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Dr. Marissa Blumenthal #1
Outbreak
Murder and mystery reach epidemic proportions when a devastating plague sweeps the country.
Dr. Marissa Blumenthal of the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control investigates—and soon uncovers the medical world's deadliest secret.
Dr. Marissa Blumenthal of the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control investigates—and soon uncovers the medical world's deadliest secret.
340 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
430 people are currently reading
13183 people want to read
About the author
Robin Cook
190 books5,057 followersLibrarian Note: Not to be confused with British novelist Robin Cook a pseudonym of Robert William Arthur Cook.
Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine, biotechnology, and topics affecting public health.
He is best known for being the author who created the medical-thriller genre by combining medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. His books have been bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List with several at #1. A number of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest. Many were also featured in the Literary Guild. Many have been made into motion pictures.
Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard that included general surgery and ophthalmology. He divides his time between homes in Florida, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Jean. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to make the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical conundrums.
Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France while he was in medical school. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in the 60's. During his navy career he served on a nuclear submarine for a seventy-five day stay underwater where he wrote his first book! [1]
Cook was a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees, appointed to a six-year term by the President George W. Bush.[2]
[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas and background for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, medical research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, drug research, drug pricing, specialty hospitals, stem cells, and organ transplantation.[3]
Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know much about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as that has enormous potential for treating disease and disability but touches up against the ethically problematic abortion issue."[4]
Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in being a doctor. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 35 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're n
Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine, biotechnology, and topics affecting public health.
He is best known for being the author who created the medical-thriller genre by combining medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. His books have been bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List with several at #1. A number of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest. Many were also featured in the Literary Guild. Many have been made into motion pictures.
Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard that included general surgery and ophthalmology. He divides his time between homes in Florida, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Jean. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to make the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical conundrums.
Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France while he was in medical school. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in the 60's. During his navy career he served on a nuclear submarine for a seventy-five day stay underwater where he wrote his first book! [1]
Cook was a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees, appointed to a six-year term by the President George W. Bush.[2]
[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas and background for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, medical research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, drug research, drug pricing, specialty hospitals, stem cells, and organ transplantation.[3]
Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know much about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as that has enormous potential for treating disease and disability but touches up against the ethically problematic abortion issue."[4]
Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in being a doctor. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 35 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're n
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 536 reviews
June 30, 2016
2.5 - I'm feeling generous with the round up to three.
First - if you are looking for an outbreak book involving the risk of an end of humanity while a group of intrepid heroes fight for survival - this is not that book! There is very little actual outbreak, it is only a side plot to the main story.
I do enjoy the stories Cook is trying to tell, but sometimes it is a struggle to get through them. I feel like he really has a cool story and fascinating ideas, but that he is not a very good writer. There is a fine line between an enjoyable book without a lot of depth and a cringe worthy jumble of coincidences and forced plot points.
Also - his formula seems to be the following: a bumbling but attractive female lead who lacks good common sense, makes poor decisions, and receives chauvinistic treatment from a slew of arrogant male leads (two or three of which she is considering sleeping with). Just switch the plot around and you have 3 out of every 4 Cook novels.
I will keep reading Cook because I want to see if it gets better (and I am running out of Crichton novels).
First - if you are looking for an outbreak book involving the risk of an end of humanity while a group of intrepid heroes fight for survival - this is not that book! There is very little actual outbreak, it is only a side plot to the main story.
I do enjoy the stories Cook is trying to tell, but sometimes it is a struggle to get through them. I feel like he really has a cool story and fascinating ideas, but that he is not a very good writer. There is a fine line between an enjoyable book without a lot of depth and a cringe worthy jumble of coincidences and forced plot points.
Also - his formula seems to be the following: a bumbling but attractive female lead who lacks good common sense, makes poor decisions, and receives chauvinistic treatment from a slew of arrogant male leads (two or three of which she is considering sleeping with). Just switch the plot around and you have 3 out of every 4 Cook novels.
I will keep reading Cook because I want to see if it gets better (and I am running out of Crichton novels).
February 26, 2019
I was a big Cook fan at one time. Outbreak presents a very scary and distressing topic. The romance was overdone though.
May 26, 2025
Robin Cook writes great medical thrillers. He's one of the best. I go to Grisham for legal thrillers sometimes. I'm looking for writers who do as well or better than these two.
UPDATE 2020: This is an excellent novel on how you work with contagion.
UPDATE 2020: This is an excellent novel on how you work with contagion.
