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The First Horseman
In the Book of Revelations, the Four Horsemen herald the arrival of the Apocalypse. When the First Horseman thunders forth, pestilence will spread throughout the land.
For the First Horseman is Plague. . . .
With the highly acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Genesis Code, John Case gave us a compelling, chillingly plausible novel of suspense that readers devoured in one sitting. Now Case once again combines cutting-edge science with political intrigue in a thriller even more terrifying--a journey into a nightmare so frighteningly believable that it might just happen tomorrow.
The Spanish Flu killed forty million people worldwide in 1918. Now, with history threatening to repeat itself, a scientific expedition speeds toward a remote island in the Arctic Sea to recover strains of the lethal virus preserved under layers of ice.
For Washington Post reporter Frank Daly, it is the story of a lifetime. But his plan to join the expedition is ruined by a ferocious storm that delays him. And when he meets up with the ship upon its return to port in Norway, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong.
Fear haunts the faces of the crew. No one will talk. And someone wants Daly to stop asking questions.
But if there's a wall around the facts, Daly will batter it down. Persistent and resourceful, he knows how to get answers when none are given. Yet the more he uncovers, the more dangerous the stakes become. Until at last he comes face-to-face with a shocking secret, pitching him into a harrowing race to prevent nothing less than . . . apocalypse.
Gripping, heartpounding, The First Horseman hurtles through jolting twists of plot to reveal an enemy as ominous as the darkest prophecy. A knockout thriller, here is a novel of unrelenting suspense you will find hard to put down--and even harder to forget.
For the First Horseman is Plague. . . .
With the highly acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Genesis Code, John Case gave us a compelling, chillingly plausible novel of suspense that readers devoured in one sitting. Now Case once again combines cutting-edge science with political intrigue in a thriller even more terrifying--a journey into a nightmare so frighteningly believable that it might just happen tomorrow.
The Spanish Flu killed forty million people worldwide in 1918. Now, with history threatening to repeat itself, a scientific expedition speeds toward a remote island in the Arctic Sea to recover strains of the lethal virus preserved under layers of ice.
For Washington Post reporter Frank Daly, it is the story of a lifetime. But his plan to join the expedition is ruined by a ferocious storm that delays him. And when he meets up with the ship upon its return to port in Norway, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong.
Fear haunts the faces of the crew. No one will talk. And someone wants Daly to stop asking questions.
But if there's a wall around the facts, Daly will batter it down. Persistent and resourceful, he knows how to get answers when none are given. Yet the more he uncovers, the more dangerous the stakes become. Until at last he comes face-to-face with a shocking secret, pitching him into a harrowing race to prevent nothing less than . . . apocalypse.
Gripping, heartpounding, The First Horseman hurtles through jolting twists of plot to reveal an enemy as ominous as the darkest prophecy. A knockout thriller, here is a novel of unrelenting suspense you will find hard to put down--and even harder to forget.
325 pages, Hardcover
First published August 11, 1998
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905 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
May 18, 2019
Bio-terrorism is a real threat in this crazy world of ours. And the idea of resurrecting a disease from the past and unleashing it upon the population is the threat in this book. Scary stuff, right?
Yes, indeed.
But.
I simply could not lose myself in this story. Of necessity the narration bounced around at first: from the terrorists to a North Korean to a CIA agent to a team of scientists who mysteriously finally had their research project funded just in the nick of time to catch a boat to a remote Arctic area where they hoped to retrieve bodies of some miners who had died of the Spanish Flu back in 1918, to a journalist who was supposed to go on the same trip but missed the boat. Literally. There was a big storm, the ice-breaker left early to escape it, and our hero was left in the lurch.
But he learns that something had gone wrong, and after that we stay with him pretty much all the time while he tries to figure out what had happened and what would happen. I could never get myself past wondering how he managed to hook up with the scientists in the first place. Other than saying that he had been invited, that point was never too clear to me. Who invited him and why? Did he know Annie the scientist previously or did she just pick his name out of a hat or what?
There are so many things that are not clear to me in this world that I shouldn't be annoyed when I come across more in fiction. Still, I just couldn't let that go, and it colored the rest of the story for me.
Besides that, the reader knows what is going on better than the hero does; it was pretty easy to quickly answer questions that our intrepid journalist spent chapters puzzling over. That is never fun in a book that is supposed to keep the reader guessing all the way to the end. I'm afraid I was not impressed with this predictable book and I won't be picking up anything else by this author.
