Whiteout

by Ken Follett

A hell of a storyteller. Entertainment Weekly Like no other author in his genre, Ken Follett reinvents the thriller with each new story line. But nothing he has written matches the intricate, knife-edge drama of Whiteout.....

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

468 pages, Hardcover

First published November 23, 2004

About the author

Ken Follett is one of the world’s most successful authors. Over 170 million copies of the 36 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 33 languages.

Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.

He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper the South Wales Echo and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.

Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.

In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, proved equally popular when it was published in 2007.

Ken’s new book, The Evening and the Morning, will be published in September 2020. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.

Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire.

Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament for Stevenage. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh for heaven's sake, Follett. Just because as a sixty-ish man you wish that a hot 38-year-old redhead would find you irresistible does not mean you have to bake this into a novel in such a thinly veiled fashion. And P.S., the book was actually going pretty well until said 38-year-old hugged the handsome sixty-ish man and felt——AHEM——wetness in her underthings. I beg your pardon? Way to ruin an otherwise almost-convincing romantic moment. Also Mr. Follett, you don't actually have to wrap up EVERY SINGLE LOOSE END when you conclude the book, like a child's chapter book. The whole idea of a (SPOILER ALERT) "one Christmas later" finale, in which all the happy protagonists wistfully remember, over an expensive dinner, how great their lives have been since they neatly captured and thwarted the bad guys.... well, I won't lie to you: it's overwrought, and corny. You should have used some White-Out of your own, and kept the story tighter.

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deadly virus called Madoba-2 and the world at risk of a pandemic. This was more than enough for me to pick this book to read.

COVID-19 pandemic and the quest to find out the initial source of the infection led to the spread of multiple conspiracy theories. Books like The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz and whiteout again became bestsellers, making many people like me pick it up for reading.

This is a thriller which deals with medical research, viruses, and bioterrorism. Twelve of the deadly virus sample goes missing from a high-security lab during a blizzard. Some terrorists are ready to pay a considerable amount for getting their hands on it. How the virus was stolen from the lab and whether the villains will be successful in using the virus for bioterrorism form the plot of this novel by Ken Follet.

What I learned from this book
1) Madoba-2
Madoba-2 is the name of the fictional virus in this book. The author says that it is a variant of the ebola virus. He also says that it is an airborne virus that is spread via droplet infection. The author tells us what all problems a virus of such high virulence can cause to the world.

"She could hardly bear to think about the consequences if the Madoba-2 virus somehow escapes. It was highly infectious, spreading fast through coughs and sneezes, and it was fatal."

2) Complicated relationship between Laboratory staff and the animals they work with
This is a vital topic that needs discussion. Oxford University researchers found out the importance of this topic and did multiple studies on it. Their studies said that conducting seminars for the research team, including the caregivers, and providing support related to animal deaths and euthanasia, which is inevitable in most research involving animals, will be very helpful for them. Ken Follet is also touching this important and sensitive topic in this novel.

"Laboratory staff really named the creatures they worked with. They were kind to the subjects of their experiments. But they did not allow themselves attached to the animals that were going to be killed. However, Michael had given this rabbit an identity and treated it as a pet."

3) Public safety vs protecting the reliability and good name of MNC’s
This is a very contentious topic discussed in this book. When some big research done by an MNC giant goes entirely wrong, which keeps the lives of millions of people at risk, they should be contrite and try to protect innocent people's lives by disclosing all the details that will help save their lives. They should never covertly deal with the matter without disclosing anything to the public to protect the company's reputation. Humanity is more important than money and reputation.

“Could we concentrate for now on public safety? But you are not just worried about the public. You want to protect the company and your precious professor Oxenberg."

My favourite three lines from this book

“The fact that someone lives alone doesn’t make them a nutcase. Does it?”

“Action always bucked her up and the peace-work is the best sort of action”

“Intuition should never be ignored.”

What could have been better?
It is strange how the Madoba-2 virus was confined between the four walls of a laboratory without causing any epidemic, especially after the author says that it is a very lethal virus with a human mortality rate of 100%. I felt that the author dealt with the virus's scientific aspects in a docile manner without giving proper explanations. Comparison of Madoba-2 and ebola was also made similarly. A little more description from the author's side regarding the virus on the above aspects to edify the readers might have easily solved this problem.

