout" is no exception - to the reader's benefit. A bit of a Robin Cook bio-thriller with some "Die Hard" thrown in, Follett's lean prose demonstrates again his uncanny ability as a storyteller, cranking out page-after page of non-stop action unadorned by fine literary baggage. While few characters in "Whiteout" are memorable, the brutish "Daisy" adds an interesting new dimension to the familiar psycho-thug, while the terminally dysfunctional Oxenford family provided some black comedy along with critical plot content. As long as the reader doesn't spend inordinate time dissecting the plot or the characters, and isn't overly distracted by some heavy-handed schmaltz, "Whiteout" is indeed terrific entertainment - the written-word version of that holiday season film the critics love to hate but viewers love to see.

Positive Points:
1) The book never slows down
2) The story is entertaining and timely
3) No deep thinking is needed to understand the plot or cartoonish characters

Negatives:
1) The writing is horrible and cheesy (especially a very laughable scene involving a swimming pool)
2) Poorly drawn characters who lack any depth
3) Predictable beyond belief

Overall:
I enjoyed it, but felt like I'd just read the literary equivalent of a Taco Bell Grande Burrito!

My only regrets about reading this book are that I can never get back those 6 hours I wasted, and I'm probably too late to warn many of you not to waste your time either. I would expect 2-dimensional characters in a genre thriller, but Follett has managed to populate this book with 1-dimensional characters or worse. To top it off, there is no "thrill" in this thriller - most of the book is unneccesary detail and it truly never gets to the frightening prospect of bio-terrorism. This is simply a heist novel, and not a very good one at that. The plot is miniscule and he fills page upon page with boring, irrelevant description. There are no unexpected events to provide a thrill - I could have told you the ending after reading the first 20 pages. In short, as a thriller this book is a dud.

Is this the same guy who wrote "Keys to Rebecca" and "Eye of the Needle?" Maybe he's used up his talent? Surely he can't so dispise his readers as to consciously inflict this piece of sh-- on us.

The main characters are ALL blithering idiots. Here is the incident that incited me to write this condeming review: A family is held hostage in their kitchen but an adult daughter managed to slip away. But she can't possibly walk through the snow to reach the car phone to summon help because she is in her nightgown and is barefoot! What does she do instead? After dithering on the stair landing, thinking about locking herself in the bathroom, she hides under a bed with her eyes tightly shut.

What is the reason to create such characters? Is this kind of stupidity supposed to create suspense?

I am told that it's a literaray achievement when readers react to your characters emotionally. I hate Follett's characters not because, like Medea, they are so clearly motivated to commit evil, but because they're SO STUPID. The Scots (all the stupid characters are Scots) should be offended to be so characterized.

Has Follett had a stroke and a ghost writer is milking his reputation?

This book is not a thriller -- it's an infuriator.

I have just about finished this book... it is actually not bad. Probably something close to what could happen or actually might have happened... but the style just doesn't seem like Ken Follett. I have read just about everything he has written over a 20+ year period AND this just doesn't read like a Ken Follett book. In the past, he wrote with an economy of words and never got so bogged down in long scenes with various degrees of low level human bickering. Some of the insight is truly very good and possibly profound. But the book could be just as effective and 100 pages shorter perhaps.

Also, too many coincidences... the thiefs winding back at the home of the owner of the lab from which the virus was stolen... the once in 50 years snowstorm, etc. Yet a lot of the book is very good; the beginning is well written, uncovering the dead man who stole a little of the virus and the forensic work involved in figuring out how he did it and the taking of preventative measures to minimize similar risk in the future. All good and written with an economy-of-words touch.


If you want a good Ken Follett read, try "Pillars of the Earth", probably one of the best and most profound books I have ever read in my life.

