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Resurrection
A half-dead man crashes his car at the Iraqi border. He is picked up by a British patrol and found to have suffered a rare reaction to the smallpox vaccine. But why are the Iraqis innoculating their population against a disease which has been wiped out for twenty years?
A young Iraqi student at the Institute of Molecular Science in Edinburgh, Scotland kills himself for no apparent reason. Nobody links these incidents until Adam Dewar, investigating the movement of smallpox virus fragments between UK research institutes, stumbles on the horrific possibility that the student had been under pressure from the Iraqis to reconstruct the virus. And with the continued presence of the Iraqi secret service in the city, Dewar can only conclude that they are waiting for someone else to finish the job.
And then smallpox breaks out on the Muirhouse Estate, one of the poorest and most densely populated areas in Edinburgh. The priority is to contain the virus, but with the death toll rising, riots breaking out on the estate and the iraqis still waiting, Dewar is in a race against time to discover the source of the disease and prevent it falling into the hands of a hostile nation. A nation that would only be too willing to hold the world to ransom.
Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council.
A young Iraqi student at the Institute of Molecular Science in Edinburgh, Scotland kills himself for no apparent reason. Nobody links these incidents until Adam Dewar, investigating the movement of smallpox virus fragments between UK research institutes, stumbles on the horrific possibility that the student had been under pressure from the Iraqis to reconstruct the virus. And with the continued presence of the Iraqi secret service in the city, Dewar can only conclude that they are waiting for someone else to finish the job.
And then smallpox breaks out on the Muirhouse Estate, one of the poorest and most densely populated areas in Edinburgh. The priority is to contain the virus, but with the death toll rising, riots breaking out on the estate and the iraqis still waiting, Dewar is in a race against time to discover the source of the disease and prevent it falling into the hands of a hostile nation. A nation that would only be too willing to hold the world to ransom.
Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Ken McClure
71 books124 followersKen McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-five languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council. He lives in a small village in the Lammermuir Hills of Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 3, 2012
Yet again, I liked reading a Ken McClure novel. The Sci-Med agency of this novel, and the protagonist Dr. Adam Dewar, are apparent precursors to the author's subsequent Steven Dunbar series.
In this book, the plot revolves around seemingly unconnected events - the death of a Iraqi by a disease that resembles smallpox, and the suicide of an Iraqi research student in Scotland who happened to be working with fragments of smallpox DNA. When Sci-Med sends Dewar to investigate, initially he too seems to conclude that nothing is amiss, but soon starts to get a hunch that perhaps there is more to these two deaths. Especially with two suspicious Iraqi nationals being present in Edinburgh for no apparent reason. This leads to make him think that perhaps Iraqi's are trying to get hold of smallpox virus to use it as a biological weapon. Despite the suicide of the Iraqi student, who seemed to be their only chance of resurrecting the extinct smallpox virus, the continued presence of the Iraqi's makes Dewar deduce that the game is not yet over, and that the baddies are still on the prowl for the virus through some other source. The story development upto this mark takes up 55% of the book; then suddenly at 56% (by Kindle) people start getting infected with the actual smallpox virus. From then on, the city witnesses a daily increase in the number of the infected, as well as an almost 50% death rate. Thus begins the final race to not only contain the epidemic, the rioting and potential anarchy, but to also find and stop the alternate source from handing over the virus cultures to the Iraqis.
Though the plot is exciting and the overall novel entertaining, and indeed scary to think of it in reality, I found the narrative to be a little disjointed. Many individual events occur, right from the horrible pus oozing death of the Iraqi near the Saudi border, to the suicide of the Iraqi student, to various minute developments at the research lab in Edinburgh. Though all of it culminates reasonably well towards the end, the plot could have been kept simpler instead of asking the reader to keep mental track of multiple small events. Also, for the given plot, 350 plus pages is too long; the novel will be smashingly good were it to be about 80-100 pages shorter.
Finally, as I say for every McClure novel- his English language narrative is fantastically classical, smooth and pleasurable.
In this book, the plot revolves around seemingly unconnected events - the death of a Iraqi by a disease that resembles smallpox, and the suicide of an Iraqi research student in Scotland who happened to be working with fragments of smallpox DNA. When Sci-Med sends Dewar to investigate, initially he too seems to conclude that nothing is amiss, but soon starts to get a hunch that perhaps there is more to these two deaths. Especially with two suspicious Iraqi nationals being present in Edinburgh for no apparent reason. This leads to make him think that perhaps Iraqi's are trying to get hold of smallpox virus to use it as a biological weapon. Despite the suicide of the Iraqi student, who seemed to be their only chance of resurrecting the extinct smallpox virus, the continued presence of the Iraqi's makes Dewar deduce that the game is not yet over, and that the baddies are still on the prowl for the virus through some other source. The story development upto this mark takes up 55% of the book; then suddenly at 56% (by Kindle) people start getting infected with the actual smallpox virus. From then on, the city witnesses a daily increase in the number of the infected, as well as an almost 50% death rate. Thus begins the final race to not only contain the epidemic, the rioting and potential anarchy, but to also find and stop the alternate source from handing over the virus cultures to the Iraqis.
Though the plot is exciting and the overall novel entertaining, and indeed scary to think of it in reality, I found the narrative to be a little disjointed. Many individual events occur, right from the horrible pus oozing death of the Iraqi near the Saudi border, to the suicide of the Iraqi student, to various minute developments at the research lab in Edinburgh. Though all of it culminates reasonably well towards the end, the plot could have been kept simpler instead of asking the reader to keep mental track of multiple small events. Also, for the given plot, 350 plus pages is too long; the novel will be smashingly good were it to be about 80-100 pages shorter.
Finally, as I say for every McClure novel- his English language narrative is fantastically classical, smooth and pleasurable.