November 22, 2012
That was pretty disappointing, really. I once read some advice that said if the author's name is larger than the title of the book, you should avoid it. This book may be evidence to support that. I mean, it was published in 1988 sure, but it was basically a Nancy Drew mystery with a medical setting. With the level of writing prowess to match...
There isn't much of a synopsis I can provide that isn't covered by the book's description. There are outbreaks of Ebola, and a doctor from the CDC is investigating to find out why. That's really just about it.
The first half of the book was really iffy. I've studied epidemiology and I find it very interesting, so I enjoyed it, but it really reads like a documentary discussing what would happen if a serious disease were to break out and what steps would be taken to contain it. Now, having studied epidemiology, it really wasn't saying anything new to me, either, but it felt like the author really wanted you to know that they know what they're talking about here. What's worse, it's re-described for every subsequent case. Each and every time she goes into a room with a patient, the book describes her putting on her protective gear bit by bit, observing sterile procedures, minimizing chances of spreading or contracting the virus, washing her hands once she's done... no seriously, we get it. They do the same fucking thing for each case.
The second half of the book was a bit better, although it was your standard generic action movie style story of rushing to get to the evidence/whatever before the bad guys get to the protagonist. I have to confess I kinda skimmed through some of it because I was in a hurry to come write a bitchy review. Nothing new here, and nothing all that interesting either really, although it's not a complete waste of time if you're just looking for a distraction for a couple of hours. It also requires a bit of suspension of belief when you start delving into motives and whatnot, but as long as you're not looking for any real mental stimulation...
Unfortunately for this book, the somewhat interesting descriptions of how to handle a virus outbreak is interrupted by cheesy romance drama. The entire country is at risk from a seriously infectious virus that has a 94% fatality rate, and her boss stops to hit on her. When she rebuffs him, he spends the entire rest of the book making her life (and very important job...) difficult because his nose is out of joint from the rejection. What's WORSE - She feels GUILTY about not going along with it and wonders (over and over again) if she should have just slept with him. Oh and also two other guys are hitting on her throughout the book but she's just so humble and self conscious that she doesn't really realize it.
Again, the book was written in the 80s, and it is an attempt at making a strong female lead. I suppose it was probably written before "Mary Sue" became a "thing", but I suspect Dr. Blumenthal wouldn't fare very well on the Mary Sue Litmus Test. She's so self conscious and has no confidence in her abilities, and meanwhile everyone around her is falling over themselves to describe how cute she is and how amazing she is at her job and oh also she is the only one who discovers all these links between things (because everyone else is too busy hitting on her to notice, I guess) and she manages to fight off assailants and come out smelling like roses on the other side of the door afterward. Every now and then it seemed like there would be an injection of an attempt to tone it down a bit, but every attempt at giving her a flaw just turns into yet another unexpected benefit for her. It was unfortunate because of how grating it became.
And then there was the dog. For the first half of the book, each and every time a new outbreak happened, the book would spend a paragraph explaining how she got someone to take care of her dog. Then when she comes back, a paragraph describing how the dog is so happy to see her. There was no purpose for this dog except filler. Which made me very suspicious.
There was absolutely no reason for any of it to be included other than a transparent attempt at throwing sympathy to the character. Which, because it was transparent, just made me roll my eyes.
A lot of it made me roll my eyes, really. It was almost good in a lot of ways, and I thought the disease aspects were handled really well, but the rest of it was just so shallow that it was difficult to really enjoy fully.
There isn't much of a synopsis I can provide that isn't covered by the book's description. There are outbreaks of Ebola, and a doctor from the CDC is investigating to find out why. That's really just about it.
The first half of the book was really iffy. I've studied epidemiology and I find it very interesting, so I enjoyed it, but it really reads like a documentary discussing what would happen if a serious disease were to break out and what steps would be taken to contain it. Now, having studied epidemiology, it really wasn't saying anything new to me, either, but it felt like the author really wanted you to know that they know what they're talking about here. What's worse, it's re-described for every subsequent case. Each and every time she goes into a room with a patient, the book describes her putting on her protective gear bit by bit, observing sterile procedures, minimizing chances of spreading or contracting the virus, washing her hands once she's done... no seriously, we get it. They do the same fucking thing for each case.
The second half of the book was a bit better, although it was your standard generic action movie style story of rushing to get to the evidence/whatever before the bad guys get to the protagonist. I have to confess I kinda skimmed through some of it because I was in a hurry to come write a bitchy review. Nothing new here, and nothing all that interesting either really, although it's not a complete waste of time if you're just looking for a distraction for a couple of hours. It also requires a bit of suspension of belief when you start delving into motives and whatnot, but as long as you're not looking for any real mental stimulation...
