Richard Preston
The Cobra Event
Orion Books, London, 1998
ISBN 0-75281-712-4
Monika says:
A young girl, a flea market vendor and a homeless man die within a few
hours of each other of a mysterious disease that destroys large sections
of the central nervous system. Since there is a chance that the new
disease is contagious the police alerts the Centers for Disease Control.
Dr. Alice Austen is put in charge of the investigation. Everybody who had
contact with the sick people dies a horrible death.
Soon it becomes clear that it is no common virus and the connection
between the first three victims is also made rather easily. The Cobra
virus can be traced to Africa where its creator seems to test biological
weapons.
The destructive power of nuclear energy or even chemical weapons are
widely known, but the very real threat of biological warfare is either
ignored or not taken seriously by most people. Richard Preston’s novel
is fictional, but the background is realistic and this touch of reality
makes it worth reading even if the plot suffers from predictability.
If you don’t mind the gory details of postmortems I can recommend THE
COBRA EVENT. It offers food for thought, but you shouldn’t be squeamish. |