Rating
3/5 Historical fiction is the first word that comes to our mind when we hear the word Ken Follett. Follet managed to write a good suspense thriller that will satisfy most readers.

[Holly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

My second novel by Ken Follett.

The way he explores the minds and emotions of the characters really adds to the overall edginess. He takes you into their heads and you start wondering how some people can be so shallow.

This is a crime mystery/thriller dealing with a deadly virus that is stolen from a laboratory. It is an older book, published in 2004. We have a strong woman named Toni who is the brains on the block (hooray) and her mother who turns out to be a real hoot just when some comic relief is needed!

A lot of relationship drama is spiraling out of control with different members of the family. They are all home for the Christmas holiday and become trapped during a miserable blizzard. The police are on the hunt for the virus thieves and the bad guys are hold-up and too close. A tension filled journey that was part thriller, part procedural.

Library loan 6/19/2021 / book published in 2004

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invariavelmente Bom

Um livro que foge ao estilo habitual de Ken Follet, mas que é invariavelmente bom. 😍
Uma prova do alcance da mestria do autor!
Ken Follet persiste em não desiludir! 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟👍

[Paul Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what you'd expect, but it works just fine!

Hey ... it's Follett's own fault. He set his own standards with previous blockbuster winners like PILLARS OF THE EARTH and EYE OF THE NEEDLE. Unfortunately, WHITEOUT simply fails to clear that bar. But, don't fret ... it's still eminently readable and enjoyable as a Patterson style lightweight thriller and a Sidney Sheldon or Jeffrey Archer screenplay style family drama! The letdown, more than anything else, arises because it just isn't what most Follett readers would have expected.

The story opens with the theft of an experimental drug - a potential cure for the fatal Madoba-2 virus, a very ugly first cousin to the more well known Ebola virus - from Oxenford Medical, a cutting edge pharmaceutical firm located in a top level ultra-high security biohazard facility known as The Kremlin. Head of security, Toni Gallo, an overachieving former cop feuding with her ex-husband (and still policeman) Frank Hackett, pestered by the unwelcome attentions of tabloid reporter Carl Osborne, frets over her failure. Not only is she faced with the loss of her reputation and her job but she is also becoming warmly aware of the depth of her romantic feelings for her boss, Stanley Oxenford, the brilliant and wealthy owner of the firm and realizes that adverse publicity might well result in the collapse and bankruptcy of the entire company.

When Kit, the weak-willed and notoriously self-centred black sheep scion of the family - previously fired for embezzlement and now owing the staggering sum of 250,000 pounds in gambling debts to his unforgiving bookie, Harry Mac - is coerced into masterminding the clever high-tech theft of the virus itself to sell to bio-terrorists ... well, the messy stuff really hits the fan! A crippling blizzard pounding Scotland on the night of the crime forces Kit with his three cronies, Nigel, Elton and the psychopathic Daisy, into a brutal home invasion and they spend Christmas night with the entire Oxenford family attempting to contact their buyers and get the virus to them as planned.

There isn't very much that Follett hasn't tossed into this particular thriller salad - an extended dysfunctional family; unrequited love and romance; psychopathic brutality and sadism; wealth and overachievement; overwrought and rather badly over-written sex; bio-terrorism; animal rights activism; gay friends; nudity; breathy, groping underage sex; a bratty, rebellious teenager; staggering wealth; unscrupulous tabloid journalism ... my goodness, the list just goes on and on!

Literature, it certainly isn't! But as a lightweight airport or beach read, WHITEOUT succeeds quite well. Kit, Stanley and Toni, in particular, are well developed characters. If the standard for writing success is that a reader cares about what happens to them, I cared. Olga, also an interesting character, is Kit's lawyer sister. Crushed and furious over the discovery of her husband's philandering with their sister, Miranda, she reaches deep and aspires to a difficult forgiveness and physical heroism during their harrowing invasion ordeal!

Adjust your expectations and you'll enjoy this one just fine!

Paul Weiss

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was surprised to see a novel by an experienced pro that had such terrible stretches of writing in it. Would not have finished if it hadn't been a club selection. Got better nearer the end, where the action picks up.

So where was the editor? Is Follett so big that they can't tell him when something is clunky and amateurish? Awkward info dumps, cardboard characters, and too much that is thrown in to see what sticks. Way too many superfluous beatings, errors, and convenient plot devices. And in this part of Scotland, apparently most of the populace drives expensive luxury cars. Um...