Unfortunately for this book, the somewhat interesting descriptions of how to handle a virus outbreak is interrupted by cheesy romance drama. The entire country is at risk from a seriously infectious virus that has a 94% fatality rate, and her boss stops to hit on her. When she rebuffs him, he spends the entire rest of the book making her life (and very important job...) difficult because his nose is out of joint from the rejection. What's WORSE - She feels GUILTY about not going along with it and wonders (over and over again) if she should have just slept with him. Oh and also two other guys are hitting on her throughout the book but she's just so humble and self conscious that she doesn't really realize it.
Again, the book was written in the 80s, and it is an attempt at making a strong female lead. I suppose it was probably written before "Mary Sue" became a "thing", but I suspect Dr. Blumenthal wouldn't fare very well on the Mary Sue Litmus Test. She's so self conscious and has no confidence in her abilities, and meanwhile everyone around her is falling over themselves to describe how cute she is and how amazing she is at her job and oh also she is the only one who discovers all these links between things (because everyone else is too busy hitting on her to notice, I guess) and she manages to fight off assailants and come out smelling like roses on the other side of the door afterward. Every now and then it seemed like there would be an injection of an attempt to tone it down a bit, but every attempt at giving her a flaw just turns into yet another unexpected benefit for her. It was unfortunate because of how grating it became.
And then there was the dog. For the first half of the book, each and every time a new outbreak happened, the book would spend a paragraph explaining how she got someone to take care of her dog. Then when she comes back, a paragraph describing how the dog is so happy to see her. There was no purpose for this dog except filler. Which made me very suspicious.
There was absolutely no reason for any of it to be included other than a transparent attempt at throwing sympathy to the character. Which, because it was transparent, just made me roll my eyes.
A lot of it made me roll my eyes, really. It was almost good in a lot of ways, and I thought the disease aspects were handled really well, but the rest of it was just so shallow that it was difficult to really enjoy fully.
June 29, 2020
The title makes it seem like a pandemic.However,the outbreak isn't all that severe,though 84 people get infected in one go.
It is more of an action thriller,rather than a medical thriller.There are lots of characters,each indistinguishable from the other.There is plenty of action,though it doesn't leave a lasting impression like several of Robin Cook's books.
2.5 stars,rounded up.
It is more of an action thriller,rather than a medical thriller.There are lots of characters,each indistinguishable from the other.There is plenty of action,though it doesn't leave a lasting impression like several of Robin Cook's books.
2.5 stars,rounded up.
September 25, 2020
Primer libro que leo de este autor y me ha resultado muy entretenido y actual con los casos de ebola en africa y en europa, aunque los casos ocurran en USA, me ha resultado interesante.
September 1, 2020
I read the French translation of this novel and found it rather gripping and fun. If one can say that about anything Ebola-related. Yes, Marissa is prissy and does a lot of dumb stuff. And yes, she should have died spectacularly about five times over by the end of the novel, but miraculously!!!, is totally okay. And perfectly styled. (Don't think that's a spoiler. It's a series after all...)
The level of language is not terribly challenging, which makes this one to read in another language if you're at a good B1 level and looking for something that'll keep you turning the pages, but not constantly reaching for the dictionary.
The level of language is not terribly challenging, which makes this one to read in another language if you're at a good B1 level and looking for something that'll keep you turning the pages, but not constantly reaching for the dictionary.
January 4, 2015
This was a disappointing book.
To its credit, the novel lives up to its reputation as a fast-paced medical thriller. The story begins with mysterious outbreaks of Ebola appearing in different hospitals of the country, with no initially obvious connection between them. A new doctor from the CDC is assigned to find out why the early outbreaks are occurring and help contain them, and she gets drawn into a political (mystery/thriller) plot.
Why the mediocre review? I was turned off by the romantic drama, which seemed cheesy, sexist, and outdated. Although our female heroine is a very competent young doctor, I found it annoying that the author had to mention how beautiful and sexy all the men in the book found her on virtually every page. Multiple coworkers put the moves on her, and no man acts like merely a "good platonic friend" toward her. (The book was written in the 1980s not the 1950s, so I think he could have done better). The doctor's boss at the CDC even got angry after she refused to go on a date with him, and he subsequently started treating he poorly and took her off the case. Normally, I don't mind a good romantic subplot in a fast-paced thriller, but this one annoyed me and detracted from the overall flow of the novel!
