Contagion

Presumably stemming from Robin Cook's real life medical experiences, the medical practices presented in this book are very different from those presented in most other popular media, which I find quite charming. The doctors have strong and specific feelings about hospital policies and about their work that feel very lifelike. Jack Stapleton sets himself apart from other thriller protagonists in that, though he is medically skilled and relatively athletic, he is (very realistically) not well-equipped to deal with the kind of challenges that thriller protagonists often face. He's a cynic and a risk-taker, but mostly in ways that seem plausible for a doctor, so his character works quite well. At times, however, the book's realism does seem show more a little excessive. For instance, all the waiting tests to arrive in the mail, waiting for calls to arrive, and discussing uncertain diagnoses make it drag a little; and the medical jargon is pretty dense on the page, and is rarely accompanied by much explanation.
Cook could've done a better job setting up the stakes of the mystery at the heart of the novel. I didn't think that I cared about the solution until I actually read it--and while it's good that I ultimately came to appreciate the ending, you generally want the audience to be invested considerably earlier than that. The big problem with the mystery is that a lot of the investigation takes the form of asking "What illness is this" for a variety of diseases, so it doesn't feel like we get to the more interesting questions about the case, like "Who did it?" and "Why did they do this?" until very close to the end of the novel.
My biggest criticism of this book is that Cook seems uncomfortable or at least surprised by New York's multiculturalism and multiraciality. He can't just say "taxi driver," it has to be "Pakistani taxi driver" or "Russian emigre taxi driver." It seems like he points out the nationality or race of every character in his first description of them--except, presumably, the white people. The main character's boss isn't just a Black doctor, he's a Black doctor who could've become a football quarterback when he was younger. A big part of the main character being a risk-taker is that even though he's white, he takes the "risk" of riding a bicycle in New York, living in Harlem, and playing basketball with a group of Black gang members. In essence, it feels like he's supposed to be cool because he has Black friends. While Cook's description of the Black gangs is very sympathetic to them, it also draws on a number of harmful stereotypes to tell a story that is ultimately about a white man. This book is interesting in many ways, but it's treatment of race leaves something to be desired. show less

I enjoy things that I can read large chunks of in my 30 minute train commute and this type of book works perfectly. Not high literature but an entertaining read that allows me to think of something outside my life for a little while.

This book begins with an amateur pathologist, Dick, stumbling onto a deadly virus seemingly preserved for over a century in a sealed tomb in Alaska, then proceeds to chronicle several deadly disease outbreaks in modern-day New York. At first, the story seems completely predictable, however, the author throws several curveballs into the plot, the first of them being Dr. Jack Stapleton, a NY Medical Examiner who gets caught up in trying to figure out how and where these deadly pathogens are coming from. I found Jack to be a very frustrating character. He seems to have a death wish as he pursues investigating these mysteries while risking his job, his health, and his life. The book does get repetitious halfway through but picks up at the show more end with a lot of action. All in all, a pretty scary look into what can happen when a virus (like COVID-19) gets loose in the world. show less

Ya había comentado antes, que tengo, entre otros, un gran pendiente con Robin Cook, son de esos escritores que siempre quise leer y por alguna causa no lo había hecho.

Realmente me había perdido de mucho, esta que les comento es la segunda entrega de la serie de Thriller médico de Robin Cook y realmente es buenisimo.

En esta ocasión, por fin conocemos al Jack Stapleton, el médico forense, protagonista de la serie.

como su nombre lo dice, el libro trata de la investigación de una epidemia sobre varias enfermedades epidemiológicas que se da en uno de los hospitales mas grandes de Nueva York, a cargo, de una de las empresas de seguridad social médica mas importantes de Estados Unidos.

Jack es un solitario, cínico y extraordinario show more médico forense que se pone a investigar este caso.

Realmente me gusta mucho como escribe Cook, no solo porque es obvio que esta muy bien documentado en el tema médico, si no porque lo hace fácil de entender y porque no deja de ponerte los pelos de punta con todo lo que cuenta con respecto a la medicina.

