Синдромът

by John Case, Джон Кейс

Нико е младо, красиво и малко странно момиче. Тя получава кодирано съобщение по Интернет, след което убива със снайпер възрастен мъж, който и без друго ще умре от рак след няколко месеца. Бизнесмен от холандски произход твърди, че е бил отвлечен от извънземни ив сърцето му живее червей, който му диктува какво да прави. Нико и холандецът се лекуват при психоаналитик, който няма други пациенти и никога не излиза от дома си…Разтърсващ, огнедишащ, тежкокалибрен трилър. Заговорът се движи със скоростта на Формула-1, като лъкатуши из страни и градове в безкрайно и отчаяно търсене на истината, която никога не може да бъде открита…

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Adventure, Science Fiction

446 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Writing as 'John Case,' Jim and Carolyn Hougan are The New York Times best-selling authors of The Genesis Code and five other thrillers.
An award-winning investigative reporter, Jim is the author of The Magdalene Cipher, a novel of conspiracy, and two non-fiction books about the CIA: Spooks and Secret Agenda.
Carolyn is the author of four novels, including The Romeo Flag.

The name John Case is actually that of Carolyn's grandfather ( John F Case), a journalist and author of Tom of Peace Valley (Boy Knight of Agriculture).

Reviews

[LeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book by John Case that I read and instantly got hooked. He has a great way of building up suspense, twisting the story in unexpected ways, etc. It was a lot of fun to read, as I never knew what was coming next.

Be forewarned: John Case's writing is certainly not "easy reading. The story always involves some type of technology, biological issue, religion, etc., that he has to spend a significant chunk of time explaining. I don't see that as a bad thing and enjoy learning about the background info (which is usually real), but I could see that others might find it laborious.

[Zac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and disturbing read. Fast paced "thriller" type that could be a pretty good flick if done right.

[Diana Mindrila · Rating 4 out of 5]

SINDROMUL, John Case
#thriller #horror
Editura Rao
An aparitie 2009
Nr Pagini 576

Nota personala ⭐⭐⭐⭐

... Este prima dată când citesc o carte despre acest scriitor. Mi-a atras atenția în mod deosebit dupā ce am citit Sindromul. Căutând informații despre el, am aflat că defapt John Case este un pseudonim . În spatele acestui nume, se află un cuplu american, soț și soție, Jim și Carolyn Hougan. Sindromul este un thriller care m-a șocat pur și simplu. Unele site-uri chiar au catalogat povestea ca stil horror. Şi unele pasaje chiar merită acest statut. Subiectul este unul controversat, având ca punct de pornire experimentele de control al minții desfășurate în anul 1960 de guvernul american. În acest roman, o clinica privată pe nume Prudhomme, reia experimentele, răpind diverse persoane. Aici li se șterge memoria și li se inventează identități noi, continuând să fie monitorizați în noua lor viață. Li se dau misiuni și sunt folosiți pentru diverse acțiuni criminale. Jeff Duran este unul din personajele principale. Este psiholog și are o viață monotonă, luptându-se la rândul lui cu anumite afecțiuni și fobii. Totul se schimbă însă, într-o zi, când o avocată intră în apartamentul lui și îl acuză de uciderea surorii ei. Ea il dă in judecată, după care o serie de evenimente bizare ii aduc pe cei doi în conjunctura de a lupta pentru supraviețuire. Cartea mi-a plăcut destul de mult. Nu este un roman greoi și se citeşte uşor. Acțiunea te ține in suspans de la început până la sfârșit . Personajele sunt clar definite, iar detaliile și simțămintele lor te apropie foarte mult de ele. Rezonezi uşor cu fiecare, te fac să te gândeşti că nimic nu este cert în viata asta. Ii îndreaptă atenția spre identitatea lor dar și spre a ta. Se pare că cei doi soți, autori al acestui roman, fac echipa minunată împreună. Ideea este genială și prezentată cu suficiente amănunte pentru a trezi interesul cititorului. Voi rezuma toată povestea acestui thriller prin întrebarea : Tu... Ştii cine eşti cu adevărat? Merită sa achiziționați romanul și să il citiți!