Yes, indeed.
But.
I simply could not lose myself in this story. Of necessity the narration bounced around at first: from the terrorists to a North Korean to a CIA agent to a team of scientists who mysteriously finally had their research project funded just in the nick of time to catch a boat to a remote Arctic area where they hoped to retrieve bodies of some miners who had died of the Spanish Flu back in 1918, to a journalist who was supposed to go on the same trip but missed the boat. Literally. There was a big storm, the ice-breaker left early to escape it, and our hero was left in the lurch.
But he learns that something had gone wrong, and after that we stay with him pretty much all the time while he tries to figure out what had happened and what would happen. I could never get myself past wondering how he managed to hook up with the scientists in the first place. Other than saying that he had been invited, that point was never too clear to me. Who invited him and why? Did he know Annie the scientist previously or did she just pick his name out of a hat or what?
There are so many things that are not clear to me in this world that I shouldn't be annoyed when I come across more in fiction. Still, I just couldn't let that go, and it colored the rest of the story for me.
Besides that, the reader knows what is going on better than the hero does; it was pretty easy to quickly answer questions that our intrepid journalist spent chapters puzzling over. That is never fun in a book that is supposed to keep the reader guessing all the way to the end. I'm afraid I was not impressed with this predictable book and I won't be picking up anything else by this author.
April 7, 2020
Suspenseful thriller about biological weapons.
Almost worth 4 starts, if the last part of the book hadn’t been so stereotypical.
But definitely a fun read, if you don’t have anything better.
--------------------------------------------
Spannender Biowaffenthriller.
Der Roman entwickelt die Idee, aus dem Erreger der spanischen Grippe eine Biowaffe zu bauen, die mehr oder weniger die gesamte Menschheit vernichten soll.
Natürlich ist die Geschichte ganz im üblichen Klischee aus US-amerikanischen Fokus erzählt, so dass die gesamte Menschheit wohl eher nur die USA bedeutet.
Ich fand die Story richtig spannend und hätte wohl aufgerundete 4 Sterne dafür vergeben, wenn das letzte Viertel des Buches nicht in den allbekannten Klischees ertrunken wäre.
Dennoch durchaus unterhaltsam und lesbar und mir aufgerundete 3 Sterne wert.
Almost worth 4 starts, if the last part of the book hadn’t been so stereotypical.
But definitely a fun read, if you don’t have anything better.
--------------------------------------------
Spannender Biowaffenthriller.
Der Roman entwickelt die Idee, aus dem Erreger der spanischen Grippe eine Biowaffe zu bauen, die mehr oder weniger die gesamte Menschheit vernichten soll.
Natürlich ist die Geschichte ganz im üblichen Klischee aus US-amerikanischen Fokus erzählt, so dass die gesamte Menschheit wohl eher nur die USA bedeutet.
Ich fand die Story richtig spannend und hätte wohl aufgerundete 4 Sterne dafür vergeben, wenn das letzte Viertel des Buches nicht in den allbekannten Klischees ertrunken wäre.
Dennoch durchaus unterhaltsam und lesbar und mir aufgerundete 3 Sterne wert.
June 6, 2020
What does a small-town in N. Korea that has been obliterated by it's own government, a cult in NY & exhumed bodies in the Arctic have in common? That's the puzzle & it is somewhat slow-going as it builds it's case. It all has to do with the Spanish Flu but not in 1918 but in the late 20thC!
Ok the reviews are all over the place from the GR community on this one and well yes, the characters are one-dimensional but I thoroughly enjoyed most of this suspenseful tale. I think the author based the cult organization on the Church of Scientology but their pillars were about saving Mother Earth. So the strategies they used were a combination of Scientology & Greenpeace harassments but with lethality
I found the science interesting especially in light of the situation we are in today. If you want your virus education wrapped up in a palatable format, this might be the book for you. Not much thriller, if one equates that to a reading thrill-ride, until the last quarter and the ending is predictable. It's a slow burn that builds the heat as more is revealed. I guessed quite a bit just because I think as a populous we know so much more now than when this was written in 1998.