Siendo Cook uno de los escritores mas reconocidos en el genero del Thriller médico y en mi caso, el primero que leo, tengo que reconocer que realmente su narrativa es ágil, facil de comprender y contiene un suspenso entretenido durante toda la trama.

No es tampoco de esos libros de suspenso donde la cuerda la estiran y la estiran durante todo el tiempo, si no mas bien es muy tenue, un suspenso ligero, pero que hace que sientas que no puedes dejar de leer, no se trata de esos libros donde toda la trama gira solo en relación a una investigación, en este caso médica, si no que es como si se tratara mas bien de las personas, que hacen un trabajo y en este caso se topan con un caso extraño.

Por supuesto que me gusto el personaje principal, me gusta la forma en que nos presentan a este Stapleton, que me imagino como un hombre maduro, guapo e interesante, claro que no lo pintan así en ningún momento, pero así me lo imagino yo, con su propia historia trágica y enigmatica que lo hace ser como es.

Me gusta la manera en que Cook nos pinta todos esos problemas burocraticos y politicos a los que estan sometidos ese tipo de dependencias, no creo que se exclusivo de un país ese tipo de cosas, por lo que lo hace muy real y entretenido.

En fin, que honestamente, me tarde mucho en leer estos libros, ya les seguiré comentando los demás, pero hasta el momento, bastante recomendable show less

In this novel we get to know the cynical and sarcastic Dr Jack Stapleton whose dialogue I must admit I immensely enjoyed. In terms of storyline the basic gist is that there's a set of highly virulent diseases on the lose in a specific hospital and Stapleton thinks there's more to it than just coincidence - enter the medical mystery / forensic pathology novel.

There's enough forensic pathology in there to be interesting, but not so much that someone who is uninterested in such would be turned off by it.

The ending is well done and I always enjoy a mystery book the most when you've been unable to tell who the perpetrator is and that's the case with this novel - a definite surprise.

I liked this story of John, a New York City, medical examiner who is investigating the mysterious deaths from a for profit medical facility. These people are dying of infectious diseases not usually found in New York and they are killing faster than usual. This is another conspiracy against large medical corporations that Robin Cook likes to write about. Its his usual formula with an interesting twist at the end.

Ik heb betere boeken gelezen, maar ook slechtere. Deze zat echter vrij diep in de lijst van slechte boeken. Misschien kwam het door de verteller van het audio-boek, maar het boek heeft mij geen moment echt in de greep gehouden, en regelmatig heb ik het maar weer uitgegooid.

Het was waarschijnlijk toeval dat dit boek precies op het moment dat COVID-19 echt uitbrak, op mijn deurmat viel, en dat was dan ook de reden dat ik het ben gaan lezen. Een onbekend virus dat veel mensen dood, zeker in deze tijd waarin een virus veel mensen dood...

Samen Met De Succesvolle Zakenvrouw Terese Hagen - De Enige Die Zijn Leven Weer Zin Weet Te Geven - Ontrafelt Stapleton De Verbijsterende Waarheid

Als ik een bovenstaande kop zie, dan weet ik al.. dit wordt show more niets. Ik heb een heken aan zinnen die op die manier worden geschreven.

Robin Cook is wat mij betreft een matige schrijver. Voor een thriller heeft dit boek een traag tempo, zijn de personages erg magertjes beschreven, en was het te vol met medisch jargon (Cook is behalve 'schrijver' ook nog een arts).

Het einde van dit boek was waarschijnlijk een van de slechtste ooit.

• Saii



• slecht geschreven



• voorspelbaar



• ver gezocht

Dit boek schijnt het tweede boek te zijn in een serie over dokter Stapleton, maar ik zal zeker de rest NIET gaan lezen. Een verspilling van papier en inkt.

Ik geef dit boek 1 1/2 ster, gewoon omdat ik aardig ben, maar eigenlijk verdiend het minder. show less