To its credit, the novel lives up to its reputation as a fast-paced medical thriller. The story begins with mysterious outbreaks of Ebola appearing in different hospitals of the country, with no initially obvious connection between them. A new doctor from the CDC is assigned to find out why the early outbreaks are occurring and help contain them, and she gets drawn into a political (mystery/thriller) plot.
Why the mediocre review? I was turned off by the romantic drama, which seemed cheesy, sexist, and outdated. Although our female heroine is a very competent young doctor, I found it annoying that the author had to mention how beautiful and sexy all the men in the book found her on virtually every page. Multiple coworkers put the moves on her, and no man acts like merely a "good platonic friend" toward her. (The book was written in the 1980s not the 1950s, so I think he could have done better). The doctor's boss at the CDC even got angry after she refused to go on a date with him, and he subsequently started treating he poorly and took her off the case. Normally, I don't mind a good romantic subplot in a fast-paced thriller, but this one annoyed me and detracted from the overall flow of the novel!
March 15, 2020
Read for the 2020 PopSugar reading challenge. This is "A medical thriller." I put in a hold for an e-book copy of this over a month ago, when coronavirus was starting to be a concern. It seemed like a morbid nod to current events. By the time I actually got my copy, this was a significantly more morbid choice than I could have imagined. It's a good thing it is an e-book copy because the local library is now closed.
This book... it's bad. Let's not mince words. It's one of those books where the fact that it has a near 4-star rating here on Goodreads is an indictment of the taste of the masses. It's not offensively bad (well, OK, it kind of is) but mostly it's just utterly uninteresting, with no real thrill in it. It's the kind of thing that makes you appreciate Dan Brown, which... yeah. No wonder the movie adaptation has effectively nothing in common with this book, with only the very, very basic "Ebola is scary" idea to unite the two.
Our heroine is Dr. Marissa Blumenthal, a relatively young doctor who's new to an important (but low-level) post at the CDC to help control the spread of deadly diseases. She is sexually harassed by essentially every man she meets over the course of this book and it attempts to mine tension out of her simultaneously dating two different other doctors.
The gist is that suddenly there is Ebola in LA and Marissa has to figure out why. She doesn't, and like two dozen people die, and then there is Ebola somewhere else and more people die, and still she doesn't know why this happened, and then Ebola still another place and more people die. Perhaps in the mid-1980s it seemed to an author that you could just have like 200 people die from Ebola over a couple of months and there would not be a complete pants-shitting response from society at large. Not that the real world's current response to a pandemic exactly suggests that universal pants-shitting by society is how things are always going to go, but Ebola is Ebola, right? Or maybe it wasn't when this book was written - perhaps the intervening years have had a variety of works of fiction to make it the big bogeyman. As another sign of the times, Marissa and the CDC people have to assure the public that the first outbreak is not some form of AIDS.
Now it's like, come on, are you serious? But then, the book makes no real attempt to grapple with this even for its principal character. Marissa arrives right when shit starts getting real, tells the regular medical personnel (some of whom get offended at what they perceive as condescension) what protocols to institute, and then... off-screen a bunch of people die. At one point time skips six weeks. There is no interest in the plot getting into the nitty-gritty of how an outbreak of such a deadly disease might be contained, of the tragic human cost of those caught up in its web.
Its central conspiracy revolves around a series of doctors who are apparently super racist conservatives and also greedy shits who feel like their golden eggs are being threatened by... HMOs? What? This is another one that seems to have aged poorly over 30+ years - and the book doesn't explain their motivation in any great detail so the future reader can only guess. But it turns out that And naturally Marissa is the only person who can possibly solve this deadly mystery, hampered at every turn by a staid bureaucracy and malicious conspirators who are closer to her than she realizes.
Try not to give vulnerable older people coronavirus.
This book... it's bad. Let's not mince words. It's one of those books where the fact that it has a near 4-star rating here on Goodreads is an indictment of the taste of the masses. It's not offensively bad (well, OK, it kind of is) but mostly it's just utterly uninteresting, with no real thrill in it. It's the kind of thing that makes you appreciate Dan Brown, which... yeah. No wonder the movie adaptation has effectively nothing in common with this book, with only the very, very basic "Ebola is scary" idea to unite the two.
Our heroine is Dr. Marissa Blumenthal, a relatively young doctor who's new to an important (but low-level) post at the CDC to help control the spread of deadly diseases. She is sexually harassed by essentially every man she meets over the course of this book and it attempts to mine tension out of her simultaneously dating two different other doctors.
