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Germs of War
What if ISIS had biological weapons? This nightmare scenario was first published in Germs of War in 1999, which predicted 9/11. A fast-paced amalgamation of science, international intrigue with rogue CIA agents battling terrorists, and shady politicians. Only a lonely student can thwart it all. Will she be able to?
284 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2002
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 3, 2019
Title: Germs of War
Author: Ketan Desai
➡Recommended by MY SECRET BOOKSHELF
#teammysecretbookshelf
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I would call it a thought provoking thriller. Germs of War is an insight into terrorism through scientific and medical perspective.
👨⚕
It is the story of a girl working in Mayo Clinic who is cornered between a terrorist group with evil intensions, selfish scientists and power hungry politicians. She stumbles upon a vial which contains a chemical which is so dangerous that it has the tendency to be used for mass destruction.
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What I liked the best about the book is that it portrays a situation from every character's point of view. This helped me to better understand the characters. The writing felt a big complex in the beginning as there were a lot of medical terms used but as the story proceeded forward, I started perceiving the whole scenario and what the author was getting at. By the end I'd started getting Dan Brown vibes, really! So this book is recommendable and highly for those with some medical background who wants a good thriller.
Author: Ketan Desai
➡Recommended by MY SECRET BOOKSHELF
#teammysecretbookshelf
.
I would call it a thought provoking thriller. Germs of War is an insight into terrorism through scientific and medical perspective.
👨⚕
It is the story of a girl working in Mayo Clinic who is cornered between a terrorist group with evil intensions, selfish scientists and power hungry politicians. She stumbles upon a vial which contains a chemical which is so dangerous that it has the tendency to be used for mass destruction.
.
What I liked the best about the book is that it portrays a situation from every character's point of view. This helped me to better understand the characters. The writing felt a big complex in the beginning as there were a lot of medical terms used but as the story proceeded forward, I started perceiving the whole scenario and what the author was getting at. By the end I'd started getting Dan Brown vibes, really! So this book is recommendable and highly for those with some medical background who wants a good thriller.
July 2, 2019
What got me interested in this book was the synopsis and I wasn't disappointed. It has you hooked from the start. The first page itself had me reading the words closely so that I don't miss anything. Stories involving Biological weapons are some of my favourites because of the way they portray the wonders and simultaneous dangers of the tiniest amounts of whatever it is.
This book didn't disappoint in that sense and I could have finished it in one sitting if not for having to sometimes stop and reread the scientific explanation of the works because I was distracted (that’s on me, not the book). I liked the writing style, it flows with the scenes and does not seem forced. It can be a bit complicated for beginners in the genre though.
If you find the start difficult because of the science of the vial and experiments, then just keep reading because you will get a hang of it and it won't seem too technical. One thing that makes it good science fiction for me is when the writing feels like it was written by someone who has knowledge about the subject. The specifics make the book more interesting.
I loved the political storyline that it followed along with the direction that the story takes because of people’s desires and emotions. How different people react to different things and the motivations that are the reason for their actions are usually more prominent in thrillers with a storyline involving politics, terrorism, and power.
This book didn't disappoint in that sense and I could have finished it in one sitting if not for having to sometimes stop and reread the scientific explanation of the works because I was distracted (that’s on me, not the book). I liked the writing style, it flows with the scenes and does not seem forced. It can be a bit complicated for beginners in the genre though.
If you find the start difficult because of the science of the vial and experiments, then just keep reading because you will get a hang of it and it won't seem too technical. One thing that makes it good science fiction for me is when the writing feels like it was written by someone who has knowledge about the subject. The specifics make the book more interesting.
I loved the political storyline that it followed along with the direction that the story takes because of people’s desires and emotions. How different people react to different things and the motivations that are the reason for their actions are usually more prominent in thrillers with a storyline involving politics, terrorism, and power.
September 20, 2020
This is a pulsating bioterrorism thriller. While the biological warfare is scary all on it’s own, the really frightening part is how normal the world surrounding the creation of the weapon is. The logical manner in which the author presents the entire scenario made me realize just how easily this could all happen.