Ok the reviews are all over the place from the GR community on this one and well yes, the characters are one-dimensional but I thoroughly enjoyed most of this suspenseful tale. I think the author based the cult organization on the Church of Scientology but their pillars were about saving Mother Earth. So the strategies they used were a combination of Scientology & Greenpeace harassments but with lethality
I found the science interesting especially in light of the situation we are in today. If you want your virus education wrapped up in a palatable format, this might be the book for you. Not much thriller, if one equates that to a reading thrill-ride, until the last quarter and the ending is predictable. It's a slow burn that builds the heat as more is revealed. I guessed quite a bit just because I think as a populous we know so much more now than when this was written in 1998.
October 18, 2015
Reporter/detective novel meets virus thriller. The First Horseman follows the investigation of Frank Daly, a reporter, into what was meant to be a straight forward archaeological dig to research cadavers infected with the 1918 Spanish 'Flu.
Enter cover ups, a crazy religious cult, mysterious FBI agents and a deadly virus back from the dead.
It's not a terrible book, certainly passes the time in an entertaining fashion but nothing really stands out about it either. It's resoundingly average.
If one wanted detective/reporter story there's better books, such as Michael Connolly, and if one wanted a good virus thriller there's Richard Preston's The Hot Zone which not only is an excellent story but is also true. That's true as in non fiction, not true as in "based on a true story".
Enter cover ups, a crazy religious cult, mysterious FBI agents and a deadly virus back from the dead.
It's not a terrible book, certainly passes the time in an entertaining fashion but nothing really stands out about it either. It's resoundingly average.
If one wanted detective/reporter story there's better books, such as Michael Connolly, and if one wanted a good virus thriller there's Richard Preston's The Hot Zone which not only is an excellent story but is also true. That's true as in non fiction, not true as in "based on a true story".
November 27, 2018
It feels like I have been trying with all my might to read this book for longer than when Goodreads reports I have put this orange-yellow garbage on my shelf, but the date I scrawled in the front cover reveals that what GR says is approximately accurate and that it is a good idea to sign and date all books owned for reassurance purposes. (Or if you don't want to ruin the books themselves, to write such information down in a notebook or on a computer file. I find that too complicated.)
To be frank with you, perusers of the Internet, I have attempted to read this "tense thriller" Publishers Weekly praises as GRIPPING for eons and eons (if four years counts as all that long - I did have it in the back of my mind for nearly 1500 days).
People Magazine praises it as "sharply written and paced."
I, meanwhile, couldn't force myself through it.
The plot is... let me check a moment... oh god, what plot. Chris Baty, this creator of NaNoWriMo (which is over after the elapse of three days), wrote an excellent and quite inspiring book called No Plot? No Problem! but in this instance, I am afraid that the absence of an overarching plot did this work more harm than good.
There are a couple of characters strewn about in high-risk Cold War-like locales such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Murmansk, Shanghai, Norway, and Alabama. I don't know, the only place from the preceding list I've visited is Shanghai.
I really couldn't understand the problem.
Edit: looking at my pagely reviews, it seems like I overall didn't understand what this author was trying to say.
And I tried.
To be frank with you, perusers of the Internet, I have attempted to read this "tense thriller" Publishers Weekly praises as GRIPPING for eons and eons (if four years counts as all that long - I did have it in the back of my mind for nearly 1500 days).
People Magazine praises it as "sharply written and paced."
I, meanwhile, couldn't force myself through it.
The plot is... let me check a moment... oh god, what plot. Chris Baty, this creator of NaNoWriMo (which is over after the elapse of three days), wrote an excellent and quite inspiring book called No Plot? No Problem! but in this instance, I am afraid that the absence of an overarching plot did this work more harm than good.
There are a couple of characters strewn about in high-risk Cold War-like locales such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Murmansk, Shanghai, Norway, and Alabama. I don't know, the only place from the preceding list I've visited is Shanghai.
I really couldn't understand the problem.
Edit: looking at my pagely reviews, it seems like I overall didn't understand what this author was trying to say.
And I tried.
January 10, 2009
This is a thriller about a journalist who stumbles upon a plot to release a biological weapon into the public.
I needed books on CD for commuting, and someone passed this along to me. I found it disappointing for a number of reasons:
1. The characters didn't really have any depth. I was surprised at hints of a possible romance in the story, because the characters don't display emotion. They were not developed in any way.
2. The climax is rather anti-climactic. It sped by too fast, and I found it disappointing and unimaginative.
3. This is picky and only applies to the audiobook, but I didn't like the narration. One of the main characters is female, and the narrator's (a male) voices for all the women sounded super shy and meek. Most of the male voices also sounded weird (and kind of annoying). I think he was trying too hard to distinguish between the male voices - some are over-the-top. I found it distracting.