Yes, there are good things, but they are overshadowed by the things that aren't. If professional publishers and writers are going to put out something so much in need of editing that it says they don't care, it shows what contempt they hold readers in. "Aw, they'll buy it anyway, because it's a Follett!"

News flash-- we expect better!

[Daniel Bastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blink once or twice and you might mistake Whiteout's opening act for that other ode to mysophobia, The Hot Zone. Coming a full ten years after Richard Preston's fan favorite, Follett administers a quick shot of déjà vu, retreading familiar themes early on before cracking the lid on a dizzyingly diverse cast and a bioterrorist plot filched straight from a Hollywood screenplay. Whereas The Hot Zone is an uneasy mix of nonfiction gussied up in sensationalist garb, Whiteout is pure novel—and quite the kind for which Follett's reputation precedes him. While the former fixes its attention almost solely on the pathogen, even idolizing it at times, the latter sculpts its drama around the many characters tangled up in the threatening peril of a diffuse outbreak.

Renowned Scottish pharmaceutical Oxenford Medical specializes in lab-based research on some of nature's deadliest viruses. The scourge du jour here is the fictitious "Madoba-2," the deadliest of them all. No one has survived its acquaintance; it is the perfect pathogen. When a narrowly tested vaccine for Madoba-2 goes missing from the Kremlin lab, along with an unwell rabbit reserved for in vivo trials, the company finds itself at the center of a media firestorm. It is the arch responsibility of ex-cop turned Chief of Oxenford Security Toni Gallo to track down the culprit and contain the leak.

With public confidence at an all-time low, the gears of a far more sinister plot are about to be set in motion. Opposite Toni Gallo is the chairman Stanley Oxenford, whose own son is embroiled in a devilish agenda of malfeasance in order to settle his escalating gambling debts. A highly trained unit of heist artists taps Kit Oxenford, a computer wiz who designed the Kremlin's security system before being fired for lifting funds from the firm's bottom line, to break in and theft hazardous materials. Desperate to pay off his creditors, and with his life hanging in the balance, Kit finds himself throwing in with a roguish crew whose intentions are unclear. As the holidays descend upon snow-covered Scotland, the Oxenfords gather at Steepfall, the family estate, only to find themselves key players in thwarting an international crisis.

The number of characters introduced as the plot takes shape can feel like a flood, but Follett has the knack for bringing the reader up to speed with well-placed summaries of how each character factors into the immediate scene and reminders of earlier details. While some of the Oxenford clan are standard-issue, many characters turn in quite memorable performances, chief among them Toni Gallo. True to form, Follett invariably reserves the most candescent performances for his strong female leads. While not quite attaining the level of depth and sophistication of Aliena in Pillars of the Earth, Flick in Jackdaws, or Lucy in Eye of the Needle, Toni stands head and shoulders above the rest with her steely resolve and poised demeanor. Her detective training allows her to stay one step ahead of the local constabulary and outsmart the assailants who hauled off with the precious cargo.

The book is not without its faults. An early scene at the family estate borders on soap opera melodramatics and seems out of place in a Follett novel. That the security system wasn't changed—right down to the thumbprint software on the BSL-4 chamber and the passcodes on the virus lockers—following Kit's departure from the company reeks of dubious plausibility. A few of the twists and turns feel forced and wrap up a bit too neatly, leaving one to wonder how a more organic progression might have played out. And, though many may neither care nor notice, some of the finer points on the science side of things skew toward the problematic.

The Science of Whiteout

As part of his research, we're told in the addendum, Follett visited biosafety facilities in Manitoba and London and corresponded with a few biosecurity professionals. Had he consulted virologists as well, he might have brought greater accuracy to the details surrounding Madoba-2 and its supposed cousin. The science in Whiteout, what little of it there is, for the most part is not bad, but, like Richard Preston before him, gives a misleading picture of Ebola.

Madoba-2 is frequently compared to the Ebola strain and even referred to as a "variant" of Ebola on one occasion. But the descriptions of Madoba-2 are at odds with what we know about the biology of Ebola and how it has adapted to circulate among human populations. Madoba-2 is airborne, so much so that the terrorists choose a perfume bottle as the delivery mechanism.

