Germ

by Robert Liparulo

If you breathe . . . It will find you. The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. Business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None of them is aware of what is about to happen--but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known. The germ--an advanced form of the Ebola virus--has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. Those whose DNA is not a match simply catch a cold. But those who are a match experience a far worse fate. Within days, their internal organs liquify. Death is the only escape. The release of the virus will usher in a new era of power where countries are left without defense. Where a single person--or millions--could be killed with perfect accuracy and zero collateral damage. Where your own DNA works against you. The time isn't coming. It is now. Pray the assassins get you first.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Christian Fiction, Science Fiction, Christian, Horror, Mystery Thriller

496 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Robert Liparulo's novels, Comes a Horseman, Germ, Deadfall Deadlock, The 13th Tribe, and The Judgment Stone,have received rave reviews. His short story "Kill Zone" is included in the anthology Thriller, edited by James Patterson. He is also the author of the best-selling young adult series DREAMHOUSE KINGS: House of Dark Shadows, Watcher in the Woods, Gatekeepers, Timescape, Whirlwind, and Frenzy. Robert lives in Colorado with his family.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was extremely disappointing. I picked up this book expecting a bioterrorism sort of book, which is definitely not what I got. This book is very Hollywood with constant over the top action scenes constantly littering almost every page. Now I love action books and movies more than most so it says a lot when I felt it was too much and honestly I got bored with it. The tagline for this book is "If you breathe it will find you" the problem is you have to read almost 400 pages to actually read this tagline.

The disease I assumed (incorrectly) was going to be the major part of the plot line. I was wrong and the disease hardly had any part in this book. I found it quite annoying that it was hardly mentioned and basically played off. The main plot of the book is them running from some crazy assassins. I also didn't find any of the characters really likable. There was hardly any character development so you didn't really get to know any of the characters. The most background you got on any character was the villain.

All in all this book was just too long and I found myself just wanting to stop reading it because I just wanted to read about people dying of the disease! The prologue of the book was probably my favorite chapter, it was gory and pulled me in. A few chapters later I was bored. As soon as the initial action was over I was just waiting for the disease to come up and it never did.

The thing is I probably would have enjoyed this book better if it didn't have the whole disease idea. Like I said I love action books but I wanted to read this book for the disease because I thought it was so interesting. That was why I got so annoyed because the disease wasn't a major part of the plot. Another good thing is that the author wasn't afraid to kill off main characters which I respect.

All in all if you are looking for a Hollywood style action espionage type of book I would pick this up, but if you are looking for a book on a deadly disease that can destroy the world because your DNA is encoded in it I would pass.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Germ far outdid my expectations. I was expecting a decent read with less-then-adequate dialogue, stereotypical characters, and the like. Instead, I stumbled upon a book (it was a Christmas present) that was one the best thrillers I have ever read. I greatly admired the author's lack of hesitation in killing off characters (something that I find irritatedly lacking in the style of most thriller writers), snappy well written dialogue (this novel is outstanding in the thriller genre because of that), characters that are horribly flawed by also admirable (the character development is refreshing in this respect, the author tried to create complicated characters), interesting settings (nicely varied and never boring), and the plot was purely breath taking (truly brilliant.) This is a thriller of excellence in my opinion, and one of the best novels I've read this year.

[Mitchel Broussard · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you really really really want to read this book, you may consider some of the following spoilers. But i really dont think anything in this book could surprise a 9 year old, just warning.

This is one of those cases where the description of the book really fools you, and not really in a good way. I was expecting a plot about some mad scientist killing MILLIONS of people with his crazy Ebola virus, with some medical terminology maybe and crazy gore descriptions. What i got was some weird attempt at a Hollywood espionage-action-thriller-mystery hybrid that really was trying to be too many things.

