- Mass Market Paperback: 570 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers (8 April 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1595543651
- ISBN-13: 978-1595543653
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 9.9 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,078,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Germ
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
An FBI agent, together with two brothers, a doctor and pastor, are running out of time to stop a virus outbreak. Plenty of twists and turns, bad guys, near escapes, cliffhangers to make you want to jump straight into the next chapter.
Not as good as if Michael Crichton perhaps had written it, it's still an enjoyable and easy read.
Not as good as if Michael Crichton perhaps had written it, it's still an enjoyable and easy read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
57 reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Non-stop Action!
16 Oct 2006
Format:Hardcover
Plenty of books are claimed to be "thrillers". Once you read Liparulo's work, the difference between a suspense and a true thriller becomes clear.
Germ starts at warp speed and doesn't slow down longer than it takes the reader to refuel for the next lap.
Robert's prose in the first chapters are what I love about his writing. He has a literary bent that few thriller writers do. After the first chapters, the action continues to pick up and his writing moves into less literary and more unobtrusive, which serves the story well.
This book had unique, believable characters who were layered and likeable. The writing was top notch and the action moved along so quickly I had to take breaks, just to catch my breath and process it all.
In short, this novel read like an action movie, which is apparently a good thing, since I believe it's being made into one. Though not as gruesome as Liparulo's first novel, Comes A Horseman, it does contain a good amount of violence in the form of shootouts and fist-fights.
Germ is a great choice for thriller lovers and most especially for men as it isn't weighed down with a lot of romance or mushy gushy feelings and deep self-exploration. This stays true to its genre.
If you're not afraid to be scared sick, pick up this germ, er, gem.
Germ starts at warp speed and doesn't slow down longer than it takes the reader to refuel for the next lap.
Robert's prose in the first chapters are what I love about his writing. He has a literary bent that few thriller writers do. After the first chapters, the action continues to pick up and his writing moves into less literary and more unobtrusive, which serves the story well.
This book had unique, believable characters who were layered and likeable. The writing was top notch and the action moved along so quickly I had to take breaks, just to catch my breath and process it all.
In short, this novel read like an action movie, which is apparently a good thing, since I believe it's being made into one. Though not as gruesome as Liparulo's first novel, Comes A Horseman, it does contain a good amount of violence in the form of shootouts and fist-fights.
Germ is a great choice for thriller lovers and most especially for men as it isn't weighed down with a lot of romance or mushy gushy feelings and deep self-exploration. This stays true to its genre.
If you're not afraid to be scared sick, pick up this germ, er, gem.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Breathless and Panting
7 Nov 2006
Format:Hardcover
Liparulo's debut novel, "Comes a Horseman," snared the attention of numerous readers and garnered rave reviews. Fast pacing and interesting villains propelled the story toward a satisfying climax. With the release of "Germ," he makes a convincing argument for the title of Suspense Thriller King.
Imagine an all-to-believable future in which DNA-specific biochemical warfare can pinpoint its targets, in which the most deadly weapon on earth can become personal. This is the concept behind Liparulo's "Germ." With a gruesome opening scene, he gives readers cause for concern. Then, with barely a second's pause, he dives into a story that moves once again with flawless pacing.
We follow the fates of three people--a female FBI agent, and two estranged brothers. Although the plot's speed allows little time for character development, Liparulo manages to make us care for these people and their individual pasts. There are hints of romance, of personal conflict, but they are secondary issues to the race-against-time. Already, the germ has been released, targeting ten thousand individuals. This is big-screen material, made-for-Hollywood stuff, and yet it still races along with a beating human heart.
In the past year or so, Westbow Press has published three novels revolving around this theme of biochemical warfare, all with historical basis in WWII. Whereas Ted Dekker's "Black" was more suspense/fantasy, and Tim Downs' "Plague Maker" dealt with an isolated attack on NYC, Robert Liparulo's story aims for the destruction of mankind. This is more than an entertaining book; it's a warning against the dangers of mixing impersonal science and very personal human motives, such as revenge.