Told from several viewpoints with an unlikely heroine, there is just enough science for the non-nerds to get what is going on. The author takes a fictional idea and presents it in a real life way – or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way this was a quick, intriguing read that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Told from several viewpoints with an unlikely heroine, there is just enough science for the non-nerds to get what is going on. The author takes a fictional idea and presents it in a real life way – or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way this was a quick, intriguing read that kept me on the edge of my seat.
February 16, 2021
Ketan Desai delivers a taut medical terrorism thriller with Germs of War! We have all experienced the horrors of a pandemic, and in Desai’s thriller the ability to infect millions has been weaponized by terrorists. Now begins the race to stop a global catastrophe. Desai builds the realism of the plot well while also expertly ratcheting up the tension! I was pleasantly reminded of classics like Rainbow Six with a modern feel. If you love medical thrillers and antiterrorism action stories, definitely come get infected by Germs of War!
April 5, 2023
If you like a fast paced thriller, this is definitely one to read! Though the story moves a little slow in the beginning, it’s a necessary setup for the threat of vilification warfare and the one on whose shoulders stopping the threat before it gets worse.
Definitely a good read, though the large cast of characters and the mid chapter point of view shifts made the story a little challenging to read.
Definitely a good read, though the large cast of characters and the mid chapter point of view shifts made the story a little challenging to read.
April 15, 2019
A great read
Desai tells a terror-fying (yes, intentionally written that way) with Germs of War. It's a well-written story of terrorists, biological warfare, and experimentation. It's put together at a great pace, and does not leave too much time for contemplation. Even with the medical terminology spread throughout the book, the reader was easy to understand what was going on, and know enough to be a little frightened of this story. I enjoyed Desai's writing style, and this reader could tell that that author had knowledge of what was being written. A great chilling, story. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Desai tells a terror-fying (yes, intentionally written that way) with Germs of War. It's a well-written story of terrorists, biological warfare, and experimentation. It's put together at a great pace, and does not leave too much time for contemplation. Even with the medical terminology spread throughout the book, the reader was easy to understand what was going on, and know enough to be a little frightened of this story. I enjoyed Desai's writing style, and this reader could tell that that author had knowledge of what was being written. A great chilling, story. I look forward to reading more by this author.
June 8, 2023
Must caveat this review by acknowledging that the author and I belong to the same publishing house, so take this with the appropriate grains of condiments. This is a thriller written in 1999 and updated in 2019 and, well, it is quite the exciting story. Pakistani intelligence has commissioned one of their agents to create a biological weapon that can be used against the West, a rather virulent weapon for which there is no cure and of which no one in western intelligence has a clue. Until a medical student accidentally stumbles across the plot, the plotters, the Pakistani ISI, the CIA, park rangers, and whitewater rafting instructors. Yeah, they’re all involved.
What’s not involved: ISIS. A lot of other reviewers of this novel have named them as the bad guys. ISIS didn’t exist in 1999. They didn’t show up until the 2010s and were in Iraq and Syria, not Pakistan. The bad guys here are a government intelligence agency, the Pakistan Inter-Services, which has far more capability than a thrown together bunch of insane clowns like ISIS. Not only is ISI ruthless and brilliant, they are worldwide and sophisticated and not on our side, despite what the State Department assures you. The ISI agents and commanders in this book do share one characteristic with ISIS: they also want a worldwide Islamic revolution. Difference is, ISI can actually pull it off.
And boy do they try. Street rat Tariq Bukhari was sold as a child to a factory where he becomes permanently injured by the horrific conditions, until an American missionary plucks him out of there. He flourishes and shows an aptitude for science and languages and enters medical school, where the elite sons and daughters of privilege humiliate him at every opportunity. He becomes a world class microbiologist seething with resentment and that’s how ISI recruiter Ghazni finds him. Ghazni sends him and his resentments to the US where he can work in the Mayo Clinic’s labs, surreptitiously developing a biological weapon under the direction of the hapless Dr. Howard, who ISI pays to look the other way. Bukhari obtains the lab time and materials to manufacture a virus that will destroy the West. Now it’s time to test it.
And this is where things get weird.