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Kicking the door closed behind him, he sensed a kind of tension in the room as soon as he entered it For a moment, he stood there, frozen, just inside the doorway, listening to the air. Then, he stepped toward the phone.
And it rang.
It was uncanny, and unquantifiable. If anything, it suggested that he was more in tune with his appliances, with refrigerators and phones, than he was with people—an unfortunate characteristic in a therapist."

"It was a gorgeous night, the stars so luminous they looked wet, the moon a cold clean sphere beaming a path of pure silver onto the black water. The tide was out. The surf rolled in with a soft roar, and receded with a chatter of pebbles."

[Kylie Lowery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the storyline was super interesting but it got to the climax a bit too late so I couldn’t even really relish in it or in the explanation of the storyline. The epilogue also was not as much of an epilogue as it was a bow to slap on an unfinished storyline. I think some parts were well written but others could’ve been fleshed out a little more.

[Renee Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if you weren't who you thought you were, and behind the screen of false memories that convinced you of your identity was another, even more terrifying set of equally false memories, so awful that if anyone or anything made it past the first, artificially induced "firewall," you'd kill yourself rather than live with the horror of what you thought you'd done? That's the intriguing, if somewhat muddled, setup for this book.

Slightly confusing at times, but very well written.

[Maurean · Rating 3 out of 5]

another brilliant bio-medical thriller by the author of “The Genesis Code”, and my third read of this author. I’ve found each of his works to be carefully plotted and frighteningly realistic; each character is rich in detail and every storyline is gripping and suspenseful.. a good old fashioned page turner. This particular tale of mind-control and memory replacement had me glued to its pages from the first to the last.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Excellent!

[Beatrice Pitigoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary📝:
O institutie privata, americana, Sindromul, redeschide clinica Proudhomme pentru a relua experimentele de control al mintii din 1960, pornite de guvernul american. Oamenii sunt rapiti, li se șterg amintirile și îi transformă în asasini, ce vizează liderii internaționali pe care Prudhomme îi consideră destabilizatori a ordinii mondiale. Întreaga operațiune este pusă în pericol când, Jeff Duran, începe să pună la îndoială cine este el cu adevărat și, mai important, cine a fost înainte ca cipul care i-a înlocuit personalitatea să i se implanteze în creier.

Comments📰:
🖌️ Un roman usor de citit, catalogat de multe publicatii ca fiind horror sau thriller, unele pasaje meritand intr-adevar aceasta incadrare. Subiectul este intrigant, firul narativ te tine in priza de la inceput si pana la final, personajele sunt relatable si rezonezi cu lupta interioara a acestora.

Fun facts✂️:
📌 John Case este un pseudonim pentru cuplul, Jim și Carolyn Hougan.

Movie adaptation🎬:
Nop

Ma kind of grading🧾:
🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿🏿/10

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary comments about race and outright racist remarks in this book that did not move the plot line forward. Examples: "Adonis Excellence Johnson....Adrienne had expected Mr. Johnson to be black because, in her experience, most of the boldly named citizens of the world were black." and "[Duran]...dialed Chiang Mai Garden. He gave his order, and the man on the other end covered it. 'One numbah for, one number twenny-two. Very good. Fifteen Minute." Constantly used ethnicity as the only descriptor for characters, which seemed to be more of a lazy method of writing rather than for diversity/representation.

Poorly edited (dates changed from Aug. 26th, to 25th, back to 26th, Charley, to Charlie).

Ending was confusing. The plot up until West Virginia was okay.

[Anders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Läser igenom hyllorna i sommarstugan…den här har legat i 20 år…..Åldrad men lite underhållande deckare. Skriven före IT-kraschen och 11 september, runt år 2000…. Det är Netscape, CIA -konspiration och ganska hjälpsamma portvakter som hela tiden leder huvudpersonen Jeff Duran o Adrienne framåt…:onda ärkeskurkar i Schweiz har tagit över CIA:s idé, regisserar yrkesmördare genom att operera in mikrochips, vilket legat bakom alla oförklarade mord (Palme, Johannes Paulus, osv…)…. Den ärkeonde norske nazistkirurgen Gunnar ska regissera Grand finale, genom att ha ihjäl Mandela, Mbeki o Tutu i Davos, samtidigt som han cashar in på platina-optioner, av alla saker. Well, det var en härlig och ändå oskyldig tid…. Innan mobiltelefoner, internet , osv….

