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Cell
George Wilson, M.D., a radiology resident in Los Angeles, is about to enter a profession on the brink of an enormous paradigm shift, foreshadowing a vastly different role for doctors everywhere. The smartphone is poised to take on a new role in medicine, no longer as a mere medical app but rather as a fully customizable personal physician capable of diagnosing and treating even better than the real thing. It is called iDoc.
350 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2014
977 people are currently reading
3199 people want to read
About the author
Robin Cook
181 books5,100 followersLibrarian Note: Not to be confused with British novelist Robin Cook a pseudonym of Robert William Arthur Cook.
Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine, biotechnology, and topics affecting public health.
He is best known for being the author who created the medical-thriller genre by combining medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. His books have been bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List with several at #1. A number of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest. Many were also featured in the Literary Guild. Many have been made into motion pictures.
Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard that included general surgery and ophthalmology. He divides his time between homes in Florida, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Jean. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to make the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical conundrums.
Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France while he was in medical school. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in the 60's. During his navy career he served on a nuclear submarine for a seventy-five day stay underwater where he wrote his first book! [1]
Cook was a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees, appointed to a six-year term by the President George W. Bush.[2]
[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas and background for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, medical research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, drug research, drug pricing, specialty hospitals, stem cells, and organ transplantation.[3]
Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know much about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as that has enormous potential for treating disease and disability but touches up against the ethically problematic abortion issue."[4]
Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in being a doctor. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 35 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're n
Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine, biotechnology, and topics affecting public health.
He is best known for being the author who created the medical-thriller genre by combining medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. His books have been bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List with several at #1. A number of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest. Many were also featured in the Literary Guild. Many have been made into motion pictures.
Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard that included general surgery and ophthalmology. He divides his time between homes in Florida, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Jean. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to make the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical conundrums.
Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France while he was in medical school. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in the 60's. During his navy career he served on a nuclear submarine for a seventy-five day stay underwater where he wrote his first book! [1]
Cook was a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees, appointed to a six-year term by the President George W. Bush.[2]
[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas and background for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, medical research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, drug research, drug pricing, specialty hospitals, stem cells, and organ transplantation.[3]
Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know much about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as that has enormous potential for treating disease and disability but touches up against the ethically problematic abortion issue."[4]
Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in being a doctor. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 35 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're n
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 825 reviews
February 19, 2014
While the concept of iDoc is very intriguing, this novel belongs in the literary ICU. The main character is hopelessly naive throughout the whole story, does predictably foolish things, doesn't realize he's being played by the charge nurse who is pumping him for information, yet we are supposed to believe he had the whole thing figured out in the end? Why would he even return to Paula's if he knew what might happen? Ridiculous. And where is his outrage at the murder of his fiancé? It's like he doesn't even care until the last few pages. Implausible, flat and unsympathetic characters and an abrupt ending leaves the reader hanging and wondering if the author simply got tired of telling the story results in a big fat flatline for "Cell." What a shame. I can't believe it's had so many positive reviews.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2014
I really like medical thrillers, but this one was not the best. I did keep reading to the end, but there are issues. First, the author is too preachy and obviously has an agenda. I have noticed this in some of his previous novels as well, and it is annoying. Second, George, the radiology resident main character, is naive and not very believable. Third, the ending is not satisfying. That said, I am not sorry I read it, but I have read much better.
September 4, 2016
What an embarrassment. When I think of the early works of Robin Cook like Coma and Outbreak, it is difficult to believe this novel was written by the same person. The concept was intriguing, but the writing was sophomoric at best, the characters cartoonish, the conversations stilted, and the book in need of an editor--the character "scoffed" his food (rather than scarfed--although, if the food was REALLY bad, I guess he could have scoffed at it). There were SO many exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and even cartoon sounds: BOOM.
Sorry, this has to go on my don't bother list.
Sorry, this has to go on my don't bother list.
March 18, 2014
This book sort of "sneaked" ("snuck"? oh well) up on me. I had started The Ark but had laid it aside for a day. I picked this one up (they're both library books and out for the same amount of time). I found myself interested in Cell and finished it before I went back to the other book.
So...what've we got here? Why "the future".
And I mean that. I suspect we may not be far from the scenario we see in this novel. In some ways the way the book effects you may depend at least a little on your age. That said I don't see how this won't be one of the most frightening books you've picked up. While it's not here yet this one is far from "unlikely".
With medicine and medical care skyrocketing in price an ultra modern and very progressive company comes up with a way to give everyone their own personal physician. All that's required is that a sensor and possibly something more be embedded in your body and an app be applied to your cell.
And it works great, until (of course) people begin to die.
You may have read other books by the author. Robin Cook is sort of the premier medical thriller writer around. I've found some of his books good, others not so good.
This is a good one. Recommended, enjoy.
So...what've we got here? Why "the future".