It starts off great, a car chase, that, unfortunately within the first 50 pages, is the high point of the action in the plot. Our two main characters are chasing some guys that may be involved with trying to kill another guy that escaped from said Mr. Crazy Mad-Scientist's lab with a memory chip that has all the secrets of the deadly virus. It's a lot to take in so quickly, but it really makes the tension of the car chase more palpable.

What happens after is basically, a road-trip from hell. The now trio head all over the southern US avoiding deadly crazy ninja assassins while trying to find tips and clues as to where the mad scientist is. Eventually they get the aid of another mad scientist who reveals the first mad scientist is really his adopted son who came over with all these super smart kids from Germany. Its at this point that i was like, "Where the fuck does this guy come UP with all this!?"

The conclusion is, well, again i felt like Liparulo was channeling Michael Bay. The whole final scene is in a semi-abandonded military base with bombs going off all over the place, cars flying over our heroes, firefights with bad guys, fistfights with deadly ninja-like assassins, all leading up to an actually pretty satisfying stand-off between the main heroine and the evil mad scientist.

I just felt that it was just too much of different genres jam-packed into one book. You get action-adventure, thriller, mystery, science fiction, romance, and horror. Yeah that might sound good, but it just didn't work for me. I felt overwhelmed and just unsure of where it was all going to go. And besides for a book about a deadly flesh eating virus, where the hell is it the whole book?? Seriously, we get an explanation halfway in, BUT I ALREADY KNEW WHAT IT WAS because of the back of the freaking book. I felt as if maybe how the virus was made or what it did exactly, maybe if it was hidden, then that could have been a nice surprise. But no, you know going in what it is and what it does, and even exactly how its made, thanks to the Prologue.

Really all you need to do is read the back of the book, imagine a car chase, people running from assassins every 20 pages, and that final fight i just described. Its not even a spoiler saying that the bad guy dies and the good guys when, i mean CMON, duh.

Just a predictable and way too sporadically plotted mess.

But i will give Mr. Liparulo this, he isn't scared to kill off main characters. Literally, one doesn't survive the first 100 pages. That takes balls. It just didn't save the book for me. The near 500 pages did not help its case, either.

[Jan Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts out with three facts. First, since 1962, all Industrialized nations routinely administer the Gutherie test to the newborns. In the test, a blood sample is drawn from the baby’s heel to check for certain genetic diseases. Then most of these cards, with their blood spots, are stored and never destroyed. They contain DNA that identifies the donors. Third fact, with the advent of gene splitting, scientists are capable of encoding viruses with human DNA. This gives viruses – germs – the ability to find specific DNA, specific people. This is the premise of this novel which was written in 2006. What I find scary is the basic plot The story is what some people believe happened during the pandemic of 2020. The author makes this very believable.

[Tim Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

_Germ_ by Robert Liparulo is a good, solid thriller, one that was a true page-turner, a gripping novel that I read in just a few days. Essentially, the book is one long chase, one in which the protagonists are both trying to solve a mystery while staying ahead of an assassin on their heels (and avoiding the authorities at the same time, as to take time to deal with officials would mean they wouldn't solve the mystery in time, give the assassin time to find them and kill them, and complicated by a further problem in that they don't know whom they can trust).

The book began with what should have been something fairly routine for Special Agents Goodwin Donnelley and his partner Julia Matheson. A man by the name of Despesorio Vero had been demanding to speak to the director of the Center for Disease Control's National Center for Infectious Diseases in Atlanta. He came off as semi-coherent, rambling, possibly deranged, but it seemed he was warning them of some potent new bioweapon. Donnelley and Matheson were agents of the newly created Law Enforcement Division of the CDC and were charged with meeting the man, talking to him, and possibly bringing him in for questioning.

Almost right away things go badly for these three people. Gunmen try to kill Vero in the restaurant the two agents agreed to meet him in. Donnelley hustled Vero out of the establishment and what followed was a high speed chase (and gun battle) as Donnelley and Vero fled the hitmen and Matheson in her own car tried desperately to keep up with her partner. Though the gunmen are foiled, both Donnelley and Vero are wounded. Wanting to avoid any further assassins, not knowing who he can trust, and hoping to link up again with Matheson, Donnelley went to Chattanooga and sought to treat his wounds himself.