Overall, the book is somewhat entertaining if you're looking for something mindless and fast paced. If you're looking for a really good read (or even a pretty good read) with some depth and thought, I would suggest you look somewhere else.
I needed books on CD for commuting, and someone passed this along to me. I found it disappointing for a number of reasons:
1. The characters didn't really have any depth. I was surprised at hints of a possible romance in the story, because the characters don't display emotion. They were not developed in any way.
2. The climax is rather anti-climactic. It sped by too fast, and I found it disappointing and unimaginative.
3. This is picky and only applies to the audiobook, but I didn't like the narration. One of the main characters is female, and the narrator's (a male) voices for all the women sounded super shy and meek. Most of the male voices also sounded weird (and kind of annoying). I think he was trying too hard to distinguish between the male voices - some are over-the-top. I found it distracting.
Overall, the book is somewhat entertaining if you're looking for something mindless and fast paced. If you're looking for a really good read (or even a pretty good read) with some depth and thought, I would suggest you look somewhere else.
November 4, 2023
This I will admit was one of those gambles I like to take every now and again and as a result I will admit that I know little of the author or their body of work. What I can tell you is that this book is a face paced thriller with the appeal of those story lines where you are never quite sure who will live and who will die - ok that does not last for long and I will admit that I started spotting similarities to other stories very quickly (I am not saying that they have been copied just they remind me of scenes from different stories). That said the book was a griping read if you enjoy this sort of thriller. I will admit that this will make me want to explore John Case more and maybe keep an eye out for more titles in the future
October 25, 2014
I tried but I just couldn't finish it. With books like this, the pages should turn themselves, but this one was too much work. A promising premise (sort of) that quickly goes nowhere. It would be overstating it to call the characters one-dimensional but they exist solely as plot-delivery devices. Completely forgettable and it commits the cardinal sin of suspense - it was boring. There are also a lot of very tortured metaphors - maybe one out of a dozen lands but the rest are distractingly bad and overwrought.
November 20, 2013
This was a great suspense story about the use of biological weapons in New York City. The main character, a journalist, is following a story about scientists exhuming the bodies of men who died in an influenza epidemic. The bodies were missing and he is determined to find the details of the story. The CIA, CDC and others become involved. In a twist, a religious cult and the North Koreans are the enemies who may cause a pandemic. A quick moving story that keeps building suspense to the very end.
November 8, 2017
Main plot was alright, but if I wanted a hokey boy meets girl, girl gets kidnapped, boy has to be super smart and super brave to save girl kind of story I wouldn’t exactly be reading sci-fi thrillers
June 8, 2025
The cult leader guy actually seemed pretty cool
June 11, 2020
I wanted to like this book, but I just could not. Here's why.
We are living through a pandemic right now (2020) that the world hasn't seen in a hundred years. This book sets the premise that, by aerosolizing a virus, another pandemic could happen, and could be worse, if the virus is in the hands of a few lunatics who think there are too many people on the planet. I was led to believe that this book would be a journey book - up to some remote Arctic islands, where the Spanish flu is still frozen in the bodies of three people who died up there, but the story comes back to Washington, and there's a whole bunch of running around. The two main characters have the weakest love story I've ever read in a 372-page novel, and the characters in general jump in and out of the story and are very flat. So on the surface, the story had a chance, but like a virus meeting Clorox, it died on contact.
We are living through a pandemic right now (2020) that the world hasn't seen in a hundred years. This book sets the premise that, by aerosolizing a virus, another pandemic could happen, and could be worse, if the virus is in the hands of a few lunatics who think there are too many people on the planet. I was led to believe that this book would be a journey book - up to some remote Arctic islands, where the Spanish flu is still frozen in the bodies of three people who died up there, but the story comes back to Washington, and there's a whole bunch of running around. The two main characters have the weakest love story I've ever read in a 372-page novel, and the characters in general jump in and out of the story and are very flat. So on the surface, the story had a chance, but like a virus meeting Clorox, it died on contact.