And I mean that. I suspect we may not be far from the scenario we see in this novel. In some ways the way the book effects you may depend at least a little on your age. That said I don't see how this won't be one of the most frightening books you've picked up. While it's not here yet this one is far from "unlikely".
With medicine and medical care skyrocketing in price an ultra modern and very progressive company comes up with a way to give everyone their own personal physician. All that's required is that a sensor and possibly something more be embedded in your body and an app be applied to your cell.
And it works great, until (of course) people begin to die.
You may have read other books by the author. Robin Cook is sort of the premier medical thriller writer around. I've found some of his books good, others not so good.
This is a good one. Recommended, enjoy.
February 20, 2018
ay, ay. no sé ni qué decir. pero como pueden ver en el rating, el libro me gustó muchísimo. una novela sublime, con una innovación en el género y que sólo alguien como cook es capaz de llevar. muy Bien ejecutado, con muchísimas sorpresas, final inesperado y también bastante abierto (para que el lector saque sus conclusiones), pero es un libro que realmente no se pueden perder. Engancha tanto que no puedes soltarlo. cada capítulo toma más ritmo y sólo deseas llegar al final. Quién diría que esa aplicación causaría tantos desastres. Lo peor es que gente inocente se ve involucrada y que los que están detrás manejan a su antojo como un títere. primera novela que leo de él, y pienso ir por los demás. de hecho, me gusta esta temática, la medicina es uno de los temas que me atraen bastante, y sorprendentemente entendía los conceptos (ah, que por cierto, no te sientas intimidado por eso si no sabes de estas cosas, que el libro te las va explicando, y no se mete tampoco en cosas demasiado difíciles). Amplísimamente recomendable.
February 12, 2014
I can't quite give this the 5th star, because of the ending. Cook writes a compelling story centered around the use of Smartphones as a futuristic replacement for Primary Care Physicians. The concept, with all it's benefits and potential drawbacks are clearly defined. It's one of the drawbacks that becomes the central theme to this story and what our main character George Wilson is willing to do to find out what's behind it and what the "big bad" Amalgamated Healthcare is willing to do to keep any negative publicity of the product, during Beta Testing phase, quiet.
Overall a fast paced exciting read with, for me, an unsatisfying ending.
Overall a fast paced exciting read with, for me, an unsatisfying ending.
March 13, 2014
The promising plot got washed out by inelegant writing. The concept of an app on your phone that could monitor your health and make proactive suggestions is fascinating, as is the thought of the potential abuses and "glitches" that could occur. Unfortunately, I put things together a lot more quickly than the protagonist. The story plodded along with obvious pauses to define unfamiliar concepts by way of conversations between the characters. Obamacare and HIPPA were jammed in with alarming frequency as well. I liked the idea of the story, but not necessarily the execution.
February 21, 2014
This book had so much potential.
Loved the storyline. About iDoc - an app that takes over primary care developed by an insurance company and bought by Obamacare administration for Medicaid and Medicare.
But...bad things begin to happen....
Why did I give it two starts - the main character was all over the place.
I could not figure out why type of man he was - he was a doctor but
really had no common sense, could not connect with his love interests,
just plain silly, yet at other times he appeared intelligent and
fearless. Could not get a handle on him at all.
End of the book was interesting. Good twist.
If you can't find anything else to read, it's entertaining at times,
but don't put it at the top of your list.
Loved the storyline. About iDoc - an app that takes over primary care developed by an insurance company and bought by Obamacare administration for Medicaid and Medicare.
But...bad things begin to happen....
Why did I give it two starts - the main character was all over the place.
I could not figure out why type of man he was - he was a doctor but
really had no common sense, could not connect with his love interests,
just plain silly, yet at other times he appeared intelligent and
fearless. Could not get a handle on him at all.
End of the book was interesting. Good twist.
If you can't find anything else to read, it's entertaining at times,
but don't put it at the top of your list.
January 26, 2019
The concept of this book is a very real thing happening today-- a computerized primary care physician system through your cell phone, giving patients access to 24/7 health care in an attempt to keep people healthier and more compliant with their medication regimen, in an attempt to control spiraling medical costs.
When a 4th year Radiology Resident in a major Los Angelas Hospital, Dr. Wilson accidentally discovers that the iDoc system has either been hacked or developed a life-terminating glitch, things get very complicated for this young physician.
The book got off to a great start, but as it proceeds, I found the main character to be doing very stupid things which detracted from the excellent storyline, and not just once or twice.
In my opinion, these foolish acts pulled the story down from what could have been a 5 star rating.
I didn't hate the book: but rather was disappointed that the main character was weak and that some of the cloak and dagger stuff in developing the plot was a bit unbelievable and over the top.
