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The Cobra Event
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345409973
ISBN: 0345409973
Label: Ballantine Books
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 448
Publication Date: August 29, 1998
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: August 29, 1998
Studio: Ballantine Books
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Editorial Review:
In New York City in the late '90s, a 17-year-old girl heads off to her private school even though she has a cold. By art class her nose is gushing mucus and she's severely disoriented. Within seconds, it seems, she's in convulsions and, most bizarrely, can't stop biting herself. All the reader can do is hope she'll die quickly, but Kate Moran's body still has a few more disgusting turns to undergo, and Richard Preston--a Jacobean master of ceremonies par excellence--takes us through them in bizarre and bloody detail.
Clearly, whatever Kate had was a head cold with a scientific vengeance. Preston's heroine, Alice Austen, a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, realizes--in the first of several gripping autopsy scenes--that the girl's nervous system had been virtually destroyed. So far, only one other person is known to have died in the same way, but he was a homeless man. Austen must connect the two cases, seemingly linked only by the subway, before the media gets hold of them and drums up a paranoia-fest--and before the virus's creator can kill again.
The Cobra Event is itself a paranoia-fest, a provocative thriller that makes you wonder exactly how much bioterrorism is taking place in the real world. Preston, best known for his terrifying chronicle of the Ebola virus, The Hot Zone, and other impeccably researched nonfictions, is not content to create fast-paced nightmarish scenes. His novel is instead a complex morality tale anchored in uncomfortable fact. Preston is keen to convey the "invisible history" of bioweapons engineering and, equally, to show the unsung heroism of his scientific detectives (along with that of the nurses and technicians who literally sacrifice their lives for medicine). Like their creator, these characters are not without a sense of humor. One calls the manmade virus "the ultimate head cold." Readers will never forget literally dozens of scenes and will never again see the subway, rodents, autopsy knives, and--above all--runny noses in the same light.
"A PAGE-TURNER . . . THOROUGHLY FRIGHTENING."
--Newsweek"ENORMOUSLY ENTERTAINING."
--The New York Times Book Review"THIS BOOK SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME. . . . Manages to grab you with the authenticity of its scientific detective work and haunt you with its sheer plausibility."
--Entertainment WeeklyFive days ago, a homeless man on a subway platform died in agony as startled commuters looked on. Yesterday, a teenager started having violent, uncontrollable spasms in art class. Within minutes, she too was dead.Dr. Alice Austen is a medical pathologist at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. What she knows is that the two deaths are connected. What she fears is that they are only the beginning. . . .
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Okay Book
There was some good parts but it seemed to take forever to get into the story. Just when i was getting into the book then another dry spell would be in the next chapter. There is alot of medical terminology that I would get lost in at times and then become uninterested, but over all an okay book if you are willing to wait until at least 1/2 through for it to start picking up.
Rating:  - Outstanding! Almost Michael Crichton!
I loved this book for two reasons. The first being the riveting plot. This book dares you to put it down (and then try to sleep at night). The ride, the details, the pacing. This book is a cut above.
My second reason is a bit of thumbing my nose at the publishing industry. This book revels in having NOTHING that the publishing industry demands today. Everything MUST be character driven! Aaaack, that one drives me crazy. Pages and pages of introspection while the story stands ... Read More
Rating: - Edge of My Seat!
This was the first book I picked up after several years of not reading. Wow, amazing story! I couldn't put it down and I always put them down unfortunately.
I love this book, I've recommended to several people over the years.
Why isnt this a movie yet??, that question baffles me.
The characters were amazing, the story was believable and very real. Story telling at its highest point, you'll stay up all night reading!
Highly recommended!!
Rating: - Refreshing and Educational
Before reading this book, bioterrorism seemed like a distant threat from the past. However, Preston's novel makes a very strong story that is further rooted by scientific facts. By combining elements of horror with this story, it helps a reader understand the overlooked aspects of terrorism, and in this novel, it highlights how easily anybody can create or have access to very dangerous biological agents, and that the dispersal of such weapons can be done easily and covertly.
A quick ... Read More
Rating: - I love this book!
I loved this book! It was intriguing, I couldn't put it down, and it was scary. It starts with a girl with a bad cold going to school, and she collapses during art class and dies within hours after having seizures and hemorrhaging. A homeless man was also infected, and some medical officials try to diagnose the disease and find a link between the cases. Squeamish people beware: There is a very detailed autopsy part. If you are not squeamish, I recommend this book.
Note: Ben's daughter wrote ... Read More
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