June 21, 2014
I was double reading (the Firs Horseman and Joker One) and when I read the 1st chapters I couldn’t really connected the Bergmans and Korean town mass killing opening stories of Jone Case so I nearly gave up after the first chapters. But what I didn’t know is that Case had a way of keeping me hooked. A thriller, a hybrid between science, religion, ideology and crime investigation. The Temple of light/Solage is really my kind of story. I should say I felt pity for Susannah when little Stephen was to be killed in plastic bag like that, but again she (Susannah) is such a chance-taker, conniving-witch who take advantage of peoples’ good hearts. (Revelation 6:1-2)-The rider of the white horse.
November 10, 2010
I got this one from my dad's personal library. I was attracted to it because it novelizes a germ warfare plot involving the Spanish Flu, which I read about in Gina Kolata's book "Flu - The Story of the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and The Search for the Virus That Caused It". Since I got the "Flu" book off my niece Mo's GoodReads list, I will carry this little novel, a good fast ride of a read, to Mo when we see each other at Christmastime in Flagstaff, AZ.
November 11, 2016
This book was and exhilarating read and I enjoyed the excitement wich the author had enhanced through the book from the people dieing from good people joining and it has enhanced my vocab and my joy for action novels. John case really enhanced my view on the sorrow and depression wich strike from ravaging plague and it was a very enjoyable book to read.
January 14, 2013
Started out really slow - seemed to kill me just to get through the first 100 pages or so. It had a good premise but they summed it up at the end pretty quickly and didn't really address the first part of the book. It was ok but not one of my favorites.
June 15, 2013
A medical thriller about flu being used as a medical weapon. The book touches too many avenues that are not developed, keeping the reader hanging. The quickest climax I have ever read, finishes in a span of 10 pages (exaggerated).
June 25, 2015
Global pandemic story. Listened to the audiobook. The narration was painful.
July 10, 2018
Absolute pageturner. Loved to read this book back then!
October 7, 2018
A very disappointing read, not what I expected from the title, Very slow moving. I just couldn't be bothered to wade through all the boring stuff and gave up after eighty pages.
February 29, 2024
This was almost more interesting as a period piece than a contemporary novel. Considering it was written well before COVID, it is very interesting to see what an author would write about the Spanish flu and a new pandemic before all the politics came in (not once did the author assume people would be anti-mask).
Having said that, I found quite a few issues with it. First of all, I know it was the 90s, but how naive can people be? If I’m a journalist investigating a cult that is suspected of kidnapping and killing people, and I spot some lady breaking into my car and quickly going away, and then find a slimy substance on the steering wheel, I’d probably be a tad suspicious. Likewise, if I wanted to subvert this whole conspiracy I’d probably try to formulate a plan, or something, rather than waltz into their headquarters on spec and just take it from there. It’s a miracle he survived any past assignments, let alone this book.
Also, did people really not know what DPRK, FEMA and WMD stood for back then? I mean, I guess neither had been in the news much yet.
Regardless, the novel was fast-paced, despite being a tad unbelievable and having cardboard cutout characters. I also liked that it took place in DC during the late 90s, since that’s where I was during that time (I could’ve been one of those drunk AU students he drove by). The author could’ve skipped the romantic interest since it seemed like an obligatory afterthought.
2.5 stars
https://4201mass.blogspot.com/
Having said that, I found quite a few issues with it. First of all, I know it was the 90s, but how naive can people be? If I’m a journalist investigating a cult that is suspected of kidnapping and killing people, and I spot some lady breaking into my car and quickly going away, and then find a slimy substance on the steering wheel, I’d probably be a tad suspicious. Likewise, if I wanted to subvert this whole conspiracy I’d probably try to formulate a plan, or something, rather than waltz into their headquarters on spec and just take it from there. It’s a miracle he survived any past assignments, let alone this book.
Also, did people really not know what DPRK, FEMA and WMD stood for back then? I mean, I guess neither had been in the news much yet.
Regardless, the novel was fast-paced, despite being a tad unbelievable and having cardboard cutout characters. I also liked that it took place in DC during the late 90s, since that’s where I was during that time (I could’ve been one of those drunk AU students he drove by). The author could’ve skipped the romantic interest since it seemed like an obligatory afterthought.