Things continued to go worse as a new, far more dangerous, nearly mythic assassin by the name of Atropos showed up (his name is learned later on in the book). I don't want to reveal too much more about the book, but things go very, very badly for Donnelley and Vero. Matheson and interestingly enough the doctor who eventually treated a severely wounded Donnelley, one Dr. Allen Parker, along with his brother, Stephen, a country pastor, become involved in the struggle to stay ahead of Atropos and figure out what it was that Vero was so desperate to get to the CDC and once they discover what it is, decide how to use it to save lives.

I don't think I am giving away too much at this point by hinting at the big mystery, as it is mentioned in part on the back cover; someone has found a way to create a deadly virus that will only target victims who contain certain DNA, DNA that the viruses are altered to recognize and attack. Everyone else is immune (or suffers at worst a minor cold from the virus), while the victim dies a horrid death, similar to that which Ebola and other filoviruses create.

A pretty good book, the speculation on the nature of some diseases, such as Ebola, was interesting and chilling. There was some good suspense, Liparulo was skilled at writing clear and engaging descriptions of hand-to-hand combat, and the book had a great pace. I didn't always completely follow the motivations of two men behind in the scenes for most of the book, the creator of the virus and the former mentor of that man, a man pledged to stop him, nor the importance of the origin story of one of them, why that was significant. I had a few quibbles with the last climatic scene but they are minor and I won't reveal them here. Though I might place the book in the science fiction category for the author's speculations on the origins and use of such diseases as Ebola the book was really more action-thriller, which is not by the way a bad thing.

[Keiki Hendrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you breathe, it will find you".

Robert Liparulo's sophomore novel "Germ" grabs your attention from Chapter One. The non-stop action begins by a statement of facts regarding Dr. Robert Guthrie, a microbiologist, and his development of the Guthrie Test, a medical test performed on newborn infants to detect an inborn error of amino acid metabolism.

Deduction is made of how such technology, in association with gene splicing and in the wrong hands, could selectively target and attack a particular DNA gene in the general population rending a person dead in a matter of days.

Details of the end result of such a virus on humans are graphically described. This is not a novel for the weak at heart. It is intense in its plot, in its characters, and almost non-stop action scenes.

That being said and for those who enjoy an action packed Thriller, this novel of DNA-specific biochemical warfare will take your breathe and not release it until you finish the last page.

Good and evil are presented with equal clarity.

FBI Agents Goodwin Donelley and Julia Matheson, the protagonist, are depicted genuinely, with a sincere, deep friendship.

Dr. Allen Parker and his brother Stephen Parker (almost Doctor turned Pastor) are unsuspecting participants but add much to the story.

Karl Litt, the antagonist, the son of a Nazi researcher, is diabolical and utterly without remorse.

With unexpected twists and turns and several complex story lines, true to the genre, this work kept me in 'suspense' wondering how all elements would merge to a conclusion. I was not disappointed as the story line ended.

This novel will surprise you as you become acquainted with characters only to learn they do not survive. Not all suspense novels can make such a claim. Unanticipated ends to major characters adds greatly to the development of those characters that remain as well as the plot.

Germ is a Christian Fiction novel. It is entertainment and does not resort to profanity or vulgarity. Great novels rarely do. It takes much more creativity to produce a work that captures the reader with the plot, the characters, and interaction alone.

I recommend this book highly and look forward to more of Robert Liparulo's work.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I came across Germ by Robert Liparulo, I was initially excited to see it featured the Ebola virus used in germ warfare. That premise alone made me anxious to read it. Once the concept that the virus was modified, encoded, to attack the specific DNA of individuals was introduced in the "Facts" section at the beginning of the novel, I was hooked. In Germ, special agent Julia Matheson must figure out what is happening and why she and Dr. Allen Parker are being targeted by assassins before the deadly weaponized infection is released to ten thousand people.