[Natalie Nider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing for two reasons. I love the idea of the protagonist being some what of an agoraphobia-- what with being scared to leave his comfort zone. Secondly, I am a huge fan of conspiracies and the whole "being hunted by Assassin's, don't know who to trust, there's a secret worldwide conspiracy going on, and even his memories may not be 100% truthful" is just so intriguing.

Lorenzo Carcaterra said it himself, "A glass shattering, diesel fueled, hard charging thrill of a read."

[William Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even after 100 pages it is difficult to know what is really happening. The plot initially is slow and obscure, although at times it is interspersed with dramatic moments (such as a sniper killing an old dying man for no apparent reason and then killing herself). Much of this book is more of a mystery book.

It becomes much more interesting when Duran finds out he is not Duran and Adrienne (sister of sniper) works with him (while on the run) (which sometimes drags on too long) and when a doctor does tests on Duran. More people die.

Neurology and memory are important themes.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the start of this book: great exposition, narrative hook, rising action, climax. BUT, why, oh why, did Case add romance? Talk about distracting from a great mystery. Furthermore, did he/his publisher/his editor not know how to complete the plot? What awful falling action and resolution. Heck, I can't even remember the end of the book that I just finished two weeks ago. How sad for a great mystery!

[Marisol Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thriller psicólogo que plantea el control mental para utilizarla como un arma de destrucción y control político - social.

La trama inicia con un terapeuta que trata clínicamente a sus pacientes con hipnosis embargo el suicidio de uno de ellos hace que un familiar abogado lo culpe y busque venganza. Al investigarlo se da cuenta que él realmente no es quien dice ser, pues el verdadero J. Durán falleció años atrás...

Un desenlace poco creíble y forzada la relación amorosa en la historia.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite the read! The story could have been told with 100 pages less, but regardless, a good read. Once the answers were revealed, I had to go back and read the prologue again! This book is interesting enough to keep you wanting to read it, but I simply wanted to get through it and see how the whole mess got straightened out.

[Geneva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read thrillers much, but this is an excellent read. I finished it quickly as it was difficult to put down. I understand why some of the reviewers felt that the ending wasn't well done, but I feel like these types of books are sometimes difficult to finish writing.

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A reread but really happy I couldn't remember the plot at all because this was an intriguing adventure from beginning to end and it was so nice being continuously surprised as things unfolded.

[Veselina Bakalova-Mihaylovska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Странна книга си беше. Отначало толкова мудно ми вървеше, докато изведнъж не почна някак скорострелно да се трупа повече информация. Дочетох я с интерес, но "екшън геройството" ми дойде малко в повече!

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very strange story that I'm not sure how to describe. I'm not even sure I liked it. Three seemingly disparate people are drawn into a tale of mind control and impossibilities. I think, maybe, if psychology fascinates you, this is a good thriller.

[Kin · Rating 4 out of 5]

un po' le carrè,fantascienza,fantapolitica,bello comunque.si legge con piacere.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely slow to start, but was a very good read starting about a third of the way through. I will definitely try another John Case novel.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

[Cristofer Enroth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kanske lite utdaterad. Nästan alla böcker som innehåller en viss del ”ny teknik” eller ”senaste vetenskaen” har ju en tendens att bli föråldrad. Men boken är OK.

[Karolyn Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller but dark. The editing was not great and the ending felt rushed and thrown together, but overall a fast-paced good read.

[Ninaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book that got me back into reading 😌 <3

[bariwithgari · Rating 5 out of 5]

So nice, I read it twice!

Always loved John Case thrillers, starting with The Genesis Code. An excellent read, and one hardly wants to put it down!.

[Donald Forg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fun read! Not as complex as some thrillers I have read.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooo well written! Made me cry! Ending slightly unclear but very very good nonetheless - love love love

[Jill Gross · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into to this one - didn't finish