In the end, Liparulo leaves us breathless. And panting for more.
Imagine an all-to-believable future in which DNA-specific biochemical warfare can pinpoint its targets, in which the most deadly weapon on earth can become personal. This is the concept behind Liparulo's "Germ." With a gruesome opening scene, he gives readers cause for concern. Then, with barely a second's pause, he dives into a story that moves once again with flawless pacing.
We follow the fates of three people--a female FBI agent, and two estranged brothers. Although the plot's speed allows little time for character development, Liparulo manages to make us care for these people and their individual pasts. There are hints of romance, of personal conflict, but they are secondary issues to the race-against-time. Already, the germ has been released, targeting ten thousand individuals. This is big-screen material, made-for-Hollywood stuff, and yet it still races along with a beating human heart.
In the past year or so, Westbow Press has published three novels revolving around this theme of biochemical warfare, all with historical basis in WWII. Whereas Ted Dekker's "Black" was more suspense/fantasy, and Tim Downs' "Plague Maker" dealt with an isolated attack on NYC, Robert Liparulo's story aims for the destruction of mankind. This is more than an entertaining book; it's a warning against the dangers of mixing impersonal science and very personal human motives, such as revenge.
In the end, Liparulo leaves us breathless. And panting for more.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Creating Directed Killer Viruses
7 Mar 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The study of disease is fascinating. Of course, in recent years, the study of disease as an unnatural phenomenon has become more prominent--the manufacture of disease and the possible use of disease as a weapon has become vivid in this age of terrorism. Mr. Liparulo has taken this idea and run with it in his new novel, Germ.
The basis of this novel is that a group of children smuggled out of Nazi Germany in the waning days of World War II are brought to the United States. They form the nucleus of a team that develops means of germ warfare. There is a break in the group and one of the scientists becomes a renegade. It turns out that Ebola is not a natural disease but is, in fact, an artificial and, more than that, can be targeted to a particular person's DNA.
Karl Litt, the scientist is question, is ready to demonstrate his invention to the world as part of his revenge against his former mentor, Kendrick Reynolds. Inadvertently caught up in the task to stop Litt are a federal agent, Julia Matheson; a doctor, Allen Parker; and his brother, Stephen. Lined up against the good guys is Atropos; basically a super-assassin(s).
It's an interesting premise and the plot unfolds easily with new information being doled out as needed. The characters are interesting and Liparulo isn't afraid to kill off principle characters if this serves the logical development of the plot. It's a move deserving of respect as is his willingness to give the police a victory or two. If he still allows amateurs to overcome professional killers; well, no one's perfect.
In the end, Germ is a fun and interesting book that plays on the currently popular fear of disease; particularly, weaponized disease. If this is a subject that interests you, this is a book worth reading.
The basis of this novel is that a group of children smuggled out of Nazi Germany in the waning days of World War II are brought to the United States. They form the nucleus of a team that develops means of germ warfare. There is a break in the group and one of the scientists becomes a renegade. It turns out that Ebola is not a natural disease but is, in fact, an artificial and, more than that, can be targeted to a particular person's DNA.
Karl Litt, the scientist is question, is ready to demonstrate his invention to the world as part of his revenge against his former mentor, Kendrick Reynolds. Inadvertently caught up in the task to stop Litt are a federal agent, Julia Matheson; a doctor, Allen Parker; and his brother, Stephen. Lined up against the good guys is Atropos; basically a super-assassin(s).
It's an interesting premise and the plot unfolds easily with new information being doled out as needed. The characters are interesting and Liparulo isn't afraid to kill off principle characters if this serves the logical development of the plot. It's a move deserving of respect as is his willingness to give the police a victory or two. If he still allows amateurs to overcome professional killers; well, no one's perfect.
In the end, Germ is a fun and interesting book that plays on the currently popular fear of disease; particularly, weaponized disease. If this is a subject that interests you, this is a book worth reading.
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