When a 4th year Radiology Resident in a major Los Angelas Hospital, Dr. Wilson accidentally discovers that the iDoc system has either been hacked or developed a life-terminating glitch, things get very complicated for this young physician.
The book got off to a great start, but as it proceeds, I found the main character to be doing very stupid things which detracted from the excellent storyline, and not just once or twice.
In my opinion, these foolish acts pulled the story down from what could have been a 5 star rating.
I didn't hate the book: but rather was disappointed that the main character was weak and that some of the cloak and dagger stuff in developing the plot was a bit unbelievable and over the top.
September 5, 2022
Robin Cook has written about 40 novels. I have read most of them. I swear by Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Worvan, this is my last one. He's in his 80s and I am no longer convinced he is authoring the books penned under his name.
I started reading Cook in the 1970s as a teen when Coma first came out. Granted, there were not as many options for books back then, but he was an auto buy. I love medical thrillers and he delivered. Now as a full grown adult, I recognize how painful his books have become. The dialogue is so bad. It is forced. Stilted. Unconvincing. As an audio book, hearing the words is even worse.
It's been a great ride, but I am officially out.
Feel free to drop recommendations for medical thrillers that are actually thrilling.
I started reading Cook in the 1970s as a teen when Coma first came out. Granted, there were not as many options for books back then, but he was an auto buy. I love medical thrillers and he delivered. Now as a full grown adult, I recognize how painful his books have become. The dialogue is so bad. It is forced. Stilted. Unconvincing. As an audio book, hearing the words is even worse.
It's been a great ride, but I am officially out.
Feel free to drop recommendations for medical thrillers that are actually thrilling.
September 8, 2017
Spannend voor wie van medische thrillers houdt
February 10, 2014
The first part was really good. I would give it 5 starts.
Moving to the last bit the ending was abrupt and the story has too many holes.
*********spoiler alert******************
My main questions:
1. Why is George not just knocked off? Zee was....
Why does everybody go overboard to keep him alive and happy where as Zee just gets killed within a few hours of discovering their secret?
2. They did a whole drama with break-in, police sirens and others. In the meeting why did Thorn not just say that the "Glitch has been fixed" and it would have resolved the issue rather than pushing the conspiracy theory towards the government?
Hmmm...
Moving to the last bit the ending was abrupt and the story has too many holes.
*********spoiler alert******************
My main questions:
1. Why is George not just knocked off? Zee was....
Why does everybody go overboard to keep him alive and happy where as Zee just gets killed within a few hours of discovering their secret?
2. They did a whole drama with break-in, police sirens and others. In the meeting why did Thorn not just say that the "Glitch has been fixed" and it would have resolved the issue rather than pushing the conspiracy theory towards the government?
Hmmm...
January 27, 2018
I have read quite a few of Dr. Cook's books and I usually enjoy them, but this one was not well written. In the first place, people don't "scoff" down their food. The dialogues were terribly written. There were so! Many! Exclamation! Points! Believe me, nothing was that exciting. The plot is incredibly slow moving. The reader can figure out from page one what is going on, but it takes 400+ pages for the "big reveal". There is no twist or new information. Finally, after all that, the ending is terrible.
February 13, 2014
I find Cook's characters to be annoyingly self-righteous and a bit fanatical. The medical part is always very interesting, which saves the book; the characters are flat and seem to lack social skills. Conversations are awkward; events are contrived. Whether I agree or not, Cook seems to be too preachy of his own medical philosophies in his novels.
August 18, 2014
wow another master thriller. its really great because of the cutting edge technology used in this novel. what to say! it was as usual another gripping tale which will take you to the edge of modern technology, how it changes your lives.
March 15, 2015
Creepy! The thing that is the scariest of all about this story of a medical school resident being stalked and shoved into a mental institution to cover up what he found out about an app called iDoc is that this is something that is VERY likely to show up in our future.
Dr. George Wilson is a senior radiology resident at a huge teaching medical center in Los Angeles. His girlfriend Kasey, a graduate student in child psychology, a diabetic who, unknown to either of them, has been diagnosed with cancer, dies a horrible death in bed beside him as he sleeps due to the iDoc app she is beta-testing purposely flooding her system with enough insulin to last for months in an attempt to kill her and save the insurance company money.
George isn't the brightest crayon in the box so it is only after other iDoc beta testers he knows like the neighbor with diabetes and Alzheimer's who is diagnosed with prostrate cancer, the young girl with the hard life who has a serious heart ailment and diabetes who is 7 months pregnant with a fetus with no brain who couldn't survive birth yet refuses to abort, a man with returning cancer whose radiology report he did, etc die in the same way with everything covered up that slow George figures something is not right, He can't even understand his boss (lots of money sunk into iDoc) is having a nurse spy on him for information.
While George keeps bumbling along (and gets another neighbor killed after the guy hacks into the iDoc system and finds the truth) people keep dying and George's behavior makes him look crazy.
