Germ

I'd heard so much about this book, I started wondering if any novel could live up to the hype. Fortunately, I found out the friends and reviews that recommended GERM weren't wrong. No hype, just a great story told well. However, I read this when I had the flu... not a good idea. The titular virus moves from host to host as a cold (or the flu??) until it finds DNA that it was encoded to find, then it turns into Ebola! Some gruesome Ebola symptoms are described. I started thinking my own guts were liquifying. Ugh. I like that it wasn't all about the virus and the science behind it, though. There's a real thriller and action-adventure here. Atropos is an assassin that ought to be inducted in some literary killers' hall of fame. Wow, what a creepy guy. If you like suspense and action and guns and chases and the idea of biological terrorism (though this is more personal than that implies), you should like this one. Just read it when you're healthy.

After reading the first chapter, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue--it depicts a death by Ebola so vividly, my stomach turned. But I pressed on and I'm glad I did. The exhilarating pace never lets up, yet Liparulo still managed to write characters I cared about and villains so interesting I don't think I've ever read anything like them before. I thought at first that the multiple storylines made things unnecessarily complex, but everything came together well, making for a spectacular ending and an overall story that was more engaging and richer than it would have been without the various threads. Just enough science to make the premise believable, without cluttering the story. A very enjoyable read.

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.

Robert Liparulo's previous work Come's A Horsemen was so gripping, such a page turner, that I was worried that his next work might not hit the same heights. Well GERM not only hits the mark it might even beat it by a bit. I read Germ in one sitting unwilling to leave the superb characters and edge of the seat situations for anything. Robert Liparulo creates the most frightening and bizarre Killers of any author out there (and I mean "Out there"), a Viking in Comes a Horsemen, and now Atropos for Germ. Like Tom Clancy's clairvoyance in all things military, Liparulo has hit the Germ warfare nail firmly on the head. I'm glad it's just story from the twisted mind of Robert Liparulo and not from the front page of the newspaper. Read Germ, and then wash your hands often.

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.