Ebola, meanwhile, is a close-contact germ; its proteins prefer to hole up in fluids like blood, saliva, feces, and urine rather than in its host's respiratory pathways. To speak of a virus that wafts on clouds of aerosol droplets emitted by a cough or a sneeze—à la influenza—is to speak of a fundamentally different virus from the strain that's been ravaging West Africa since December 2013. Suffice to say that if Ebola were even a little like Madoba-2, the current epidemic would be global, not confined to regions with poor medical infrastructure.

Lastly, Madoba-2's level of efficiency is unexampled in nature. With a human mortality rate of 100%, Madoba-2 is clearly not of this world. A non-free-living organism that killed too efficiently would jeopardize its ability to spread to new hosts. Dead hosts are like wet gunpowder, an evolutionary endgame. With every pathogen we've encountered, some portion of the susceptible population is resistant and passes on its immunity to successive generations. That is, until the virus adapts to the new regime and the cycle repeats. Even Ebola, among the deadliest viruses known, has topped out at 90% mortality in some populations. All considered, Madoba-2 sounds more like something engineered by man than something that would arise naturally.

Closing Thoughts

You're always in good hands with Follett. The brigadier general of historical fiction delivers another suspenseful tale worthy of the big screen, this time cutting his teeth on the killer virus motif in modern-day Scotland. While this may stray outside Follett's typical genre, all of the key elements are ported over intact. Thanks to its intriguing characters, smooth pacing and a Costco's worth of page-turning tension without an excess of sex or violence, Whiteout joins a rich legacy of polished narrative that leaps off the page with ease. Settle in for a night of frosty weather, dueling ambition, budding romance, and a high-strung thriller just compelling enough to dispel disbelief. A fine choice for your next weekend away.

Note: This review is republished from my official website.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Follett used (and perhaps will be) to be one of my favorites, but this one is far from being a good book
- there are lots and lots of coincidental facts, far too many for my taste
- there are too many coarsely outlined and unpleasant characters: Toni's ex, Kim, Daisy, even Olga
- it's more than strange for a clever person as Toni to be someone's girlfriend for 8 years and then to discover how lousy he is
- I've rarely met (in fact, I did not...) a lady aged 38 to fall in love with a gentleman aged over 60. but if you know such a lady, please send her my address, I'm over sixty too...

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 1 out of 5]

I decided to sample another work from the author of one of my favorite books, The Pillars of the Earth. It was extremely disappointing. I made it through about a third of the book and it was a vanilla drama of killer viruses and apparently a big storm on the way and the scientists and security guards that attempt to fight outbreak and hardship. It's the sort of thing that might have been written by any of a sheaf of modern authors like Michael Crichton, Patricia Cornwell or James Patterson and probably would have been better done. A third into the novel, I didn't identify with or care about any of the characters. There was a minor dramatic event that wrapped up rather completely except for some upcoming bad press for our main characters. The title promised blizzardy badness, and it has just started to snow outside, but it just isn't worth trudging on to find out what bad happens when the cold weather sets in.

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

(review in English below)

Lê-se bem e depressa, que era o que eu pretendia.
De resto, achei bastante básico. Um thriller pouco emocionante, com umas intrigas amorosas à mistura, incluindo um casal de adolescentes (!) que acaba por ter alguma influência no desenlace.
Gostei da personagem principal, Toni Gallo.
E pronto, cumpriu e ficou por aí.

A nice and quick read, which was what I was looking for.
Otherwise, I found it pretty basic. A not so thrilling thriller, with some love intrigue in the mix, including a teenage couple (!) that ends up having a somewhat relevant role in the outcome.
I liked the main character, Toni Gallo.
So, it did its job and that's that.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
My sometimes-sarcastic commentary

1. Oh no! A book about the potential for a deadly virus that causes the sufferer to bleed from basically everywhere. Oh how new and and exciting. Especially in 2003.

2. The completely believable heroine of the day, Toni, trained in engineering, decides to be a police officer, shamed off the job, now a security director for a lab that holds aforementioned bloody virus (and a cure. Ok, a cure that actually doesnt' work --poor rabbits and lowly lab tech).

3. Creepy sub-plot of two teenagers trying desperately to get it on when they witness their respective families being terrorized by thugs / virus-thieves. AND FURTHER creepiness when these two lovebirds (ick, ages 14 and 16) discuss their mutual possession of condoms--WEEEEEE. How old is Ken Follett and why the bleep does he care about the sex lives of two teens?! Bleck.