2.5 stars
https://4201mass.blogspot.com/
January 6, 2026
In the "Book of Revelations", the Four Horsemen herald the arrival of the Apocalypse. When the First Horseman thunders forth, pestilence will spread throughout the land. For the First Horseman is Plague...The Spanish Flu killed thirty million people worldwide in 1918. Now, with history threatening to repeat itself, a scientific expedition speeds toward a remote island on the Arctic Sea to recover strains of the lethal virus preserved under layers of ice. For "Washington Post" reporter Frank Daly, it is the story of a lifetime. But, his plan to join the expedition is ruined by a ferocious storm that delays him. And, when he meets up with the ship upon its return to port in Norway, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong. Fear haunts the faces of the crew. No one will talk. And someone wants Daly to stop asking questions. But if there's a wall around the facts, Daly will batter it down. Persistent and resourceful, he knows how to get answers when none are given. Yet, the more he uncovers, the more dangerous the stakes become. Until at last, he comes face-to-face with a shocking secret, pitching him into a harrowing race to prevent nothing less than...apocalypse.
March 20, 2021
Nachdem ein nordkoreanisches Dorf fast vollständig ausgelöscht wurde, schleppt sich der letzte Überlebende nach Südkorea. Seine Zeugenaussagen, die erklären, dass in seiner Heimat die spanische Grippe umging, landen schließlich bei der CIA und sorgen dafür, dass ein Team Forscher nach einem Impfstoff forschen sollen. Der Reporter Frank Daly will darüber einen Bericht schreiben, wird jedoch misstrauisch, nachdem besagte Forscher einen Mantel des Schweigens über ihre Ergebnisse ausbreiten, und verbeißt sich in die Ermittlungen.
Das Buch ist zwar in heutigen Zeiten relevanter, als es zur Zeit des Erscheinens war, könnte aber besser sein. Die Handlung ist zwar größtenteils spannend geschrieben, wird aber gegen Ende hin etwas langweilig, da sie mir etwas zu vorhersehbar wurde, während die Helden mir etwas zu lange brauchen, um den Schurken auf die Spur zu kommen. Auch die Charaktere blieben größtenteils flach und es wird stellenweise etwas zu wenig auf ihre Gefühle eingegangen.
Insgesamt ist das Buch mehr etwas für zwischendurch.
Das Buch ist zwar in heutigen Zeiten relevanter, als es zur Zeit des Erscheinens war, könnte aber besser sein. Die Handlung ist zwar größtenteils spannend geschrieben, wird aber gegen Ende hin etwas langweilig, da sie mir etwas zu vorhersehbar wurde, während die Helden mir etwas zu lange brauchen, um den Schurken auf die Spur zu kommen. Auch die Charaktere blieben größtenteils flach und es wird stellenweise etwas zu wenig auf ihre Gefühle eingegangen.
Insgesamt ist das Buch mehr etwas für zwischendurch.
December 14, 2022
Published in 1998, this novel deals with a global pandemic and the efforts of a cult to use it as a bioweapon.
In North Korea, an older man is looking for trees suitable for firewood. The factory in his village has been shut down and the townspeople are dying of a strange disease. The army comes in and firebombs the town and bulldozes it. The man manages to get through the DMZ into South Korea and tells a fantastic tale.
The disease that raged through the village is not a new one; however, there are no longer any viruses available to make a vaccine for it, except, possibly, in the frozen bodies of Norwegian miners buried in the permafrost on a remote island in the Arctic. A young, female researcher and her mentor have received funding to find these bodies and investigate if there are any viruses hiding in the lung tissue of the deceased. She invites an investigative reporter along to cover this unique voyage of discovery.
He, however, misses the boat because of bad weather in Russia. When he catches up with them in Norway, he is not allowed on board and the researcher and her mentor are spirited away with no comment.
Interwoven in this story are the actions of a cult and their charismatic leader who are trying to save the world from ecological destruction. The people involved are ordinary men and women who choose to follow the orders of their leader, Luc.
Mr. Case carefully weaves all the threads together. Governments, foreign and domestic, are involved both in solving the riddle of the virus and in keeping the information contained. This novel is eerily prescient as well as fast-moving. The conclusion surprised me, but I found it sadly realistic. I'll be looking for other thrillers written by Mr. Case.
In North Korea, an older man is looking for trees suitable for firewood. The factory in his village has been shut down and the townspeople are dying of a strange disease. The army comes in and firebombs the town and bulldozes it. The man manages to get through the DMZ into South Korea and tells a fantastic tale.
The disease that raged through the village is not a new one; however, there are no longer any viruses available to make a vaccine for it, except, possibly, in the frozen bodies of Norwegian miners buried in the permafrost on a remote island in the Arctic. A young, female researcher and her mentor have received funding to find these bodies and investigate if there are any viruses hiding in the lung tissue of the deceased. She invites an investigative reporter along to cover this unique voyage of discovery.
