Mutation (Paperback)

by Robin Cook (Author) "LONG, lacy shadows from the leafless maple trees lining the driveway inched across the broad cobblestone courtyard that separated the sprawling white colonial mansion from..." (more)
Key Phrases: clock tower building, main lab, Sharon Carver, Able Protection, North Andover (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Like many of Cook's earlier novels ( Coma , Brain , Fever ), this overheated medical thriller covers a hokey, old-fashioned contrivancethe creation of a mad scientist runs amokwith a veneer of cutting-edge technology. The result resembles an ancient, none-too-scary horror movie played out on modern sets. The author's version of evil genius Dr. Frankenstein is Dr. Victor Frank, a bio-physicist who is driven by his wife Marsha's infertility to create a monster: a son whose genetic structure has been designed to preordain brilliance. Keeping the experiment a secret from his wife, he implants similar embryos in two other women as well. ("When I did it, it seemed like a good idea," he claims, in one of the novel's funnier lines.) A decade later, his work goes awry; the other children die mysteriously, and Marsha realizes that something about her smart son isn't quite normalhe has no emotions. (Readers may wonder why, as a child psychologist, she took 10 years to notice.) Cook's characterization is perfunctory even by genre standards, and his initially suspenseful story collapses under the weight of clumsy action scenes and twists that rupture the internal logic of an already shaky premise. Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-- Cook has created another chilling medical suspense story, this time using the perils of genetic engineering as the central theme. Readers will be captivated by this genius child, V. J. Frank. Dr. Victor Frank, a biomolecular researcher, has tampered with the genetic make-up of his son during his in vitro fertilization and implantation in a surrogate mother. To all appearances, V. J. is a physically perfect child with super intellectual capabilities. However, when his mother begins to suspect some changes and problems with V. J.'s behavior, the plot takes off, keeping readers always in suspense. This timely topic of genetic engineering is imaginatively explored.
- Susan Penny, St. Cecilia's School, Houston
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; First edition (February 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425119653
• ISBN-13: 978-0425119655
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #315,789 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Frankenstein (Jr.) Strikes Again, September 11, 2000

By	Tracy Davis (California, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although a little heavy handed with allusions to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", Robin Cook's "Mutation" is a good enough read. The plot revolves around genetic manipulation of the unborn: Victor (named just like in the Shelley work) genetically enhances five embryos, one of which becomes his second son (a genius), VJ (for Victor Jr.). By VJ's tenth birthday, several people close to him have mysteriously died from a rare form of liver cancer, and Marsha, his mother, begins to suspect that all is not right. By the time she convinces Victor that their son has, to put it mildly, a personality disorder, VJ has begun to conduct his own experiments in genetic research. Cook, as always, includes great biological plot points, and at the least, the book is educational and raises several issues that are as relevant now as when the book was first published several years ago. However, the element of surprise just isn't there, and an attentive reader can spot what's coming a mile away. The end implies that the story isn't over...but isn't as ambiguous as Shelley's "Frankenstein". Or as profound...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge a book by its cover, September 7, 2004

By	Rob the Reviewer - See all my reviews

When I started to read this book, Mutation, I almost fell asleep. The use of pointless information in the book just bored me. The book would tell the different exits they got off of and it bored me. There was also an eleven-year-old kid whom sold cocaine. Robin Cook could have at least made the characters believable. The book sounds interesting but you have heard the old saying, don't read a book by its cover and it is proven to be right with this horrible book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mutation, Overall Good, September 7, 2004

By	Tlucas555 "Tyler" (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Robin Cook's book Mutation was a scientific thriller that kept me reading page after page. From the beginning of the book where a strange birth takes place to where you find out Vj's a kid super genius, how couldn't you keep reading on?
Mutations is about a Dr. Victor Frank whose love for science ultimately conflicts with his better judgment...
This book was not only interesting and entertaining but it was also well written. Cook's method of using a lot of detail pays off in this thriller. His descriptions of things such as weather and highway signs help the reader paint a visual picture while reading. This book raises many important matters, one of which is cloning. Cook states his opinion on cloning through his writing very clearly, and I suggest reading this book to all people.