4. Oh, and let's not forget that you get through the entire blizzardy mess to find out the dastardly virus-spreader villain is someone we haven't met and is mentioned twice the entire book.

I gave it two stars for the occasional suspense.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a suspenseful, edge of your seat kind of read. I loved it. Toni Gallo is the head of security at a biochemical lab in Scotland called the Kremlin. When she discovers 2 doses of an experimental drug missing, she has no idea that this is a prelude to an even more dangerous plot to rob the company. Stanley Oxenford, the owner, is Toni’s boss. They have a great working relationship and she is interested in more. Christmas Eve brings many surprises including a blizzard that makes the plot even more dangerous. The reviews on this were mixed, leaning towards not so good. I am wondering if it’s because it’s different from the other books Follet has written, so different, fans were not expecting what they got. This was the first Follet I have read and I loved it. I will definitely try another.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 actually. Ken Follett in my opinion is an authors whose stories are always wonderful. His characters are multi-dimensional, his plots multi-layered and his writing style is very engaging. Whiteout was book up to his usual excellent standard. Think of a fatal virus, with no antidote; a large mostly functional family (with only one really bad sheep); a father who is a scientific and wealthy patriarch (who really loves his family and a lovely lady who is an ex-cop, heads security for the patriarchs' pharmaceutical firm and had a crush on the patriarch; then add a sudden ferocious storm. Unputdownable reading.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whiteout is a stand-alone suspense thriller set in Scotland, about a heist at a medical laboratory, which was published in 2004. I picked it up for $3 at a market stall - I was only looking for books on my Wishlist - I really don’t need more paperbacks - but my friend was pestering me with recommendations so I got it to shut her up 🤪. It was therefore at hand when I was looking for something to add to my Book Club bag, and despite being trashy and fairly predictable, I confess I read it in a day and by the 70% mark I was totally gripped.

Toni Gallo is the head of security at a remote Scottish biofacility searching for cures for the world’s deadliest viruses. She’s got a crush on her boss Stanley, so is dismayed to discover that a researcher has died after smuggling out an infected rabbit, and blames herself for the breach, so is determined that nothing else will go wrong. Stanley’s family are gathering for Christmas at his nearby mansion, unaware that one of them plans a shocking betrayal - criminals he’s indebted to have a plan to raid the lab for valuable samples. With a snowstorm rolling in, things start going wrong - can Toni save the day and earn the love of the wealthy professor?

Ken Follett has written a variety of thrillers and historical sagas, several of which I have read and mostly enjoyed, but I’d forgotten about how cringeworthy his attempts at writing romance subplots are - he’s obsessed with old men seducing younger women, and underage girls being deflowered. Only Wilbur Smith is worse. It’s a shame because these elements got in the way of an exciting killer-virus scenario with deliciously awful characters on both sides. Kit the malevolent son is truly hateful, Daisy the dim but brutal Glaswegian thug entertainingly evil, and Stanley’s benignly selfish daughters have no intention of seeing their widowed father fall for a hot redhead their own age. Craig the horny teenager made an unexpectedly effective turn as a Bruce Willis wannabe and I did actually like Toni as a heroine. There are even a couple of cute dogs who are introduced for no discernible reason - it’s ok, they both survive.

For a 17 year old thriller this holds up pretty well - I tend to find books published pre-2000 horribly dated because no one has a cellphone, but after that the technology gaps are less obvious. While this does feature a killer virus, it’s not about a pandemic so shouldn’t bother people trying to avoid Covid triggers. 3.5 rounded up for brainless entertainment value.

[Cherisa B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good suspense during a Christmas blizzard in Scotland. Solid pacing and writing, well-written characters, both good and bad guys.

[Preston Nowsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another truly great book by one of my favorite authors. An invincible virus is stolen from a high security medical research facility in Scotland, and the motive runs deeper than anyone could expect. It's Christmas eve, and Stanly Oxenford is dangerously close to losing his facility thanks to a heartfelt technician bringing home one of the test animals, and trying to cure it. and thanks to his debt, if he loses the Kremlin, he loses everything he owns. i recommend this book to those who enjoy mystery, suspense, and also anyone who has thought about reading one of his books, this one is considerable shorter than most of the books he's written. i wouldn't recommend to anyone who doesn't like gore, as usual accordance with his books, or anyone who's a little too attached to the events of a story, and might think it possible for someone to achieve. just when you think the twists are over, he'll throw you into a tailspin, so set aside a good length of time and hold on, this is one you will not want to put down!