He, however, misses the boat because of bad weather in Russia. When he catches up with them in Norway, he is not allowed on board and the researcher and her mentor are spirited away with no comment.
Interwoven in this story are the actions of a cult and their charismatic leader who are trying to save the world from ecological destruction. The people involved are ordinary men and women who choose to follow the orders of their leader, Luc.
Mr. Case carefully weaves all the threads together. Governments, foreign and domestic, are involved both in solving the riddle of the virus and in keeping the information contained. This novel is eerily prescient as well as fast-moving. The conclusion surprised me, but I found it sadly realistic. I'll be looking for other thrillers written by Mr. Case.
March 9, 2019
This is an enjoyable book. Suspense is adequate. The characters are acceptable, except that I think the author makes Annie appear as a little girl when she is in fact a brilliant scientist. That is one fault I saw in the novel. The plot progressed nicely and there weren't really any surprises. The bad guys were identified early in the novel, the heroes were introduced and the plot of the story was to get the good guys to figure out what the bad guys were up to and then defeat them. Oh, yes, there were also supporting characters who were introduced at the beginning of the novel but then they didn't show up till the end to help conclude the novel in meaningful way.
I read the Genesis Code by John Case and the ending was a good example of his sense of humor that one also saw at the end of The First Horseman. I liked the book. It was a good read.
I read the Genesis Code by John Case and the ending was a good example of his sense of humor that one also saw at the end of The First Horseman. I liked the book. It was a good read.
November 2, 2023
This book was written in 1998 (i think) and it shows.
The storyline was a little bit protracted for my liking, but this is not the reason why I chose to write a review.
First, it bears some scary parallels to the COVID pandemic...Like if someone was using it as a blueprint! (The paragraph about hospitals being quickly overwhelmed was particularly chilly to read).
Second - this book talks about mNRA vaccination! In 1998!
So these so-called "new and untested vaccines and methods" have been around for more than 20 years now!
Well, that ought to take the wind out of the sails of some of the anti-vaxxes surely?
The scientific world has been quietly preparing for the next big thing after the Spanish flu...although the general public remained largely ignorant!
So that was an eye-opener for me! And for that, I am really grateful I came across this book.
The storyline was a little bit protracted for my liking, but this is not the reason why I chose to write a review.
First, it bears some scary parallels to the COVID pandemic...Like if someone was using it as a blueprint! (The paragraph about hospitals being quickly overwhelmed was particularly chilly to read).
Second - this book talks about mNRA vaccination! In 1998!
So these so-called "new and untested vaccines and methods" have been around for more than 20 years now!
Well, that ought to take the wind out of the sails of some of the anti-vaxxes surely?
The scientific world has been quietly preparing for the next big thing after the Spanish flu...although the general public remained largely ignorant!
So that was an eye-opener for me! And for that, I am really grateful I came across this book.
July 26, 2022
Written well before Covid, so well done Case on hitting a lot of the right buttons on how a virus could be spread across countries. However once you get past the well researched medical detail, things become a little flat. For an investigative journalist, the main character is very naive when interviewing others to find out what’s going on. He tells each person what he’s doing but gets little in return. And the ending seems forced. The FBI Agent keeps cropping up, with little or no reason, and when the journo is denied his biggest story of the decade due to national security reasons, he gets nothing in return except an upgrade to a better hospital room. I’d be screaming at the Agent, I nearly got killed because of your incompetence, but all he wants is a phone to call his girlfriend.
February 21, 2019
Meeh. It was ok, yeah. Got to the end and could have dropped the book without ever knowing the ending and still live happily ever after. But of course I had to finish it for the sake of not leaving a work unfinished.
Too long. Way too long, for nothing, really. It was engaging, sometimes, but other times really boring due to completely unnecessary descriptions or actions, which were so irrelevant, man.
I honestly would read a shorter and more compact story anytime, really, than read an unnecessary long book, the pages of which seem bloated with words for the sake of writing a long novel. No thanks.
Too long. Way too long, for nothing, really. It was engaging, sometimes, but other times really boring due to completely unnecessary descriptions or actions, which were so irrelevant, man.
I honestly would read a shorter and more compact story anytime, really, than read an unnecessary long book, the pages of which seem bloated with words for the sake of writing a long novel. No thanks.
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