They do. There’s some very weird things that happen in this book, stuff that makes you go “Huh?” Like the prologue, which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with anything else that happens in the book. You sort of take it on faith that it has something to do with the ending of the book, but I wouldn’t make bets on that. Like a cross country kidnapping that involves Dr. Howard and the medical student, Tracy Hopkins, who has somehow managed to switch the virus vials and mailed the active one to her boyfriend, Rory, who runs a whitewater rafting company on the Yellowstone. Howard takes Tracy to DC on a commercial flight, her obvious distress apparently attracting no notice whatsoever. Two rouge CIA agents get involved, one of whom survives a car plunge off a cliff and is still able to engage a few ISI bad guys long distance with a sniper rifle while the bad guys tear down a raft in the middle of rapids. Good shootin', Tex. How ‘bout a Senator so involved with ISI that he’s on a first name basis with the ISI Chief but nobody in the US government intell agencies seems to know that? Okay, our intell services are a bit obtuse but, c'mon. There’s an incredibly contrived video interview with the odious Dr. Howard to review the procedures Bukhari used to make his virus and what the deuce is this? Other than a device to introduce the science, there is no way a sophisticated agency like ISI would do this. Too much evidence.
Wait until someone gets the attention of a passing helicopter by throwing a rock at it.
Still, the weirdness actually becomes quite entertaining, as does Desai’s sometimes wacky turn of phrase, like “the assorted collection of chemicals in his system did little to provide clarity to his thought process.” You mean, he’s stoned?
And, tell ya, Desai knows his science. You’re going to get a thesis level review of virus development and microbiology in general, and that alone is worth the trip. As well as a rather extraordinary expose towards the end of the book about Pakistan’s motivations. I wonder if the State Department knows all this?
So, read this with your eyes clearly open that a lot of strange things are going to happen, couched in odd language. Don’t let that put you off because it's all very entertaining. And isn’t that why we read? Well, at least one reason we do?
What’s not involved: ISIS. A lot of other reviewers of this novel have named them as the bad guys. ISIS didn’t exist in 1999. They didn’t show up until the 2010s and were in Iraq and Syria, not Pakistan. The bad guys here are a government intelligence agency, the Pakistan Inter-Services, which has far more capability than a thrown together bunch of insane clowns like ISIS. Not only is ISI ruthless and brilliant, they are worldwide and sophisticated and not on our side, despite what the State Department assures you. The ISI agents and commanders in this book do share one characteristic with ISIS: they also want a worldwide Islamic revolution. Difference is, ISI can actually pull it off.
And boy do they try. Street rat Tariq Bukhari was sold as a child to a factory where he becomes permanently injured by the horrific conditions, until an American missionary plucks him out of there. He flourishes and shows an aptitude for science and languages and enters medical school, where the elite sons and daughters of privilege humiliate him at every opportunity. He becomes a world class microbiologist seething with resentment and that’s how ISI recruiter Ghazni finds him. Ghazni sends him and his resentments to the US where he can work in the Mayo Clinic’s labs, surreptitiously developing a biological weapon under the direction of the hapless Dr. Howard, who ISI pays to look the other way. Bukhari obtains the lab time and materials to manufacture a virus that will destroy the West. Now it’s time to test it.
And this is where things get weird.
They do. There’s some very weird things that happen in this book, stuff that makes you go “Huh?” Like the prologue, which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with anything else that happens in the book. You sort of take it on faith that it has something to do with the ending of the book, but I wouldn’t make bets on that. Like a cross country kidnapping that involves Dr. Howard and the medical student, Tracy Hopkins, who has somehow managed to switch the virus vials and mailed the active one to her boyfriend, Rory, who runs a whitewater rafting company on the Yellowstone. Howard takes Tracy to DC on a commercial flight, her obvious distress apparently attracting no notice whatsoever. Two rouge CIA agents get involved, one of whom survives a car plunge off a cliff and is still able to engage a few ISI bad guys long distance with a sniper rifle while the bad guys tear down a raft in the middle of rapids. Good shootin', Tex. How ‘bout a Senator so involved with ISI that he’s on a first name basis with the ISI Chief but nobody in the US government intell agencies seems to know that? Okay, our intell services are a bit obtuse but, c'mon. There’s an incredibly contrived video interview with the odious Dr. Howard to review the procedures Bukhari used to make his virus and what the deuce is this? Other than a device to introduce the science, there is no way a sophisticated agency like ISI would do this. Too much evidence.