[Sally Lindsay-briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a winner in my estimation. It was an audio book that I listened to on my long drives to visit my daughter. There was plenty of action and suspense and a dab of romance. A research company is trying to come up with an antidote for a very deadly virus. There is a robbery and a hostage situation in the midst of a huge blizzard. You really don't know what will happen until the finale. The heroine Toni is the security guard with lots of guts, smarts and gusto. I love it when the story has strong ladies. Ken Follett, I shall look for your other books.

[João Fialho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretido, de fácil leitura, mas longe do brilhantismo de outros livros (ou enredos) do autor.
Inicialmente pensei que seria uma trama global, de proporções horrendas para humanidade, mas acabou por ser uma narrativa doméstica. Nada de errado nisso, apenas fiquei surpreendido pela evolução da narrativa para algo de caráter mais restritivo em vez de uma dramatização "de ameaça global", como outros livros do género.

É um livro típico de férias de verão (ainda que tenha sido lido no inverno, início de primavera.).

[Miquel Reina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whiteout is one of those novels that you can read in a matter of hours. It has a fast rhythm and although sometimes these books have a very obvious structure, Ken Follen hides it with the finesse of a master couturier.

Spanish version:
En blanco es de esas novelas que puedes leer en cuestión de horas. Su ritmo trepidante te engancha casi a la primera página, y aunque a veces este tipo de libros tengan estructuras tan pautadas, Ken Follen las esconde con la finura de un maestro costurero.

[Alexw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have come to expect too much from Follett as his Fall Of Giants was brilliant on every page. The May -December romance in this novel is awkward and the puppy love romance is frankly disgusting.
However, it still is Follette and written in 2004 about a virus that can kill millions (sound familiar), the overall plot is still exciting.

[Mihaela Abrudan · Rating 3 out of 5]

De la războiul nuclear din Never la un virus letale; Follett are o minte diabolică. Un virus foarte periculos este furat dintr-un laborator, iar recuperarea lui devine povestea pentru supraviețuire a familiei celui care l-a creat.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oxenford Medical is a high-security pharmaceutical-research company in Scotland that has developed a new drug to act upon an amazingly deadly virus. But on a certain Christmas Eve, Antonia (Toni) Gallo, head of Oxenford Medical's security team notices a breach in security: samples of the drug are missing and a lab technician is nowhere to be found. When the said technician is finally found at his house, he is bleeding from every pore -- he has been infected with the virus and Stanley Oxenford, owner of the research facility and developer of the drug, is in danger of losing everything he has worked in. Then his son, Kit, full of debts, decides to steal from Stanley and teams up with a gang of thugs. He thinks their aim is to steal the anti-viral drug, but after breaking in into Oxenford Medical, Kit realizes that the truth is worst than he thought: they are actually stealing the virus. And so it starts a complete nightmare that is increased by an unexpected blizzard whipping out the north. Things can only go very wrong, but Toni is decided to prove herself worthy and is willing to do anything to catch the criminals.

Whiteout is certainly a very good thriller. At least had the power to keep me glued to it. It may not be perfect, but it is certainly a nail-biting story (I don't bite mine, but you get the feeling). It is a story where a lot of things go wrong. For the thugs, but also for Toni and the Oxenford clan, who find themselves in the whole unhappy situation. Basically, when someone thinks he or she has found a way out of the dreadful situation, there is a twist of some kind and said person is back at square one. This happens for the entire story, especially as the thieves are trying to get away with the stolen virus. Which ends up being fine, since it just increases the whole frustrating feeling (the nail-biting effect thing) and makes this book a surprising page-turner.