The iDoc app is a fully customizable personal primary care pretend physician. The company that makes it wants insurance companies to force all patients to eventually have it so that this talking (you choose the look, name, and voice for your imaginary doctor who shows up on screen) phone will have access to all medical knowledge available worldwide, have updates when new medical knowledge is published and know the patient's entire history plus can use nanotechnology and implanted devices to treat illnesses such as diabetes, all as a way to eliminate the need for primary physicians, emergency room visits, and more. The company can make a fortune but does not want anyone to know the government has hacked in and placed a death panel element- if someone has an implanted device to dispense meds and seem like they might require costly treatment in the future, it dumps all the meds in their system and kills them.
I have to explain why I took off a point (other than George being so stupid). As a rich physician, author Robin Cook came out strongly against the Affordable Care Act as it would allow almost everyone to be insured and he feared stop allowing specialists to gouge patients and insurance companies. Actually insurance companies have always acted as death panels. The Affordable Care Act merely sets up a mini-mall online so the for-profit insurance companies to sell their normal insurance policies that employers provide to people online and the government offers many people tax subsidies to pay for them. There are no government death panels and what an insurance company will pay for is in their own hands.
Dr. George Wilson is a senior radiology resident at a huge teaching medical center in Los Angeles. His girlfriend Kasey, a graduate student in child psychology, a diabetic who, unknown to either of them, has been diagnosed with cancer, dies a horrible death in bed beside him as he sleeps due to the iDoc app she is beta-testing purposely flooding her system with enough insulin to last for months in an attempt to kill her and save the insurance company money.
George isn't the brightest crayon in the box so it is only after other iDoc beta testers he knows like the neighbor with diabetes and Alzheimer's who is diagnosed with prostrate cancer, the young girl with the hard life who has a serious heart ailment and diabetes who is 7 months pregnant with a fetus with no brain who couldn't survive birth yet refuses to abort, a man with returning cancer whose radiology report he did, etc die in the same way with everything covered up that slow George figures something is not right, He can't even understand his boss (lots of money sunk into iDoc) is having a nurse spy on him for information.
While George keeps bumbling along (and gets another neighbor killed after the guy hacks into the iDoc system and finds the truth) people keep dying and George's behavior makes him look crazy.
The iDoc app is a fully customizable personal primary care pretend physician. The company that makes it wants insurance companies to force all patients to eventually have it so that this talking (you choose the look, name, and voice for your imaginary doctor who shows up on screen) phone will have access to all medical knowledge available worldwide, have updates when new medical knowledge is published and know the patient's entire history plus can use nanotechnology and implanted devices to treat illnesses such as diabetes, all as a way to eliminate the need for primary physicians, emergency room visits, and more. The company can make a fortune but does not want anyone to know the government has hacked in and placed a death panel element- if someone has an implanted device to dispense meds and seem like they might require costly treatment in the future, it dumps all the meds in their system and kills them.
I have to explain why I took off a point (other than George being so stupid). As a rich physician, author Robin Cook came out strongly against the Affordable Care Act as it would allow almost everyone to be insured and he feared stop allowing specialists to gouge patients and insurance companies. Actually insurance companies have always acted as death panels. The Affordable Care Act merely sets up a mini-mall online so the for-profit insurance companies to sell their normal insurance policies that employers provide to people online and the government offers many people tax subsidies to pay for them. There are no government death panels and what an insurance company will pay for is in their own hands.
March 31, 2014
I loved this book! Robin Cook used to be one of my favorite authors. I read most or all of his early books including his nonfiction work The Year of the Intern. Then his storylines started to get more farfetched and included too much medical terminology for my taste. I had read good reviews for Cell so decided to try him again. I was not disappointed. The premise of this book is iDoc, a phone app that can monitor medical conditions and reduce the need for a primary care physician. This book was more on caliber with Cook's earlier works such as Coma. I couldn't put it down. I read over 200 pages yesterday and couldn't wait to get up this morning to finish!
February 9, 2014
This book didn't hold my attention. It was hard to believe that Dr. George Wilson, a top radiologist resident, could be so naive.
July 24, 2014
Robin Cook proves again he is the master of medical thrillers. His extensive insider knowledge of the medical profession is evident in this chilling tale of a Smartphone app known as iDoc that develops a mind of its own. This digital doctor has been programmed to learn from experiences with doctors and patients and make patient-care decisions. It is available on a 24/7 basis, which gives its patients peace of mind and reduces medical expenses.
When Doctor George Wilson wakes beside his fiancée and discovers she died during the night, he is emotionally devastated. A few months later, he learns about the secret iDoc testing. In one week, four of his radiology patients die prematurely under suspicious circumstances. He learns they were all iDoc patients. He digs deeper and discovers his fiancée had participated in a beta test for the same program. George fears someone has hacked into iDoc and is killing patients, or worse, the huge health insurance company that owns iDoc may be killing people on purpose to save money.