October 23, 2012
I very much enjoyed Ken McClure's, 'Resurrection'! It was somewhat odd to read about Saddam Hussein.. but, as this book is a little older.. we can only give thanks that Iraq did NOT get it's hands on Smallpox. I was vaccinated against the disease in the mid Sixties. But, when the WHO eliminated smallpox in the seventies.. vaccinations for it were no longer seen as needed. This book takes on a nice twist of how researchers are still using portions of the smallpox genome to create CURES for other diseases that plague us today.
'Resurrection' is about a government official sent to find out how many research facilities have more of the smallpox genome fragments than they claim to have. To find out if someone in the research community is trying to resurrect smallpox to use against the unprotected citizens of Europe. While he is on assignment.. a drug addict is admitted to the local hospital with a severe case of smallpox.
Soon, the hospitals are filling with victims. And, there's no vaccine forthcoming. The officials must work together to find WHERE the first victim caught smallpox.. and to find out if it's tied to an Iraqi student who recently committed suicide.
The book flows nicely! From beginning to end. You just need to get your mindset SET.. before 9/11. I don't want to spoil the ending. But, it's terrifying that it could be this easy to resurrect the smallpox virus. May our children NEVER have to go through anything like what Ken McClure wrote about.. in 'Resurrection'.
'Resurrection' is about a government official sent to find out how many research facilities have more of the smallpox genome fragments than they claim to have. To find out if someone in the research community is trying to resurrect smallpox to use against the unprotected citizens of Europe. While he is on assignment.. a drug addict is admitted to the local hospital with a severe case of smallpox.
Soon, the hospitals are filling with victims. And, there's no vaccine forthcoming. The officials must work together to find WHERE the first victim caught smallpox.. and to find out if it's tied to an Iraqi student who recently committed suicide.
The book flows nicely! From beginning to end. You just need to get your mindset SET.. before 9/11. I don't want to spoil the ending. But, it's terrifying that it could be this easy to resurrect the smallpox virus. May our children NEVER have to go through anything like what Ken McClure wrote about.. in 'Resurrection'.
July 26, 2012
Really enjoyed this medical thriller about an Edinburgh smallpox outbreak, first published a dozen years ago. The official response team and the broad brush characters and attitudes of those detailed off to deal with the threat rang true.
I found the main character, Dr Dewar, was kept just a shade too much at arm's length for us to get inside his skin and experience the goings-on with him. That would have put the icing on the cake because this was mainly plot-driven rather than character-driven so it didn't detract from the tale although it would have made it more intense for the reader. To be fair, the real Dr Dewar would probably have kept you at arm's length anyway.
The only cavil is the Kindle formatting sometimes leaves much to be desired. Blank spaces, interrupted paragraphs and missing speech marks. But since I got it for free I have little grounds for complaint.
All in all though, a good read and well-recommended for in-flight or on-the-beach entertainment.
I found the main character, Dr Dewar, was kept just a shade too much at arm's length for us to get inside his skin and experience the goings-on with him. That would have put the icing on the cake because this was mainly plot-driven rather than character-driven so it didn't detract from the tale although it would have made it more intense for the reader. To be fair, the real Dr Dewar would probably have kept you at arm's length anyway.
The only cavil is the Kindle formatting sometimes leaves much to be desired. Blank spaces, interrupted paragraphs and missing speech marks. But since I got it for free I have little grounds for complaint.
All in all though, a good read and well-recommended for in-flight or on-the-beach entertainment.
November 18, 2012
This story had me guessing all the way through wondering how all the characters would slot together and how they were all involved in the outbreak of the smallpox virus that was killing several people. I loved how gripping and 'couldn't put me down' it was, especially the chapters where Dewer and Grant took an ambulance and dressed as paramedics to get through the no-go zone, I just about read the rest of the book from then on in one sitting !
I have never read thriller books until I discovered Ken McClure, right from the first few pages they have you intrigued and wanting to read more, only decision now is which one to read next !
I have never read thriller books until I discovered Ken McClure, right from the first few pages they have you intrigued and wanting to read more, only decision now is which one to read next !
Want to read
April 29, 2012Free kindle book.
November 22, 2013
I really enjoyed this book, but on saying that i am a great Ken McClure fan and so i am a little biased. Looking forward to moving on to another book by him.
July 23, 2019
medical thriller about small pox outbreak in Edinburgh.
September 27, 2023
A thoroughly riveting read. A race against time to avert a Smallpox outbreak in a small town in Scotland.
November 12, 2023
Nieporywający (przynajmniej mnie) thriller medyczny z wirusem w tle. Naciągane 3/5.
March 16, 2012
This book was a fairly good story that moved along at an ok pace. However, at least on the Kindle version, the grammar was terrible and often there were words missing in the sentence. Since I do a lot of proof reading for my job, I found the poor grammar a huge distraction from the plot and character development.
June 8, 2012
This book so far is going ok however on the kindle version there is a vast amount of grammatical errors and typos. Some are easy to miss and some make you re read the sentence to make sure you read it right.
February 18, 2015
Biomedical thriller. What wold happen if a virus we thought mankind had conquered were to suddenly reappear ?
October 6, 2012
First book I've read by this author. - enjoyed it - probably more 3.5 (which is still good) than 4 but I'm feeling generous.
January 31, 2013
What can I say, yet another excellent Ken McClure thriller - unnerving, enthralling, fast paced, a real page-turner, I couldn't put it down.
January 17, 2013
This book was a little slow reading
October 30, 2016
Probably close to 3.5. Interesting idea about the smallpox virus. I generally enjoy McClure's novel and this was no exception - this is an older book from him.
January 29, 2014
Good story but first fifty pages were a little slow reading and boring.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews