Vector (Paperback)

by Robin Cook (Author) "The hum of the commuter plane's engines was ragged..." (more)
Key Phrases: pest control truck, mortuary tech, city epidemiologist, Brighton Beach, Jack Stapleton, New York (more...)

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425172996
• ISBN-13: 978-0425172995
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 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)

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	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Vector (Mass Market 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 (Stamford, CT United States) - See all my reviews

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