Chromosome 6

Note: For the purposes of this review, we will consider plots to be the quantum equivalent of lines or planes; therefore, plots, unlike lines or planes, can be parallel and intersecting at the same time. This is called the “plot-line tunneling effect.”

In this fast-paced medical thriller, Cook develops two parallel and intersecting plots about scientists in Equatorial Guinea who are frantically exploring the ethics of genetic engineering, and medical examiners in New York who are stubbornly (and against all odds) determining the cause of death of a mysterious mobster-corpse. I found Cook’s characters well-developed, his plot original, and his narrative both humorous and suspenseful. Although I am generally not a fan of authors who show more reuse characters (how often can once-in-a-lifetime adventures happen to one medical examiner?), I loved this book and recommend it to any fan of medical suspense. I also found the genetic science thrillingly believable, considering that I, like one of the main characters, am a molecular biologist. show less

work was much slower than expected yesterday and today and so i had a lot more time to read than i thought i would - still, i flew through this book. it was fun, interesting, and while not great literature, much better than i expected. i liked the science, most of which was simply explained and actually plausible (except, i think, for the *spoiler* rapid evolution of the bonobos, which, even with the chromosomal help, seemed a bit too speeded up).

*end spoiler* i like that robin cook seems to be one of the only thriller writers that i've read (and i haven't read that many, i suppose) who is completely able to write his books with no sexism, with no gender stereotyping of his characters, with strong, leading, flawed women and equally show more strong, flawed, and non threatened men. also i really like that what he does with the medical and science stuff is generally to make it a moral or ethical issue, wrapped up in the thriller. i last read two of his books probably 15 or 20 years ago (the year of the intern and coma and remember liking them, remember strong women, remember them factoring into my decision (or backing up my decision, i can't remember which) not to go to medical school, but remember thinking they were pretty strong books. in spite of a couple of cheesy parts in this book, and the overuse of the word "quipped," i would be quite happy to read him again. show less

Chromosome 6 presents an intriguing point of view from a storytelling front - as well as challenging whether or not a certain front of genetic manipulation should be followed.

The book is a great medical thriller and poses one of the best not only "What if?", but also "Should you if you had the wherewithal to do so?" questions.

After all, if you were able to have a perfect genetic match for any transplant you might need, would you take it? But what if it involved the kind of research that could and would raise eyebrows? Would you use that option then?

Very good reading.

Robin Cook, se está convirtiendo en uno de mis favoritos de este género (aunque no he leído a otros jajajaja), tiene una manera de narrar, buenísima, que hace que todo fluya y que te metas en la historia que te cuenta, eso queda bien claro, me gusta y lo seguiré leyendo

Sin embargo, en este libro en particular, más que ser un Thriller, me pareció más una historia de ficción de película mala de Hollywood.

La historia no es mala, para nada, pero siento que a pesar de tener todos esos temas médicos y científicos que usa mucho Cook, se fue hasta el quinto patio con esta historia tan fantástica, no digo que lo que aquí expone, no pudiera suceder, está visto, que la ficción escrita de años atrás nos alcanzó, pero al final, show more insisto, sus libros se supone son Thrillers, no ficción y eso de entrada me descoloca.

Porque dentro de toda su ficción, nos cuenta historias de mafiosos, sicarios de tercer mundo, inversionistas millonarios metidos en negocios en África, en fin que estaba medio loca la historia.

Ahora, como yo soy de las que considero que hay que darle su justo valor a las cosas, tengo que decirles, que si me gusto, solo fue el hecho de haberse salido del género lo que me descoloco.

Obviamente la historia de los protagonistas sigue en la misma línea, eso sí.

Si deciden leer la serie que abarca estos libros, pues habrá que leer este, ahora, les aclaro, los libros no TIENEN que leerse en su orden, aunque la historia de los protagonistas si tiene una secuencia, la realidad es que tampoco es de relevancia. show less

An odd book, in the last episode (Contagion) Dr Jack Stapleton was a cynical & sarcastic risk taker whose banter I quite enjoyed, in the opening of this book suddenly he has the appetite for risk of a 90 year old with osteoporosis, then suddenly he decides to flit off to Africa, with his own money, and 5 additional people, 2 of which were complete strangers he's just met. It all was a bit ramshackle.

On the medical side of things, the areas of the book which dealt with forensic pathology and transgenics were interesting but the overall impression was a handful of narratives grouped together where there were holes in the plot line. It wasn't a bad book, but I definitely preferred the other Robin Cook books where realism takes a higher show more priority compared to sensationalism. show less

Futuristic medical research is tapped by money-hungry people and organizations and relocated to an obscure African country. Dedicated researchers and pathologists began to be suspicious when a body disappears from the morgue. Builds from an opening full of obscure scientific jargon to a series of tantalizing crises in Africa. Exciting, after the first score of pages.

The story was ok, nothing great, but the end wrapped up so fast that I felt like I had whiplash. A poorly executed ending ruined completely for me.