The gist is that suddenly there is Ebola in LA and Marissa has to figure out why. She doesn't, and like two dozen people die, and then there is Ebola somewhere else and more people die, and still she doesn't know why this happened, and then Ebola still another place and more people die. Perhaps in the mid-1980s it seemed to an author that you could just have like 200 people die from Ebola over a couple of months and there would not be a complete pants-shitting response from society at large. Not that the real world's current response to a pandemic exactly suggests that universal pants-shitting by society is how things are always going to go, but Ebola is Ebola, right? Or maybe it wasn't when this book was written - perhaps the intervening years have had a variety of works of fiction to make it the big bogeyman. As another sign of the times, Marissa and the CDC people have to assure the public that the first outbreak is not some form of AIDS.
Now it's like, come on, are you serious? But then, the book makes no real attempt to grapple with this even for its principal character. Marissa arrives right when shit starts getting real, tells the regular medical personnel (some of whom get offended at what they perceive as condescension) what protocols to institute, and then... off-screen a bunch of people die. At one point time skips six weeks. There is no interest in the plot getting into the nitty-gritty of how an outbreak of such a deadly disease might be contained, of the tragic human cost of those caught up in its web.
Its central conspiracy revolves around a series of doctors who are apparently super racist conservatives and also greedy shits who feel like their golden eggs are being threatened by... HMOs? What? This is another one that seems to have aged poorly over 30+ years - and the book doesn't explain their motivation in any great detail so the future reader can only guess. But it turns out that And naturally Marissa is the only person who can possibly solve this deadly mystery, hampered at every turn by a staid bureaucracy and malicious conspirators who are closer to her than she realizes.
Try not to give vulnerable older people coronavirus.
March 19, 2020
I think I’m reading too much virus books these days. Can’t help it given the current scenario.
This book was very interesting. I enjoyed the novels plot. An Ebola like virus outbreaks are happening in cities. But there are gaps of one month from each city. A virus spreads immediately, almost 10 to 14 days, but here the gaps were too much. So how can it spread, unless it’s deliberately done.
The main protagonist Dr. Marissa was very likable and I could totally relate to her. But I don’t know what happened to her after half of the book, she started behaving kinda stubborn. The later half was too over the top. And I felt the ending was rushed.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book.
This book was very interesting. I enjoyed the novels plot. An Ebola like virus outbreaks are happening in cities. But there are gaps of one month from each city. A virus spreads immediately, almost 10 to 14 days, but here the gaps were too much. So how can it spread, unless it’s deliberately done.
The main protagonist Dr. Marissa was very likable and I could totally relate to her. But I don’t know what happened to her after half of the book, she started behaving kinda stubborn. The later half was too over the top. And I felt the ending was rushed.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book.
November 17, 2018
I love Robin Cook's books. He is credited with being the creator of the modern "medical horror."
I love all his books and I very much enjoyed reading OUTBREAK.
This book is not suitable to readers under the age of eighteen as the situations are adult in nature and eerily plausible. After reading RobinCook you will not want to ever have to visit any medical center anytime soon.
I highly recageommend this book to readers
I love all his books and I very much enjoyed reading OUTBREAK.
This book is not suitable to readers under the age of eighteen as the situations are adult in nature and eerily plausible. After reading RobinCook you will not want to ever have to visit any medical center anytime soon.
I highly recageommend this book to readers
September 15, 2021
Dumb, just so dumb. There’s a list of issues with this book and the writing.
Characters are stiff and not interesting, I couldn’t care about them.
The dialogue is unbelievable, people don’t speak this way.
So sexist to the point it’s funny, a guy sexually harasses a subordinate and then she feels guilty and he is pissed at her for the rest of the book.
Quasi to frank racism in descriptions of people.
This book is so dated. No more Robin Cook for me.
Characters are stiff and not interesting, I couldn’t care about them.
The dialogue is unbelievable, people don’t speak this way.
So sexist to the point it’s funny, a guy sexually harasses a subordinate and then she feels guilty and he is pissed at her for the rest of the book.
Quasi to frank racism in descriptions of people.
This book is so dated. No more Robin Cook for me.
June 19, 2014
This was a well written and gripping book, but I don't see it as a genre that I could really get into. Medical thriller? It's a bit too technical - a lot of medical jargon that I didn't get, although most of the concepts are explained in layman's terms - and it seems to be targeted to a small audience of doctors or other members of the medical profession who happen to like mysteries. On the other hand, Robin Cook is surprisingly adept as a writer, and his book stands alone without requiring the reader's prior interest in medicine.