I figured I could not go wrong with a book by Follett: I was mistaken. It took me four days to read this book when I normally devour gripping stories. I could easily put this book down and not be driven by the need to find out what happens next. I did not find any of the characters to be really sympathetic or interesting. The heroine was the stereotypical heroine of a Danielle Steele story; she has to be smart and beautiful because one who is not beautiful is not worthy of the leading role. She was boring, spending half of her time mooning over her twenty plus years older boss. And whatever was Follett thinking with the character of Daisy? Where did that come from? Just plain silly or possibly an excuse to have some gore thrown in from time to time. The interactions between the children were the scenes that made me put down the book at periods because I found them so dull. I am not so sure why we feel it necessary to portray all adolescents as being focused on sex. The condom scene was absurd and contrived at the end and totally unnecessary.
Don't waste your time with this book if you really enjoy well written, exciting thrillers. This is not one of them.

I have read all of Follett's novels - and was ready to lose myself in his newest book; I was incredibly dissappointed in the predictable and banal plot, the "high school-ish" style of writing, the total lack of character development (although the characters were so shallow and silly that perhaps there is no need for any development), that for the first time with a Follett novel, I did not finish it. Also, could someone explain to me the necessity of the scene with the condoms at the end of the book??!!

Igor Dumbadze

"Whiteout" by Ken Follett, a contemporary thriller set in Scotland, conveys a refreshing and horrifying spin to the stolen deadly virus scenario.

As the caper is completed, a monster snowstorm shuts everything down...frustrating the security chief (Toni Gallo) of Scotland's largest pharmaceuticals company in her struggle to track down the villains.

In addition to the brutal weather, an obstinate local cop refuses to cooperate until Scotland Yard applies pressure...granting the thieves a lengthy head start.

Mr. Follett deftly weaves the multiple plot lines together. Many a shocking plot twists keeps the pages turning, as the terrifying terrorist plot is unraveled.

Plenty of action, tension, colorful and well-developed characters in this most suspenseful ticking clock novel.

Perfect for airline reading.

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed every novel by Ken Follet - until White Out. The female protagonist Ex-policewoman Toni Gallo is portrayed as not only young and beautiful, but expertly competent in her job as head of security for a hi-tech pharmaceutical company. The company is testing which viruses its miracle anti-virus drug is effective against. It's highest security area, Bio Security Lab 4 (BSL4) contains Madoba-2, a virus with no known cure including the new drug. The United States Department of Defense is the primary funding source for the company. In the first security breach, an animal loving scientist brings a rabbit into BSL4 by concealing it in his bag, exchanges that rabbit for one infected with the deadly virus Madoba-2, and walks out with the infected animal. He and the rabbit are found dead from Madoba-2, the virus is contained and the press is placated largely due to quick thinking of Toni. The Department of Defense allows testing to continue at the company's Scottish location, rather than taking over testing and moving it to Fort Detrick in the USA. Toni admits she should have included a bag check as part of her security procedures. Excuse me? Security expert omits bag check? I believe they check my bags at the airport these days. The US Dept. of Defense must have reviewed the security procedures. They didn't think of a bag check either

The second heist is masterminded and accomplished by the founder's son Kit despite Toni suspecting another heist may occur and doubling the guard personnel. Kit programmed the company's computerized security system and was fired 9 months prior to the heist, after being caught by Toni for stealing from the company, by his father. Kit tried to steal the money to pay off a gambling debt. His father Stanley paid off the debt, but when unemployed Kit came back to him later to pay off a new gambling debt Stanley refused and Kit was outwardly hostile. Mobster Harry Mac offers Kit $300,000 (Kit owes Harry $250,000) to rob Stanley's company and provides the henchpeople to pull of the job. At Christmas, at the family estate, Kit steals his father's Smartcard and reprograms it to open the BSL4 doors using Kit's hand/finger print instead of his fathers'. Why would a competent head of security let a reprogrammable card out of the building after one security breach and while expecting another? Why would the card be reprogrammable? Why would the card, and not a secure mainframe, hold the file for hand/fingerprint matching? As if that weren't enough, all the security codes to access other doors etc. were the codes used when Kit was fired 9 months ago.

This second half of the book described the get-away attempt and apprehension of the criminals. It was good, but the first half ruined it for me. Happy ending: the rich old guy got the young beautiful head of security.