Retrovirus

by T.L. Higley, Tracy L. Higley

Retrovirus is now available in an inexpensive mass market paperback edition! Nicholas Donovan is a brilliant genetic researcher with little time for God. He's also damaged goods-and knows it-because one of his patients died in clinical trials for a cancer therapy. So why would SynTech Labs be eager to hire the disgraced doctor? Donovan's not sure-but he's not asking questions. Now, as the new head researcher on SynTech Labs' latest gene therapy, Nick is surprised to learn how many Christians are scheduled for injections. When he discovers a stockpile of fatal gene therapies, questions flow. Can he investigate without wrecking his career. . .and perhaps uncover the soul he didn't know he had?

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

367 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

also published under the name Tracy L. Higley

T.L. Higley holds a degree in English Literature and has written three previous novels and more than fifty drama productions for church ministry. She is especially passionate about "breaking down emotional and philosophical barriers that people have put up between themselves and Christ."

Reviews

[Lspinkrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting book with an interesting premise and interesting characters :) The reason why I do not give it 5 stars is because the end is too open for me. It almost feels like there will be a sequel, but in all this time the author hasn't written it. I want to know what happens with stage 2 and 3 of the plan and with Dr. Brulin himself.

[kenzimone · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's amazing, but in the span of 300 or so pages, 'Retrovirus' manages to go from boring to semi interesting to downright mind numbing. And holy cow, look at the clichés!

[Jonathon Burns · Rating 1 out of 5]

There’s so many things that went wrong with this book it’s hard to know where to start.

The characters were so flat and felt very one note throughout most of the book and extremely on the nose.

Nick is a workaholic genetic researcher who puts his career ahead of his family.
Kate is his wife, also apparently accomplished in the same field but has a gap in her life only a baby could fill, and Nick isn’t on board with that.
Gregory lost his son to an illness he thinks could’ve been prevented with embryo based research/experiments, but due to pro life efforts those options weren’t available so he’s mad at all pro life Christians and blames them for his son’s death.

All three are also atheists, but don’t worry there are side characters available to grind the story to a halt in order to try to convert them.

Also, Gregory, the antagonist, runs a company called SynTech. AKA “Sin-Tech.” And lest you think that’s a bit too on the nose, one of the characters makes sure to literally spell it out.

And, here’s the biggest spoiler if you didn’t already figure it out as soon as you heard the name SynTech, Gregory’s ultimate goal is to create fake medicine designs to kill, sterilize, or make very ill pro-life Christians while saving real life saving therapy for others. He comes complete with his own hitman who dutifully draws on a cigarette while trying to wring as much cash as possible for each job.

At times the book comes off a bit anti science, and I can’t help but wonder if this book came out today instead 20 years ago if instead of gene therapy it would be about vaccines.

As a piece of fiction, this book completely failed for me. While thankfully fast paced, the characters were dull and the writing flat.

As a piece of *Christian* fiction I found it even more disappointing, with its overly cartoonish villain and overly preachy and dull conversion attempts. I get the attempt for a pro life message, but this book didn’t do the movement any favors.

[Alex32 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book written by a deeply devout Christian. Good stuff.

[Trisha DeBoer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book at all. It was a chore to get through it all. The number one thing that annoyed me was the author's overuse of names. It seemed that every time one character spoke to another, they had to address them with their name. I have never experienced that in real life. Also, this book seemed very cliched to me. The female main character was so ditzy, even though she is in the medical profession. She always seemed to need rescuing, and was constantly putting herself into dangerous situations. The author seemed to make this character into a cliched, damsel in distress,unable to make any good choices to better her own situation or that of her husband. The male protagonist was also not high on my list of "interesting characters of literature." The situations in which he found himself were trite and formulaic. Many of the details the author gave were pointless, and so much of the plot was just dumb. I would not recommend this book at all.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started strong and sucked you in. The premise was excellent and the fast paced action continued throughout the book. However, I think that some situations were not always believable and a bit out of place, but they usually served a purpose in the plot. For example the cabin in the woods was a bit unrealistic, but served the purpose of changing Kate's thinking. Stanford's part was stretched a little too thin as well. I also wished for a stronger ending. Returning to a good note, I appreciated the fact that their attempts at getting things accomplished were not always successful right away and they had to keep trying. Overall it was an enjoyable book and worth the read if you like dystopia and suspense.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more science fiction-y than what I am used to, but it was very interesting. Basically a mad scientist has a grudge against Christians and has an evil plan to eradicate all of us. With all of the vaccinations that are required for kids in our society, you can see how a situation like this book could happen.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian fiction. Medical thriller. Entertaining.

[Belinda]

This is a very good book. So many issues are brought up.

[Alexiz V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked it but there were spots in the storie that i didnt understand. but over all it was a nice book to read when your bored

[Kellie Shulruff]

this was truly interesting and current for our times. So much going on in our medical community and I loved the underlining spiritual aspect!

[Randy C Dockens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this was Tracy's first novel, I really fell in love with it. Maybe because it appealed to my science side. It was fun read and kept my attention throughout.