Desperate to find the party responsible and stop deaths, George enlists the help of a hacker. When he invades iDoc’s secret domain, he realizes his findings will put George’s life in jeopardy. The discovery unleashes a terrifying series of events that leads George to team up with Doctor Paula Stonebrenner. With billions of dollars at stake and government Medicaid and Medicare contracts on the line, they are not sure who to trust with the damning information. Secret government agencies may be involved as the reality of Obamacare’s escalating costs sinks in.
The computer in Robin Cook’s “Cell” is so scary I no longer sleep with my Smartphone next to my bed. I have a new appreciation for my flesh-and-blood doctor as I contemplate the all too real implications of this frightening prediction of future healthcare that fits in perfectly with current events. I will also think long and hard about the apps I download onto my Smartphone.
Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author of “Deadstick Dawn” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine
When Doctor George Wilson wakes beside his fiancée and discovers she died during the night, he is emotionally devastated. A few months later, he learns about the secret iDoc testing. In one week, four of his radiology patients die prematurely under suspicious circumstances. He learns they were all iDoc patients. He digs deeper and discovers his fiancée had participated in a beta test for the same program. George fears someone has hacked into iDoc and is killing patients, or worse, the huge health insurance company that owns iDoc may be killing people on purpose to save money.
Desperate to find the party responsible and stop deaths, George enlists the help of a hacker. When he invades iDoc’s secret domain, he realizes his findings will put George’s life in jeopardy. The discovery unleashes a terrifying series of events that leads George to team up with Doctor Paula Stonebrenner. With billions of dollars at stake and government Medicaid and Medicare contracts on the line, they are not sure who to trust with the damning information. Secret government agencies may be involved as the reality of Obamacare’s escalating costs sinks in.
The computer in Robin Cook’s “Cell” is so scary I no longer sleep with my Smartphone next to my bed. I have a new appreciation for my flesh-and-blood doctor as I contemplate the all too real implications of this frightening prediction of future healthcare that fits in perfectly with current events. I will also think long and hard about the apps I download onto my Smartphone.
Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author of “Deadstick Dawn” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine
February 16, 2014
One of the best things about Robin Cook is that he writes medical thrillers that deal with issues, but he addresses them by populating the story with intriguing characters. Some readers have complained about the abrupt ending of this book. I feel that the ending is appropriate and leaves little room for interpretation in light of the greedy side on which the major characters play.
Read this book to follow radiologist Dr. George Wilson's personal drama and interest in an iPhone app that could change the way physicians and patients interact. Can a heuristic, smart program, become smarter than its creators intended?
Read this book to follow radiologist Dr. George Wilson's personal drama and interest in an iPhone app that could change the way physicians and patients interact. Can a heuristic, smart program, become smarter than its creators intended?
August 30, 2018
Livro tão bom! Fiquei fã do autor!
September 3, 2022
Formulaic plot laden with technical inaccuracies. This author should’ve been a one-hit wonder with “Coma.”
May 23, 2015
I will start this review by saying that I really wanted to enjoy this book. Robin Cook was one of my favorite authors when I was a teen, and I found the idea behind this book intriguing.
The idea had so much promise.
Unfortunately, the execution is awful. I've considered the fact that my standards are a good deal higher now. However, I suspect that one of three things has happened here 1) Cook is resting on his laurels and seriously phoning it in, 2) The publishers have hired the cheapest ghostwriter they could find to get this published, or 3) The books I read back in the 90s were not nearly as good as I recalled.
First, the third person omniscient narrator makes the book unbearable to read. Who's the main character? Everyone. It is clearly everyone because we are made privy to everyone's internal thoughts. Even if we weren't, every single character in this book takes the opportunity to provide clear, spoken exposition of every thought s/he has--repeatedly. The dialogue is stilted, terribly written, and unrealistic. Details are told rather than shown in a way that would have gotten every chapter cut to ribbons in any reasonably literate undergraduate writing workshop. Also, I hate every single character. The only likeable person dies at the beginning of the first chapter. Everyone else in the book serves as a flat, wooden vehicle to nudge the protagonist along what I suppose passes for a plot.
The protagonist is so self-involved that he starts to think he's a harbinger of death for everyone he cares about. You know, instead of maybe questioning why a patient dies for no apparent reason right in the hospital itself.
There's no emotion I can identify with from any character. And every time iDoc comes up, it's accompanied by the same exhaustive monologue about how wonderful and revolutionary it is. The characters' voices all blend together into a robotic monotone of being surprised over plot twists the reader knows about before they even happen. Why does the reader know this? Because the book constantly pulls you off onto the sidelines where things are explained in exhausting detail. Oh, and let us not forget the liberal inclusion of cliches around every corner. I'd say you could play a fun drinking game where you take a shot each time you spot a cliche... but alcohol poisoning probably isn't all that fun.