Dr. Marissa Blumenthal, the main character, is a very likable and realistic character, and by the end of the book the reader feels as if s/he is personally acquainted with her. The other characters are equally realistic.
Overall, I thought this was a good book, but I don't know if this is really my type of genre. For those of you who like mystery, this book fits the bill, regardless of its medical theme. For people who are not particular fans of the genre, however, they may not like this book.
Dr. Marissa Blumenthal, the main character, is a very likable and realistic character, and by the end of the book the reader feels as if s/he is personally acquainted with her. The other characters are equally realistic.
Overall, I thought this was a good book, but I don't know if this is really my type of genre. For those of you who like mystery, this book fits the bill, regardless of its medical theme. For people who are not particular fans of the genre, however, they may not like this book.
September 24, 2020
3,5/5
Una lectura lenta al principio, que se vuelve más trepidante conforme llegás a la mitad, momento en el cual ya no podés abandonarla.
Me costó un poco conectar con la protagonista y probablemente, eso haya hecho que me tomara largas pausas antes de continuar la historia. También puede haber influido el enfoque político al que apunta Cook para marcar el conflicto. Aún así, he disfrutado bastante todo lo que se cuenta en este libro y amé las incursiones en el laboratorio.
De los libros que leí hasta ahora del autor, debe ser el que menos me gustó, pero no por eso voy a dejar de recomendarlo.
Una lectura lenta al principio, que se vuelve más trepidante conforme llegás a la mitad, momento en el cual ya no podés abandonarla.
Me costó un poco conectar con la protagonista y probablemente, eso haya hecho que me tomara largas pausas antes de continuar la historia. También puede haber influido el enfoque político al que apunta Cook para marcar el conflicto. Aún así, he disfrutado bastante todo lo que se cuenta en este libro y amé las incursiones en el laboratorio.
De los libros que leí hasta ahora del autor, debe ser el que menos me gustó, pero no por eso voy a dejar de recomendarlo.
May 1, 2024
3.5*?
A little 1.5m lady escaping and injuring the medical maffia a dozen times?
It got too much
A little 1.5m lady escaping and injuring the medical maffia a dozen times?
It got too much
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2008
Have you seen the movie "Outbreak"? Well this book... is NOTHING... like it. Yes, the Ebola virus is used as a weapon. Yes, someone from the CDC is investigating. The similarity ends there.
A young CDC doctor is sent to an outbreak of what turns out to be Ebola virus in L.A. Then similar outbreaks occur in St. Louis, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and New York. She becomes convinced that someone is using the virus as a weapon. To find out who, she must deal with bureaucracy, a sexually harrassing boss, and murderers hunting her down, to say nothing of the virus itself.
This was a good book, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. For a scientific-based book, it still reads well even twenty-one years after it was written. My main complaint with the book was that it is pretty short, and some of the scenes could have been fleshed out a little more. Even so, it is suspenseful and enjoyable, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read.
A young CDC doctor is sent to an outbreak of what turns out to be Ebola virus in L.A. Then similar outbreaks occur in St. Louis, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and New York. She becomes convinced that someone is using the virus as a weapon. To find out who, she must deal with bureaucracy, a sexually harrassing boss, and murderers hunting her down, to say nothing of the virus itself.
This was a good book, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. For a scientific-based book, it still reads well even twenty-one years after it was written. My main complaint with the book was that it is pretty short, and some of the scenes could have been fleshed out a little more. Even so, it is suspenseful and enjoyable, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read.
November 23, 2019
Muszę przyznać, że Robin Cook tworzy thrillery medyczne bardzo w moim guście.
W tej książce mamy do czynienia ze śmiercionośnym wirusem i wywołanymi przez niego groźnymi epidemiami w klinikach. Do walki z nim staje główna bohaterka Marissa Blumenthal, młoda lekarka o marnej posturze, która zostanie zmuszona przez sytuację do przeistoczenia się w damską wersję Rambo i walkę na śmierć i życie z wirusem i nie tylko :)
Akcja początkowo może trochę powoli się rozkręca, ale za to końcówka jest bardzo dynamiczna. Oczywiście dużym plusem jak dla mnie są opisy chorób i diagnostyki, medycyna jest na szczęście w odpowiednich dawkach.
