Plague Ship

by Frank G. Slaughter

High in the Andes an archaeologist stumbles on an ancient tomb, unwittingly releasing the germs from a civilization doomed by plague over 5000 years ago.

What happens when this deadly organism, for which there is no antidote, reappears forms the basis of this sensational novel.

Frank Slaughter tells of the complex, high-stakes world of intraglobal medicine, taking us behind the public deeds to the private people whose courage can make the difference between a footnote today...and a headline tomorrow.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Medical, Adventure

254 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1976

About the author

Frank Gill Slaughter , pen-name Frank G. Slaughter, pseudonym C.V. Terry, was an American novelist and physician whose books sold more than 60 million copies. His novels drew on his own experience as a doctor and his interest in history and the Bible. Through his novels, he often introduced readers to new findings in medical research and new medical technologies.

Slaughter was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen Lucious Slaughter and Sarah "Sallie" Nicholson Gill. When he was about five years old, his family moved to a farm near Berea, North Carolina, which is west of Oxford, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) at 17 and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He began writing fiction in 1935 while a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

Books by Slaughter include The Purple Quest, Surgeon, U.S.A., Epidemic! , Tomorrow's Miracle and The Scarlet Cord. Slaughter died May 17, 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Reviews

[Jon Hollihan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant but plodding. Interesting tale about a virulent virus released accidently and it's spread - worldwide. Sound familiar? But this novel was written in 1976 by Frank G. Slaughter, who's writing I've always enjoyed. Such a prolific writer, yet this story follows his usual plot device - medical doctor with two different woman as romantic interests.
The story follows a world-famous epidemiologist try to solve an unearthed & highly fatal (~50%) virus, and the story of it's impact & spread. Couple of interesting twists, and the science is well-explained, but a bit overdone. Several aspects are applicable & realized in today's COVID world. Even the threats against economic shutdown are foreshadowed. Reluctant government officials, WHO, and news media spreading the story makes this 50 year old book prophetic to today's times.
Lower rating for this book to compensate for over-rating early works. But recommended as a nice read.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medical drama story. Not too bad at all. In fact I am going to loan it to my mother. No not as a punishment. One of the few good traits she instilled in me was a love of reading. =)

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frank G. Slaughter wrote this. The man lived from 1908-2001, seemingly a pretty good span of history to live through as a physician and medical novelist. I struggled to find any effective tension or particular interest in the characters of this book. It truly shocked me to learn that Dr. Slaughter published over 50 novels and that this was one of his last. I figured that Plague Ship was a one-off.

What did shine through was Frank's awe towards medical advancements, and a desire to communicate these advancements with a general public. He must've been a noble sort of guy:


I will say that anyone who reads this and likens the “plague” in this story to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely doing so only because they have lived through a pandemic. Beyond the simple fact that a pandemic occurs, very little in this book resembles COVID-19.

[Luiza Ribeiro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cara...péssimo...
N é um tipo de livro q eu gosto na vdd, eu li pq eu paguei por ele apenas.
Mas ruim...as partes de romance entre o grant e a lael são...péssimos e broxantes, fora q a parte da gravidez é mt aleatório 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨.
Mas gostei das partes que ele tentava criar a vacina, apenas...

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed medical fiction by Frank G. Slaughter. I feel like I have learned something, albeit a bit dated, but the theory applies. And Slaughter grew up in North Carolina, graduating from Duke, so I'm reading a North Carolinian writer. So at the tail end of a pandemic, how could I resist reading a novel that follows a fictional pandemic. This being a Slaughter novel, I knew it wouldn't end with the last person turning out the light.

With this book, it was fascinating to trace the path of the newly rereleased disease as it spread across the world. At each chokepoint, I thought, "With quick action now, they can catch it." Each time, the disease escaped. It wasn't hard to see the parallels today. The biggest difference is that the new plague had a 50% mortality rate. Like the hero, epidemiologist Dr. Grant Reed, I was frustrated by the superstition and ignorance of some of the characters. I, too, was frustrated by governments that put economics over the health of their citizens.

The main thing to remember is this book is set in 1961, so there are no cell phones, no handheld computers, and no miracle drugs. There is hard work and dedication. That makes the book worth reading. I'd suggest it for folks who enjoy medical suspense and don't mind that the medical part is far from current.

[Glenna Mcneal]

How appropriate this book fits into this period of time even though it was written some time ago. A ship becomes the "prison" of the people who are trying to find a cure for a plague that has been let loose upon the world. But, it is forbidden landing at any port, making it impossible for it to provide the possible cure. Excellent read.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book, copyright 1976, that I have had in my bookcase for a long time. The similarly that it has with the COVID disease that happened was surprising. I enjoyed reading this book.

[Faedyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otra más de las porquerías que yo leo. Best Seller total, se copa!

Entrada en el diario 1 de Faedyl desde City Bell, Buenos Aires Province Argentina en miércoles, 14 de mayo de 2008
5 de 10


Un texto que te va a entretener. No te voy a contar el final, pero me pareció de ágil lectura y con buen fundamento científico. Averigué que el autor es médico (podía ser de otra manera??) pero no te va a enloquecer con terminos inentendibles. El autor entonces, tiene una extensa lista de best sellers cuyo tema ronda siempre el suspenso y la ciencia médica. Les dejo más data abajo por si les resulta interesante.

Volviendo al libro, me gustó y me entretuvo al punto de querer terminar de una vez, pero creo asimismo que en algún punto se vuelve previscible. Creo que le tomé un poquito de bronca al protagonista ^^ no me gustan los héroes "carilindos" jajaja

Que disfrutes la lectura!!

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

How could you go wrong? Ships and Plagues and Adventure! And yet, this is possibly the worst book I have ever read.

[Jack Sommer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read.

[Karinirmgard]

Deutscher Titel - Das Pestschiff

[Robert Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book I thought. It was hard to put down.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful!

[James F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This marks the second or third reading of this novel over the last thirty years.

[Rashel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of medical back story and left off with a world wide epidemic happening - sort of leaves it in the unknown.