Then we throw in a little bit of "hacking" (and why for the love of god didn't the author bother to consult someone who actually knows something about it?) to find "evidence" of wrongdoing. Add in a nebulous government body interested in how the computer has 'learned' to kill problematic patients because they want to cut healthcare costs. Round it out with a private corporation that apparently employs ex black-ops for its routine security...
Oh, there's also a main character everyone describes as brilliant and observant, who can pick out subtle shadows on MRIs but can't see an obvious conclusion sitting on the end of his nose. The author goes to great lengths to reinforce how smart and observant the protagonist is, detailing the reasoning behind every decision he makes in the book. I could go on, but the point of this review was to hopefully save others time they would have spent reading this book.
So there you go. What could have been a great idea, murdered by horrible writing.
The idea had so much promise.
Unfortunately, the execution is awful. I've considered the fact that my standards are a good deal higher now. However, I suspect that one of three things has happened here 1) Cook is resting on his laurels and seriously phoning it in, 2) The publishers have hired the cheapest ghostwriter they could find to get this published, or 3) The books I read back in the 90s were not nearly as good as I recalled.
First, the third person omniscient narrator makes the book unbearable to read. Who's the main character? Everyone. It is clearly everyone because we are made privy to everyone's internal thoughts. Even if we weren't, every single character in this book takes the opportunity to provide clear, spoken exposition of every thought s/he has--repeatedly. The dialogue is stilted, terribly written, and unrealistic. Details are told rather than shown in a way that would have gotten every chapter cut to ribbons in any reasonably literate undergraduate writing workshop. Also, I hate every single character. The only likeable person dies at the beginning of the first chapter. Everyone else in the book serves as a flat, wooden vehicle to nudge the protagonist along what I suppose passes for a plot.
The protagonist is so self-involved that he starts to think he's a harbinger of death for everyone he cares about. You know, instead of maybe questioning why a patient dies for no apparent reason right in the hospital itself.
There's no emotion I can identify with from any character. And every time iDoc comes up, it's accompanied by the same exhaustive monologue about how wonderful and revolutionary it is. The characters' voices all blend together into a robotic monotone of being surprised over plot twists the reader knows about before they even happen. Why does the reader know this? Because the book constantly pulls you off onto the sidelines where things are explained in exhausting detail. Oh, and let us not forget the liberal inclusion of cliches around every corner. I'd say you could play a fun drinking game where you take a shot each time you spot a cliche... but alcohol poisoning probably isn't all that fun.
Then we throw in a little bit of "hacking" (and why for the love of god didn't the author bother to consult someone who actually knows something about it?) to find "evidence" of wrongdoing. Add in a nebulous government body interested in how the computer has 'learned' to kill problematic patients because they want to cut healthcare costs. Round it out with a private corporation that apparently employs ex black-ops for its routine security...
Oh, there's also a main character everyone describes as brilliant and observant, who can pick out subtle shadows on MRIs but can't see an obvious conclusion sitting on the end of his nose. The author goes to great lengths to reinforce how smart and observant the protagonist is, detailing the reasoning behind every decision he makes in the book. I could go on, but the point of this review was to hopefully save others time they would have spent reading this book.
So there you go. What could have been a great idea, murdered by horrible writing.
April 8, 2016
2.0 out of 5 (+1 star for the iDoc premise)
I have read many Robin Cook books, my first being Coma in 1977. One of Cook's strengths, much like Michael Crichton, is the ability to take cutting edge topics, spotlight the moral and ethical implications associated with them, and weave a thrilling story, and learning a thing or two in the process. It had been a while since I read a Cook novel, so I picked up Cell expecting another great medical thriller. Alas, I was disappointed.
As with many of Mr. Cook's books, Cell starts out by grabbing us with a mysterious episode that ends in an unexpected death. We are introduced to iDoc, a specialized cell phone that is carried by the patient that can gather real-time biomedical data, communicate with the iDoc server, and provide customized medical treatment via a virtual primary care physician powered by an advanced AI (artificial intelligence). Intriguing and not too far out of the reach of current technology. So far, so good.
Unlike Mr. Cook's other books, Cell didn't delve too deeply into the medical aspects of this new technology. Most of the focus was on a mysterious medication reservoir implant that could contain up to two years of medication (an interesting idea in and of itself), managed care, and care rationing. Rather than going back to his roots and providing a compelling medical backstory, the iDoc technology seemed more like a McGuffin driving a ho-hum formulaic story.
The book was very predictable in the way the plot unfolded and the story was resolved (the good guys, bad guys, and generally what happens in the story). The protagonist, George, was so naive and did so many things that just didn't ring true. I wasn't surprised that he got into the predicaments that he did.
I really wanted to like Cell. This book could have been so much more.
I have read many Robin Cook books, my first being Coma in 1977. One of Cook's strengths, much like Michael Crichton, is the ability to take cutting edge topics, spotlight the moral and ethical implications associated with them, and weave a thrilling story, and learning a thing or two in the process. It had been a while since I read a Cook novel, so I picked up Cell expecting another great medical thriller. Alas, I was disappointed.
As with many of Mr. Cook's books, Cell starts out by grabbing us with a mysterious episode that ends in an unexpected death. We are introduced to iDoc, a specialized cell phone that is carried by the patient that can gather real-time biomedical data, communicate with the iDoc server, and provide customized medical treatment via a virtual primary care physician powered by an advanced AI (artificial intelligence). Intriguing and not too far out of the reach of current technology. So far, so good.
Unlike Mr. Cook's other books, Cell didn't delve too deeply into the medical aspects of this new technology. Most of the focus was on a mysterious medication reservoir implant that could contain up to two years of medication (an interesting idea in and of itself), managed care, and care rationing. Rather than going back to his roots and providing a compelling medical backstory, the iDoc technology seemed more like a McGuffin driving a ho-hum formulaic story.
The book was very predictable in the way the plot unfolded and the story was resolved (the good guys, bad guys, and generally what happens in the story). The protagonist, George, was so naive and did so many things that just didn't ring true. I wasn't surprised that he got into the predicaments that he did.
I really wanted to like Cell. This book could have been so much more.
March 3, 2014
A high-tech company develops an application that can be used on your smart phone to monitor your health. This app is called I-Doc. It's kind of like having your own personal physician available 24/7 for questions and for monitoring of diseases.
When the fiancee of a 4th year Radiology resident is included in the beta testing of I-doc but suddenly ends up dead, Dr. George Wilson become susupicious as there are a couple of other deaths at the hospital of beta test patients.
While this book can be viewed as just an interesting medical mystery, it also raises the question of how technology affects what we do and what we know. Can these devices monitor our blood sugar levels and then administer a dose of insulin if needed from an implanted resevoir. What happens when this diabetic patient now develops cancer? Will the app keep working as it should or will this patient be flagged as someone who may have little quality of life left and therefore "eliminated" so as to cut their pain and suffering but also to cut the exhorbitant health care costs they may be facing? This book is fascinating in terms of having access to a "physician" 24/7 but raises many questions if the system were to be abused by physicians or insurers.
Something to think about.
When the fiancee of a 4th year Radiology resident is included in the beta testing of I-doc but suddenly ends up dead, Dr. George Wilson become susupicious as there are a couple of other deaths at the hospital of beta test patients.
While this book can be viewed as just an interesting medical mystery, it also raises the question of how technology affects what we do and what we know. Can these devices monitor our blood sugar levels and then administer a dose of insulin if needed from an implanted resevoir. What happens when this diabetic patient now develops cancer? Will the app keep working as it should or will this patient be flagged as someone who may have little quality of life left and therefore "eliminated" so as to cut their pain and suffering but also to cut the exhorbitant health care costs they may be facing? This book is fascinating in terms of having access to a "physician" 24/7 but raises many questions if the system were to be abused by physicians or insurers.
Something to think about.
March 18, 2014
This was a well-written and exciting story that raised a lot of ethical questions about insurance companies and the US healthcare system and the influence of information technologies such as the fictional iDoc. I definitely enjoyed it.
August 21, 2025
The front page has a New York Times quote, "The master of the medical thriller". Not a genre you often see (in comparison to say world war or spy thriller). This was another book gifted many years ago and collecting dust on my shelf. So I gave it a go.
My biggest takeaway: no amount of idea or story can mask amateurish writing. I have not read other books of Robin Cook so it might be an outlier. Or maybe not.
The good: it has an interesting premise. An app that replaces the physician in the healthcare system. But it is run by an insurance company (alarm bells). It brings up a good moral question with the so called "glitch."
The bad: horrible, amateurish writing. It feels like the screenplay for a low budget action thriller. The dialogue is written with no nuance and is an absolute chore to even get to the next chapter. None of the characters have any fleshed out story.
The protagonist who is engaged wakes up to a dead fiancée. And that has no impact on his life, apart from his ability to talk to women (constantly thrown at our face by a man who is greedy and can only womanize. Are any male characters in this book not cheap womanizers?). The dead fiancée is thrown there to add the angle of personal dilemma to the moral question at hand.
The side characters are poorly written as well, living in this medical college that resembles a high school chick flick. Characters like Debbie Walters appear to further a plot point and then be lost into obscurity
I could go on and on. My guess is this book was written with the hope that some hollywood production house can pick it up with relative ease for the royalty. Can't find much redeeming qualities to this book to recommend it to anyone.
My biggest takeaway: no amount of idea or story can mask amateurish writing. I have not read other books of Robin Cook so it might be an outlier. Or maybe not.
The good: it has an interesting premise. An app that replaces the physician in the healthcare system. But it is run by an insurance company (alarm bells). It brings up a good moral question with the so called "glitch."
The bad: horrible, amateurish writing. It feels like the screenplay for a low budget action thriller. The dialogue is written with no nuance and is an absolute chore to even get to the next chapter. None of the characters have any fleshed out story.
The protagonist who is engaged wakes up to a dead fiancée. And that has no impact on his life, apart from his ability to talk to women (constantly thrown at our face by a man who is greedy and can only womanize. Are any male characters in this book not cheap womanizers?). The dead fiancée is thrown there to add the angle of personal dilemma to the moral question at hand.
The side characters are poorly written as well, living in this medical college that resembles a high school chick flick. Characters like Debbie Walters appear to further a plot point and then be lost into obscurity
I could go on and on. My guess is this book was written with the hope that some hollywood production house can pick it up with relative ease for the royalty. Can't find much redeeming qualities to this book to recommend it to anyone.
April 12, 2023
4.5..........George is a radiology resident at a Los Angeles hospital who learns of a new medical app that can revolutionize the healthcare system. Your smartphone virtually becomes your own personal doctor. It can monitor your vitals, diagnose your symptoms and tell you when you need to go to the hospital. On top of that, the app is heuristic, meaning it can learn. What a concept right?
Sadly, George’s girlfriend dies, and he comes to find out that unbeknownst to him, she was part of the beta test for this new app. Could her death have had something to do with this app? Is there more to this app then even the creators realize?
Now I’ve read quite a few books by Robin Cook. To the point where he was my go-to for medical thrillers. It has been quite a few years since I’ve picked up a book by him and now I think I need to read some more. For some reason I’ve always loved medical thrillers and this one was right up there where I was hooked from the start. My only critique is George’s character may have been a bit too naïve in some things, but the overall story was a good ride.
Sadly, George’s girlfriend dies, and he comes to find out that unbeknownst to him, she was part of the beta test for this new app. Could her death have had something to do with this app? Is there more to this app then even the creators realize?
Now I’ve read quite a few books by Robin Cook. To the point where he was my go-to for medical thrillers. It has been quite a few years since I’ve picked up a book by him and now I think I need to read some more. For some reason I’ve always loved medical thrillers and this one was right up there where I was hooked from the start. My only critique is George’s character may have been a bit too naïve in some things, but the overall story was a good ride.
July 5, 2020
Wow. I had to double check and make sure this wasn’t written by a 12 year old boy.
I am a huge stickler for writing style. I HAVE to find the style appealing if it’s going to be a quality read and I have to tell you...this writing style had all the appeal of spoiled milk. Flat, uninteresting, and stupid (SO STUPID) characters, language choices that felt very childish, and so! Many! Freaking! Unnecessary! Exclamation! Points!
I also had a huge problem with the forced representation and feminism in this book. It’s almost as if the editor read a draft and told the author he had to sprinkle in those things in order to boost the ratings. It felt fake and insulting.
My other major problem was that this author seems to have missed the writing lesson where they teach you to show your reader things instead of telling them. A majority of this book felt like exposition, so much so that the book was repeating itself and I had a hard time keeping my eyes from rolling back into my head.
And to cap it all, the book doesn’t even wrap up the main conflict?? I’m done.
I am a huge stickler for writing style. I HAVE to find the style appealing if it’s going to be a quality read and I have to tell you...this writing style had all the appeal of spoiled milk. Flat, uninteresting, and stupid (SO STUPID) characters, language choices that felt very childish, and so! Many! Freaking! Unnecessary! Exclamation! Points!
I also had a huge problem with the forced representation and feminism in this book. It’s almost as if the editor read a draft and told the author he had to sprinkle in those things in order to boost the ratings. It felt fake and insulting.
My other major problem was that this author seems to have missed the writing lesson where they teach you to show your reader things instead of telling them. A majority of this book felt like exposition, so much so that the book was repeating itself and I had a hard time keeping my eyes from rolling back into my head.
And to cap it all, the book doesn’t even wrap up the main conflict?? I’m done.
April 13, 2018
Oh well - a Robin Cook after years! I remember enjoying medical thrillers, and I haven't read one in ages (probably a decade). Either my preference has changed or I just found this book a very slow and uninteresting read. It's extremely rare that I will stop a book mid-way, but I was almost tempted. The characters are very superficial and the plot is predictable, whereas the sudden twist in the end seems almost forced and abrupt. The language is very ‘spoken English’ with no flair or style. If memory serves me right, Robin Cook books used to be interesting page turners. This one is surely only for die-hard Cook loyalists.
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