As for the characters, Toni Gallo was fine. She reminded me of Jeannie Ferrami from The Third Twin, in personality and because both have sisters with families of their own and mothers with some sort of dementia. Her feelings for her boss, Stanley Oxenford, were a bit weird and she had the tendency for behaving a little foolishly. She is headstrong and has difficulties keeping her mouth shut. Especially with her ex, Superintendent Frank Hackett, a truly despicable man, who enjoys telling Toni 'no' -- I think he would even let the lab thieves escape with the virus to France just to make Toni angry. Talking about pricks, then we have Kit Oxenford, who is just plain mean and is a child in an adult body. He is mad at his father because Stanley refused to pay the money Kit owed. For the second time. So he decides to get his revenge. Only leading to the terrible situation this story tells. He doesn't even have second thoughts when he betrays his sister Miranda twice, the second time putting her in terrible danger. When he realizes the truth about the stolen items, he knows how dangerous it all is, but all Kit can think about is the money he is going to receive from the heist, not really considering that he may be killed when the virus is released. Kit is childish, revengful, thoughtless, mean, he is really unpleasent character and I could not prevent myself from wishing him all the bad things in the world for putting his own family into such a danger. The thugs Kit teams up with, Nigel, Elton, and Daisy, are just horrible people who have no qualms about what they're doing, especially Daisy, who is a monster, a real psycho.

I enjoyed this book. It's very exciting, very gripping, and even though I thought, at some point, that there were way too many things turning out wrong, especially for the good guys, Whiteout is a really satisfying read. And having a scientific background, is much better than The Third Twin.

[P.S. Mokha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this while on holiday in the tropical Bay of Islands and it was the perfect read. Set in Scotland during a blizzard it was a delight to be reminded that I no longer lived in a cold climate. The pace picked up half way through, with each character's motivation and decision-making being clear and believable. I note some people found this book contrived and one described the characters as cardboard, yet it delivered what it set out to achieve. A racy action novel about averting a major international crises. The formula is tried and tested and you get what you expect . Near misses (a term that technically means a hit - if you nearly miss something, therefore you... anyway, I digress) dramatic tension and good vs bad.

The reason I read Ken's books is because they are so easy to read. He unfolds complicated plots in a simple way and does all the work so the reader doesn't have to. Some people confuse this with simplistic writing, but it is the polar opposite.

My wife has just received Winter of the World. I hope it is better than Fall of Giants, which I would rate at a mere 3.5 to 4 stars.

[Arybo ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Che delusione.
Complici due notti insonni ho finito questo libro in due giorni, ma non mi è piaciuto per niente. Personaggi stereotipati, frasi ad effetto trite e ritrite, brutte descrizioni, scene inverosimili... bah, siamo sicuri che sia lo stesso autore de I pilastri della terra? Come fa ad essere lo stesso autore de Il terzo gemello? Nel libro appena citato c’è una descrizione del mondo accademico particolareggiata, la dinamica dei personaggi è chiara, il lettore riesce ad appassionarsi ai temi trattati... qui nulla di tutto questo. Mancano i dettagli fondamentali per far sì che questa storia non sia qualcosa di già visto o di già scritto. Ecco, mi è sembrato che la storia fosse già stata letta/vista: in fondo è un suspense blando, perché tanto si sa che tutto andrà bene. Ci sono, verso la fine, un paio di cose che non immaginavo, ma stonano con tutto il resto. Niente, leggerò sicuramente altro di Follett, che scrive bene, però questo è un no gigante.

[Jack Massa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deadly virus is stolen from the vaults of a drug company in Scotland. Can the Facility Director (a gorgeous 36-year-old former policewoman who is secretly in love with her boss (the shy but brilliant professor who founded the company)) catch the thieves and avert a terrorist plot to spread worldwide plague? On Christmas Eve? In a blizzard? With her mother in the car?

Follett is a magician, skillfully mixing thriller and soap opera with dashes of sex and violence. I can't quite figure out how he breathes so much life into these standard-issue characters or makes me care so much about them. A Grand Master of direct, blatant prose and edge-of-the-cliff suspense in top form.

[Ana Sofia Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

[17/11/16]
I finally finished this! I took such a long time because of university, but I enjoyed it every time I grabbed it! Ken Follett is one of the masters of thriller, and this one didn't fall behind on that.

Whiteout deals with a deadly virus that, if spread, could kill millions of people. One of the scientists died with the virus but it was an isolated case. That was supposed to be the worst thing that could happen, right? Wrong.

Toni Gallo is an ex-police that now works as the head of the security of a lab that belongs to Stanley Oxenford. And she now has to deal with the biggest crisis of her life, and if she fails, millions could die. But this isn't just about her. Stanley's family - which is a huge family - has a role in all of this. And what a pleasant surprise that was! (it's not everyday that you find a thriller revolving around an entire family)

Miranda was a really good surprise, she turned out to be one of the bravest of that family. Ned too, I was really bothered with the way he acted but then he turned out to be a good character. I still have a meh opinion about Hugo but the guy didn't deserve what he got. Olga was a pretty good character, if it probably wasn't for her - and the snow, mind that - the virus would have probably been released.