While it would appear that the premise would be enough to keep readers interested in the plot, the short chapters and switching to the view point of multiple characters made this novel feel choppy. Additionally, the number of gun fights, chase scenes, hand-to-hand combat, narrow escapes, etc., could have been edited down. This would have tightened up the novel and helped the pacing. As difficult as it seems, I was becoming bored with the sheer overwhelming number of fight scenes.

There is no "who done it" mystery to solve, so the main suspense is in asking what will happen next. The action scenes are the star of the novel, with the Ebola virus taking a back seat to it. Ebola is horrific enough that I will admit to being a bit disappointed that it didn't take a more prominent place in the action throughout the novel.

This is Christian fiction, but I don't think that that really matters at all except for the lack of colorful language. There really are not pages of theological discussions. One character is a minister and there were a few Biblical quotes, but that's about it. All in all, it was okay for a thriller (but not so much for a virus novel).
Recommended; http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book and I picked it up because of the cover. I have a knack for judging a book by its cover and this was one of those. I also was drawn to this one because one of the tag lines was "if you breathe, it will find you." This alone made me want to read more. A scientific genius was able to mutate even the simplest common cold virus to be a killer if it could match to your DNA. The method of obtaining the DNA was to use the cards created as an infant to run basic tests to make sure the baby was healthy. Since these cards are just filed and never destroyed, the scientist could then conform the common cold virus to attack specific people and give them the ebola virus killing them painfully and in a shout amount of time. Not for the feint of stomach, kind of creepy and almost too real. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend this title and author.

The author is Robert Liparulo. His website is http://robertliparulo.com/

Check it out. You may just like him.

[G Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Germ by Robert Liparulo was a well written book, but not what I expected and not what was described in the synopsis. Due to this disappointing development is why I would rate it a 2.5. Prior to going into further explanation, let us first review the rules:

Rule #1: No telling them they have an ugly baby. The writer put themselves into the story; they put a lot of work into it and truly believe in it and its merits. Who am I to tell them they created an ugly baby? So even if I am disappointed in it, I will not be cruel and a hater, but will be honest without being mean. On the reverse side, it has to be REALLY AWESOME to earn a 5-star rating. Don’t want to cheapen the rating system by giving out too many 5-star ratings; they have to be earned by golly!
Rule #2: No spoilers! You would not want me in a theater telling you what was going to happen next or expose a pivotal point before you get to experience it for yourself, so why would it be okay to tell you an important part of the story and ruin it for you? Not cool and won't happen.
Rule #3: If it is a series, I will review the entire series instead of each individual book. I may state that one book or part of the story arc is better than another, or that it started off slow and picked up or the reverse, but will review the whole instead of each separate part. This is partly due to my own laziness, but also to provide my opinion on the entire story. Using the movie metaphor again, you wouldn't review half a movie and then come back and review the second half separately, that would be silly. I will review the entire story, regardless if it is a duology, trilogy, or more.
Rule #4: and most importantly, take my review with a grain of salt. Read the story for yourself and make your own decisions. I am only giving my opinion and I may not be as impressed with it as you or you may think I am totally out of my mind and wonder if I read the same story as you. You always have the right to ignore what I write or disagree with me.

By the description, I thought this book would be along the line of The Andromeda Strain or Outbreak, where it is a race against time to stop an epidemic from spreading. This was nothing like that. Germ was more a spy-thriller type novel, more like The Marathon Man or one of those action thrillers where the main character is being hunted down to quiet them for the information they possess. This did have a designer Ebola type virus in the story, but it was just the premise or backdrop for the excuse for the chase, it was not a major part of the story. Any type of secret information could have been used instead and would have been just as significant to the story.
The premise of the story is the three main characters are being chased by assassins because they may have gotten some information regarding a dark op plan to release a designer virus that is lethal only to those who contain the proper genetic code. There, of course, is also the government involved and their attempts to keep the whole thing covered up. The hunted is a female CDC/FBI agent whose partner was killed when he met the informer and received the secret information, a doctor who worked on the dead agent in the ER and the doctor’s brother who got caught in the cross-hairs when an attempt on his brother’s life was made in his presence. The story revolves around them being chased as they try to decipher the information they received and figure out who is trying to kill them. It has a strong climax at the end and there is a lot of information on how the agent goes about keeping them safe and deciphering the chip the secret stolen information is on. The only issue I had with the premise is at the end the antidote was too far-fetched. A “universal” antidote to stop the virus regardless of the designer make-up didn’t sound believable to me. It was too pat, (contrived and forced) after such a well written story.
It is an interesting book and very well written story. If it was the type of story I was expecting I would have given it a strong 4. Unfortunately, it was like reading a book thinking it is going to be a ghost story only to learn it is a romance novel with a ghost in the back-round as the basis for the two lovers to get together. The story may be interesting and the writing good, but it was not what was expected so rather disappointing.

[Robin Drummond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is crowded: Nazis, evil doctors, mad scientists, perky CDC agent, clones, incredible fighting tools for close-in mayhem, large spiritual guy with a heart of gold and a willingness to self-sacrifice.

Maybe it would appeal more to me if I wasn't living through a pandemic, in which real researchers and medical personnel are floundering around and keeping me awake at night.

[Kaitlyn Frutiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that the book was bad... I just expected a lot more of, ummm, reality?? There were a lot of parts where I sort of just cringed... Overall, I enjoyed it, but it was kinda corny in a way...

[Violet_violence · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just plain out SUCKS. The writing is at BEST sophmoric and at the least just plain out MORONIC. And I'm not just saying this because I just finished reading all of the Harry Potter books in a row (books one to seven in less than a month, baby, giggity.) I bought this book under the pretense that there would be some sort of horrific description of viral hemhorragic fever (biohazard level 4- a.k.a. Ebola Hemhorragic Fever.) I was expecting horrific and scientific diabtribes about the disease's physiology and epidemiology. Instead I got some BS espionage crap. The disease is not mentioned as often as it should be and the conspiracy to infect 10,000 people with a genetically engineered Ebola virus matching their DNA is overshadowed by poor writing and blase characters. Maybe it IS because I just finished the entire Harry Potter series, maybe not, but man, oh, man, I would suggest readers try Dr. Close's book "Ebola" or Doug Preston's "The Hot Zone" for more frightening, accurate and actual events about Ebola.

[Symon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine an airborne strain of the Ebola virus that targets only the people who has the DNA strands encoded within it. No one is safe, and if you breathe, it will find you. To prove it, the germ's creator targets ten thousand victims: politicians, housewives, children. Only three people can possibly stop it: a pastor, a doctor and a federal agent... if they survive long enough.

'Germ' is the first Robert Liparulo novel I've read. I must say that until now, my favourite Christian action author has been James Byron Huggins. My preference may be changing... The plot is fast moving and emmersive, and the action scenes are realistic and remind me of 'Bourne on paper.'

Germ is not an overtly Christian novel but successfully combines a terrifingly realistic plot, suspense, mayhem, brutal action and Christian morality to make it a very compelling read.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

When federal security officers intercept a man trying to meet the director of the CDC, they unknowingly become entangled in a chase by two opposing entities trying to retrieve that man, and those entities will it hesitate to use deadly force to get him back, dead or alive. The agents discover the man has video of a man dying of an Ebola like infection, a laboratory that might be cultivating the lethal virus, and a list of 10,000 names. Trying to stay alive long enough to find the connection, not knowing who to trust, and unable to match the firepower at the disposal of whoever is pursuing them, the pace moves rapidly as the main characters use their intelligence, determination, and also rage.
Not a story for the squeamish. The disease leads to a gory death. The body count is high, both from disease and destruction. But I read it quickly to find out the resolution.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although the description of the book is a bit misleading, that being one of the main reasons I only gave it 3 stars. Quick paced plot and very detailed writing kept my attention but I kept hoping for more chapters from the point of view of the virus victims as opposed to the point of view of a federal agent on the case. We got one interesting chapter told by a reporter who was mysteriously emailed the list of targets for the "Germ", I was assuming that would be the introduction of a new character but we never heard from that reporter again. Their were a couple loose ends like that throughout the book. I'm usually not a fan of detective style fiction but the subject matter here of a designer virus genetically coded to kill 10,000 chosen people made it work.