Wait until someone gets the attention of a passing helicopter by throwing a rock at it.
Still, the weirdness actually becomes quite entertaining, as does Desai’s sometimes wacky turn of phrase, like “the assorted collection of chemicals in his system did little to provide clarity to his thought process.” You mean, he’s stoned?
And, tell ya, Desai knows his science. You’re going to get a thesis level review of virus development and microbiology in general, and that alone is worth the trip. As well as a rather extraordinary expose towards the end of the book about Pakistan’s motivations. I wonder if the State Department knows all this?
So, read this with your eyes clearly open that a lot of strange things are going to happen, couched in odd language. Don’t let that put you off because it's all very entertaining. And isn’t that why we read? Well, at least one reason we do?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2019
I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. The idea behind this book scares me if I am being honest. That is not because it is ISIS, but that anyone could have them and cause an attack anywhere in the world. The story being told is really straight forward and easy enough to follow. It has a pacing that does not give much time to wonder unless you stop and just stare at the page in front of you like I did a few times. I don't want to give anything way with this book. It has to be experienced.
August 17, 2022
Germs Of War
By Ketan Desai
The book Germs of War is a well-paced thriller that builds smartly to the climax. It grabbed my interest in the first paragraph. From there, the ride was a rollercoaster. Each chapter continued the ride with unexpected thrills, plot turns, and mounting suspense, bringing joys and trepidations alike. Germs Of War fits profoundly within today's uncertain political climate.
I highly recommend this thriller and eagerly await Mr. Desai’s next novel.
By Ketan Desai
The book Germs of War is a well-paced thriller that builds smartly to the climax. It grabbed my interest in the first paragraph. From there, the ride was a rollercoaster. Each chapter continued the ride with unexpected thrills, plot turns, and mounting suspense, bringing joys and trepidations alike. Germs Of War fits profoundly within today's uncertain political climate.
I highly recommend this thriller and eagerly await Mr. Desai’s next novel.
September 4, 2021
“In this taunt and all too real espionage thriller, suicide bombers, in this case, ISIS, have gained the technological know-how to pass through the world’s tightest airport security undetected and deliver their payload to any nation on the planet. If this well-written, character-driven novel has a ring of authenticity, it is because it is authored by Ketan Desai, a physician, scientist, entrepreneur, author, and CEO of several biotechnology companies His medical and scientific knowledge, and childhood army background, are testimony to his technical background that contributed to the believable details in this exciting novel. Many of the events that have made headlines around the world in recent years are testimony to the author’s insights in writing a novel you will not soon forget.” 5-Stars. BobE
October 3, 2021
I enjoyed Germs of War by Ketan Desai, I enjoyed the thought process placed by the author around chemical warfare and biological weaponry. The book covers a frightening scenario of ISIS advancing their technology which really pushed the thought of terrorism into a different realm, and what makes it worse for the reader is you could see it happening in real life, a great read and recommended.
February 26, 2025
Ketan Desai's Germs of War is a well-crafted biological warfare thriller with a compelling and timely core theme. The novel delivers several gripping moments that keep the reader engaged. However, at times, the narrative strays off course, detracting from the overall plot. Despite this, it remains an intriguing read for fans of the genre.
June 13, 2019
Germs of War is a fast-paced, interesting thriller. It provides a believable story around a terrorist plot to use biological weapons. The writing was engaging, and the story kept me gripped from the start. Definitely a recommended book.
October 9, 2018
Very fast paced book. Great information on politics and science. Would make a great movie.
December 12, 2020
The story follows Tracy as she's thrown into a whole lot of very dangerous events. A well researched novel that is intetestingly written. There are lots of plots that are woven together so well.
September 5, 2022
Desai launches readers into a world of military intrigue from the start. This work will be a great fit for readers who love a double-cross, thrills, and more realistic science-fiction.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews