Helpful Score: 2
This book was excellent. It was edge of the seat thriller.
Helpful Score: 1
It's been a while since I read this, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is very fast-paced and a good read.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is amazing. I had to read it my sophmore year of high school for biology for extra credit. This book really drew me in. Its a really scary book to read, but in the end its just a great thriller.
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book I've read by Richard Preston. While I was captivated by the premise (biological weapon), the read has too much exposition. Mr. Preston has done his research homework, but incorporates too much detail - I find myself skipping past the details to get to the meat. I'm almost done; the saving grace is that I'm still interested enough to want to find out what happens in the end.
Helpful Score: 1
Ehhh... the idea behind this book was solid and interesting but poorly executed. Quite simply, the writing broke the book with its overuse of passive verbs, verb tense and overall repetition of words. From the technical aspect, this book seemed like it originated from someone who had neither read a novel nor took a writing class. Despite its gore, the book talked down to its audience in an insulting fashion (perhaps Richard Preston secretly agrees with his villain?). The characters lacked personality. Why even bother to name these "people"? That is how devoid of humanity they came across. Still, the book's premise held originality and it certainly played a role in inspiring Scott Sigler's _Infected_, so for that alone the book deserves some credit. I recommend his brother's thrillers MUCH more than this one.