Na mały minusik składa się zbyt wątła postać głównej bohaterki (taka trochę ciapowata była ta Marissa) oraz to, że domyśliłam się zawczasu kto jest tym "złym" (chociaż może po prostu jestem taka przebiegła ;p).
7/10
W tej książce mamy do czynienia ze śmiercionośnym wirusem i wywołanymi przez niego groźnymi epidemiami w klinikach. Do walki z nim staje główna bohaterka Marissa Blumenthal, młoda lekarka o marnej posturze, która zostanie zmuszona przez sytuację do przeistoczenia się w damską wersję Rambo i walkę na śmierć i życie z wirusem i nie tylko :)
Akcja początkowo może trochę powoli się rozkręca, ale za to końcówka jest bardzo dynamiczna. Oczywiście dużym plusem jak dla mnie są opisy chorób i diagnostyki, medycyna jest na szczęście w odpowiednich dawkach.
Na mały minusik składa się zbyt wątła postać głównej bohaterki (taka trochę ciapowata była ta Marissa) oraz to, że domyśliłam się zawczasu kto jest tym "złym" (chociaż może po prostu jestem taka przebiegła ;p).
7/10
June 29, 2013
Since I've read most of Robin Cook's books, and rate them all a 3, one would wonder why I keep buying them, right?
I consider this an "Airplane book," that is, a good read when you're sitting in an uncomfortable seat and can't move your arms much, and need something to distract you from the world around you. A solid, fun, read, good for the beach, the deck, or a long airplane ride, when all you want is to escape to another world and another life. Something that holds your attention, and doesn't require a great deal of thinking or examining of your path in life.
I rate books a 5 when they are life-changing, a 3 when they are just a good read. So regardless of my 3 rating, I will most likely continue to buy all of Robin Cook's books.
I consider this an "Airplane book," that is, a good read when you're sitting in an uncomfortable seat and can't move your arms much, and need something to distract you from the world around you. A solid, fun, read, good for the beach, the deck, or a long airplane ride, when all you want is to escape to another world and another life. Something that holds your attention, and doesn't require a great deal of thinking or examining of your path in life.
I rate books a 5 when they are life-changing, a 3 when they are just a good read. So regardless of my 3 rating, I will most likely continue to buy all of Robin Cook's books.
September 10, 2014
My first Robin Cook novel so I really didn't know what to expect. This one started out slow, but then the pace picked up and came to a nice conclusion. Worth trying another one in the future.
did-not-finish
August 4, 2016Meh.
March 24, 2024
3.5/5
The story was exciting even if the why of the villains was completely ridiculous and stupid. Marissa was scrappy but also quite annoying. After reading the last line of the book, all I could think was poor Tad.
The story was exciting even if the why of the villains was completely ridiculous and stupid. Marissa was scrappy but also quite annoying. After reading the last line of the book, all I could think was poor Tad.
October 30, 2016
OK, wildly different from the movie.
--
Originally published on my blog over the summer; I'm just now on 10/30 updating goodreads ... sigh...
So, I originally read this book a few years ago because I liked the movie "Outbreak" and when I originally wrote a review - just a few words - I commented it was nothing like the movie.
Well, I finally figured it out - the movie's not based upon this book! LOL No wonder it's not like the movie! (I'm a little slow sometimes)
So, Outbreak is about, duh, an Outbreak. Robin Cook, if you aren't familiar with the author, writes medical thrillers. I read a ton of his books back in the day, when I was actually reading thrillers. Not really sure what possessed me to read this now.
It was good - and if you like the genre you'll probably like this one. Things to keep in mind: it's dated. It's very dated. I didn't particularly like how relationships were written in the book, either, but it is a product of its time, like any other book. The main female character was supposed to be this smart, educated, independent women, yet she kept going out on dates with men she didn't even like romantically and kept calling them when she was out of town, and the men all but patted her on the head and called her "good little kitty" (they didn't really call her that, but I felt like they were treating her like a pet).
All in all though, I did enjoy the book, and it would make for a good movie!
--
Originally published on my blog over the summer; I'm just now on 10/30 updating goodreads ... sigh...
So, I originally read this book a few years ago because I liked the movie "Outbreak" and when I originally wrote a review - just a few words - I commented it was nothing like the movie.
Well, I finally figured it out - the movie's not based upon this book! LOL No wonder it's not like the movie! (I'm a little slow sometimes)
So, Outbreak is about, duh, an Outbreak. Robin Cook, if you aren't familiar with the author, writes medical thrillers. I read a ton of his books back in the day, when I was actually reading thrillers. Not really sure what possessed me to read this now.