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty familiar concept in that we have bio warfare where the 'germ' has been engineered to target particular people (naturally including the US President's family). There is quite a bit of action and the author isn't afraid to kill characters, but I was never really drawn into the story the way I have been with similar storylines in other books such as I Am Pilgrim. So, not a bad read, just not a great one.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit different from the sort of books I usually read, but I thought a good thriller about a bio-germ set to take out 10,000 people based on their DNA sounded kinda good, and I did get hooked and enjoy the read. Lots of short chapters, bouncing between characters. I had a hard time putting it down.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was soooooo good!! The twists in it had me guessing, and had just enough detail about the advanced Ebola germ to keep me interested without making me sick. Fantastic book - gotta check out Liparulo's other work now.

[Auralia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It is about designer germs and how they can be created and spread without anyone knowing or being able to stop them. I loved the suspense, the mystery and the adventure. It reminded me of some Crichton books as well as being reminiscent of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

[Kim Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. it sucks you in. if you like: medical, thriller, law and order meets csi meets house drama you'll like this. I couldn't put it down there was so much going on. I could see this book becoming an action/medial thriller movie some day.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, a fanatastic thriller by the new author, Robert Liparulo. This one really holds your interest throughout. I got goose bumps a few times in this one. Liparulo is an outstanding new author of thrillers. Three books in publication

[Michelegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller about a CDC agent who happens upon a plot to destroy the world using a manmade Ebola Virus. It was a very exciting book, full of really quirky twists and turns and a really tricky ending. Very enjoyable.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, lots of action. I was entertained!

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book ever written. The action NEVER STOPS. The plot is unbelievably good, and you will never ever be able to put it down till the end. READ IT.

[Dante · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like a thriller, you need to read this book. Its a long book, but I can't put it down!!!

[Kristen Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely fast-paced novel about biological warfare

[Tom Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man-made Ebola, engineered to target specific DNA. FBI, and CDC come to play important parts.

[Nike Chillemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts w/a grusome death scene due to deliberate infection with a deadly germ. Villian is gleeful. Then goes to a wild chase scene.

So, far one of the best thrillers I've ever read.

[Bonnie]

Kept me reading well into the night.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand it is terrifying because it seems so relevant to the times we're living in. It is 100% credible that the Ebola virus, Covid, or any other modern day virus could have been engineered and released on an unsuspecting public, whether by the government, an enemy government, or rogue individual like Karl Litt. On the other hand, the writing had a few problems, which I'll elaborate below (SPOILERS AHEAD):

*************************

-In some instances Julia seems so intelligent, in others I was yelling at her. Just one example- when she went to the bar where Goody was killed, why would she expose herself by shooting at the getaway car? She could have avoided her first run in with Atropos by not doing something so pointless.

-Plotlines dropped, like the one where some of the people infected with Ebola Kugel were introduced and never seen again. Also, why introduce the reporter who started investigating the list of names when he was never mentioned again?

-So many intricate medical details just to get basic biology wrong. The Atroposes wouldn't be perfectly identical if they were created from four separate eggs by in-vitro fertilization. They might look similar, but since they are not quadruplets from a single egg, they wouldn't be identical. I don't know why this bothered me so much, but it did.

Overall I enjoyed this read, and I think it should be taken as a cautionary tale; it just could have used a little extra careful editing.