But the most amazing surprise were the kids. Even if Caroline didn't have any role at all and Tom barely had one, Sophie and Craig almost stole the spotlight. They were amazing, and funny in their own way, and incredibly brave and even helped Toni literally save the day.

The bad guys were well developed too (as obviously they'd be, it's Ken Follett, duh). Madoba-2 was actually Toni's main problem, but it derived from Kit, so I wasn't that wrong. Kit is a very complex character, so I enjoyed all of his thoughts.

The only downfall? The ending. It's completely predictable, including the main character's ending. There's not any twist to it. It's predictable and even cliché, and that's why it doesn't get 5 stars.

All in all, this is a great book, with good characters and a good plot. It all makes sense and all the characters play a role (almost all of them, basically the ones I don't remember the names don't have that big of a role). It was very nice to be reading a thriller but still see the way the characters interacted with each other. Some of the chapters were really pleasant in the sense that it seemed like a completely normal story about a big family. And that's probably what I like the most, the way Ken Follett is able to intertwine trivial things into a thriller and make it all seem realistic.

[11/11/16]
I'm still confused with the names of everyone that showed up in the first chapter, but Stanley's family is pretty easy to memorize. Also, I want to see how everyone his family, especially Miranda and Olga, will play their roles in this story. I'm sensing the main problem for Toni won't even be Madoba-2 but yes Kit.

[1/11/16]
I'm currently very confused with all the names. I really don't know who anyone is besides Toni and Kit due to the amount of characters that were introduced just in the first chapter. Still I'm sure by the end of the book I'll know exactly who everyone is.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Christmas Eve should be a time of joy and family, but for one medical research firm’s CEO, it becomes a night of terror, blood and death. Biological terrorism is horrific, but when one deadly virus is stolen, Christmas Eve will become anything but silent and holy.

Ken Follett’s WHITEOUT pits greed, dark secrets and deadly plots against the clock as Mother Nature does her part to foul up any chance of success for one man, forced to steal from his father’s company to pay his gambling debts. What he hadn’t planned on was that if anything could go wrong, it would.

Part biological thriller, part soap opera, this thriller is filled with chilling grit as one family’s drama plays out and unlikely heroes step up.

I was completely captivated with the theft of a potential biological weapon, but found the family soap opera portion to be a bit distracting as dirty little secrets are revealed and the perfect family’s façade is cracked. Lots of drama, lots of bad blood and some clichéd bad guys whip this thriller into a froth of bloody terror.

This may not be one of my favorite Ken Follett novels, but it does have some chilling twists!


Publisher: Penguin Books (November 23, 2004)
Publication Date: November 23, 2004
Genre: Thriller | Suspense
Print Length: 374 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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[Maria Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent Ken Follett! The book is fast paced, interesting, believable and manages to explain and educate about the risks of contagion with new vaccines or viruses. The description of the security of a high security laboratory is based on good research and visits to two such labs, one in the UK and another in the US, and Ken Follett always surrounds himself with good advisers on such topics.
Because it is not such an unthinkable scenery nowadays, it is worthwhile reading. Besides it is an incredibly good story!

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon 20 March 2017.

[Γιώργος Δάμτσιος · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Irina Baciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

De mult nu am mai citit o carte cu atât de multă acțiune și m-am bucurat de fiecare moment prins în albul infinit. Deși spre sfârșit devine un pic neverosimilă și rocambolescă, a reușit să mă prindă foarte tare, ca un film hollywoodian, nu strică din când în când.
Cum evoluează și se schimbă legăturile de familie în câteva zile de Craciun sub presiunea unui dezastru biologic, fuga aceasta prin mantre fulgi și nămeți m-a prins în mreje și nu am putut lăsa cartea din mână.
Nu pot să nu asociez totuși un pic răufăcătorii cu personajele hazlii din “Singur acasă”, încearcă să pară fioroși, dar nu prea le iese.
Picanteriile sexuale din final sunt o surpriză pentru imaginea de bătrânel tocilar si neajutorat pe care autoarea i-a creat-o marelui om de știință Stanley.
Pe alocuri, personajele devin caricaturale.