It was good - and if you like the genre you'll probably like this one. Things to keep in mind: it's dated. It's very dated. I didn't particularly like how relationships were written in the book, either, but it is a product of its time, like any other book. The main female character was supposed to be this smart, educated, independent women, yet she kept going out on dates with men she didn't even like romantically and kept calling them when she was out of town, and the men all but patted her on the head and called her "good little kitty" (they didn't really call her that, but I felt like they were treating her like a pet).
All in all though, I did enjoy the book, and it would make for a good movie!
February 24, 2015
I bought Outbreak to read on a long train journey. It's a fast paced medical thriller that is perfectly acceptable as a guilty reading pleasure. Yes, there are plot holes, weak characters and bad dialogues. But with all its flaws, the storyline keeps moving forward at a strong pace and that is enough to keep the reader like me hooked.
I would have given this book three stars, if not for the blatant sexism displayed by the author in the way he depicts his female lead. Dr. Blumenthal is highly skilled at her profession but that is not enough. The reader has to be reminded at every page that she is also good looking and her co-workers can't look beyond that. At the top of that, after her boss sexually harasses her (which is obvious to the reader, but apparently, not to the author), she feels guilty about not going along with it (because when your hot boss sexually harasses you, that is the obvious thing to do apparently). Seriously?
I would have given this book three stars, if not for the blatant sexism displayed by the author in the way he depicts his female lead. Dr. Blumenthal is highly skilled at her profession but that is not enough. The reader has to be reminded at every page that she is also good looking and her co-workers can't look beyond that. At the top of that, after her boss sexually harasses her (which is obvious to the reader, but apparently, not to the author), she feels guilty about not going along with it (because when your hot boss sexually harasses you, that is the obvious thing to do apparently). Seriously?
March 14, 2016
The book is awesome. I always had an interest in Medical thrillers and Outbreak is always a pleasure to read. The book is fast pacing Medical and Action thriller and is a definite page turner. The way how Robin Cook keeps Ralph low key till the end adds up to the suspense. I was kind of predicting Ralph to be a head of the criminal ring but he turned out to be just one of the stakeholders and not the head. In the end, I was not able to figure out who headed the entire thing. So it is a bit of confusion. Albeit, the book has a good happy ending and I loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2011
It was alright...it had a weak end though...
January 21, 2012
Robin Hook does a nice job of incoprating fairly solid medical event into a good story.
March 21, 2016
Predictable with average writing. Hopefully his novels improve as I go along.
September 2, 2024
Super spannend und mitreißend und auch von einer wissenschaftlichen Perspektive aus cool.
AAAABER
- ich kann den Hauptcharakter Marissa nicht ausstehen (immerhin ist es ne weibliche Ärztin, sehr progressiv für die 80er (obwohl sie natürlich Kinderärztin ist, was sonst))
- macht sie dumme Sachen, die sie total blauäugig wirken lassen und dann ist sie plötzlich wieder mutig und genial und überwältigt Kopfgeldjäger mal eben
- sie jongliert 2-3 situationships gleichzeitig und manipuliert alle total
- den CO2-Fußabdruck von Marissa will ich nicht wissen, alle 2 Tage wird durch die halbe USA geflogen
- das Ende ist ja mal der letzte Ranz, klar geht man gerne mit wem essen, der einen vorher mal sexuell belästigt hat, ja sicher -.-
AAAABER
- ich kann den Hauptcharakter Marissa nicht ausstehen (immerhin ist es ne weibliche Ärztin, sehr progressiv für die 80er (obwohl sie natürlich Kinderärztin ist, was sonst))
- macht sie dumme Sachen, die sie total blauäugig wirken lassen und dann ist sie plötzlich wieder mutig und genial und überwältigt Kopfgeldjäger mal eben
- sie jongliert 2-3 situationships gleichzeitig und manipuliert alle total
- den CO2-Fußabdruck von Marissa will ich nicht wissen, alle 2 Tage wird durch die halbe USA geflogen
- das Ende ist ja mal der letzte Ranz, klar geht man gerne mit wem essen, der einen vorher mal sexuell belästigt hat, ja sicher -.-
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2023
4 stars
This book would have been good at any time but, I think reading it post- covid pandemic gave it a very different perspective.
This book would have been good at any time but, I think reading it post- covid pandemic gave it a very different perspective.
March 19, 2023
Mir hat es leider total an Spannung gefehlt, was ich niemals gedacht hätte. Der Buchrücken hat sich so gut angehört.
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