Robin Cook Books

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Denison University graduates -- this recipe comes closest to the cake served by The Evergreens in Granville, OH. It's moist, rich, and has the perfect combination of flavors. Great cookbook, too bad it's out of print.

This a wonderful collection of very easy-to-follow yet unique cake recipes. The format is simple to follow with the author supplying interesting tid- bits on how to serve certain cakes. Each, when baked, makes the recipients feel as if they have been seriously fussed over. And each recipe, though I have only made about four of them, is delicious. It is a delight to have a book just for special cakes. And it's beautifully designed as well.

This is a great read and it makes the reader REALLY think about terrorism, 'shutting the stable door ....' as John Macmillan head of Sci-Med says. This is another in the Steven Dunbar series and I was unable to put it down. I am always amazed by Ken McClures foresight only weeks after this was published we had the incident at Pirbright. The prologue is enough to make your hair stand on end.!

Another cracking read from Ken McClure, the master of the medical genre. I read Robin Cook's "Critical" recently and was left disappointed, but "The Lazarus Strain" is the usual fast read that's typical with McClure. I read that Ken McClure is to the medical world what John Grisham is to the law. Ha! ... well there were no lawyers here but plenty of doctors.
In the prologue, McClure sets out the terrifying possibilities of a repeat of the flu pandemic of 1918 that swept the world and killed 40 million. Move that on to now, with avian flu (so called bird flu) and a "breakout" from a secure lab facility. Mix in a plan to use the virus as a weapon and you have the cocktail of another medical action thriller with Dr Steven Dunbar!
If you like medical thrillers, I'd definitely recommend this bird flu thriller.

Ken McClure was brought to my attention and am I glad - It will not be my last read of his - McClure's Prologue to The Lazarus Strain sets us on edge by reminding us the last flu pandemic in 1918 had more victims than 'in the Great War itself and more than died of bubonic plague'...
millions and millions of victims.
The scary part of this book is the reality of the threat of another pandemic - another wave of influenza we will have little power to fight.
While some deny the possibility, there are persistent news articles stating the countries are bracing for an onslaught...
A top research institute, the Crick, has been broken into and a top scientist killed - Even worse, monkeys who have been used for experimentation have escaped...and they are attacking...
Enter the dashing Dr. Steven Dunbar, who works for the Sci-Med Inspectorate - it is an elite organization that investigates medical emergencies - the James Bond of doctors...
Dr. Dunbar soon realizes this was not a random event, the target is to unleash a pandemic the likes civilization hadn't seen in 90 years. It is a race against time to unlock the mystery and save this chemical terrorism from happening.
It is a scary premise, and unfortunately, with the threat of terrorism always near, a frightening possibility.
It is an excellent book, and I look forward to reading more Ken McClure -

This is a great book filled with short stories showing the weakness and strengths of women. These women are not your usual women - some are soldiers, some sorceress and others just plain ole women who are thrown into an extraordinary situation and prevail, or do they? They don't all end with the typical fairy tale ending. This book is the first in a series of 21 books. My favorite story is the Thorn and Frostflower involving travel to other worlds by Phyllis Karr.

Sword and Sorceress is the original. This book has given rise to a series spanning 15 other books, and set the precedent for all future books in the series. All the stories in S&S I are about stong female characters, but the stories are diverse. Some are written by men, some by women. Some have only a female protagonist, others have male and female protagonists working together. The protagonist's talents range from shapeshifting, to magic, to swordsmanship. Or should I say swordswomanship? All in all, Bradley has put together a collection of stories that will entertain every fantasy reader. I was especially pleased to find so much variety and quality in one anthology. I like Bradley's novels, and as an editor she is no less disapointing. I highly reccommend any books in the S&S series!

Women read fantasy too. Beloved author/editor Marion Zimmer Bradley created this anthology in 1984 to address just that issue. At a time when women's fantasy was just beginning to make its mark, MZB created an anthology to define the emerging female protagonist. In her introduction, MZB makes it clear that she wanted to avoid the stereotypical Amazon-type heroine who ultimately gave up her freedom to win love. She didn't simply want recreate the old cliché turned upside down-where the men are subservient to women. She wanted stories that gave women new myths to identify with, powerful stories that could be worth consideration by the men and women who read them. This collection is not your average "feminist literature", these are stories that feature warriors, magic-users, healers and thieves-the women of fantasy, the kind of women to give a new generation of fantasy readers characters to see parts of themselves in, and ultimately make readers think.

MZB must have been onto a good thing. In the nearly twenty years since the first publication, there have been 19 Sword and Sorceress anthologies to date. Having read all of these anthologies, I can honestly say that this remains one of the best. The originality of the stories, the quality, the variety; all of these elements make this particular shine out from the group. Out of the fifteen stories, four are written by men, including well-recognized authors Glen Cook and Charles de Lint. MZB prefaces each story with a short blurb about the author and a few comments of her own. These paragraphs, along with her introduction, enable readers to catch the glimpse of MZB's personality and some insight into why she chose the particular stories she's included in this anthology. It becomes clear that each story was selected with care, polished and set in place to augment this anthology. There are no "filler" stories here.

Readers skimming the contents will quickly recognize quite a few of the author names; Glen Cook, Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Jennifer Roberson and Diana Paxson to name a few. For Emma Bull and some of the other authors listed, this is their first sale. That is an additional bit of delight in these earliest Sword and Sorceress anthologies. So many writers made their first sale, or were just beginning their careers at the time. As to the stories themselves, they are as varied as the authors. For sword and sorcery duos, "The Garnet and the Glory" by Phyllis Ann Karr and "The Rending Dark" by Emma Bull are good examples. For darker, emotionally charged reads, try "Severed Heads" by Glen Cook, or "Sword of Yraine" by Diana L. Paxson. On the lighter side there is "Taking Heart" by Stephen L. Burns, "Daton and the Dead Things" by Michael Ward, and the finale of the anthology, a short-short story by Dorothy J. Heydt, "Things Come in Threes". My particular favorite story-although I admit it is hard to choose just one, all of them have had a powerful impact-is "With Four Lean Hounds" by Pat Murphy. This is a beautiful, fairy-tale-esque story that is as powerful in its message as in its unfolding adventure.

Any reader who loves good fantasy, particularly short stories will likely enjoy this. Women readers especially-but in no way exclusively will appreciate the chance to read about women as protagonists of the epic fantasy story. When this was first published, there were much fewer female fantasy writers and stories available. This has changed dramatically over the intervening two decades. Despite that, it does not diminish the quality of this first anthology-and the stories remain as strong today as they were when published. On a side note-these are all fantasy reads-MZB as a rule does not include science fiction stories in any of her anthologies, although the right story can make her break the rule just a bit. If you can find this anthology, buy it-read it and treasure it.

Happy Reading!

I was lucky I was on vacation, because I got this book Wednesday and just couldn't put it down. The Gulf Conspiracy is just one of those books that you dont know what bit is true and what's fiction. I know some guys that were in the Gulf and I've heard some interesting stories from them. I've read some other books by the author Ken McClure : Wildcard, etc and this character in the books, Steven Dunbar, is some sort of scientific ex-Special Forces action hero like Jack Ryan/ James Bond. He doesn't hang about.

A gripping medical thriller which I guess is the best book I've read for a long long time. Highly recommended, even if you're not on vacation !

Once again Ken McClure has set his readers the puzzle: How much of this is fiction? His creation of the Sci-Med Directorate and Steven Dunbar once again leads us through the investigation with an intriguing sub plot that was absolutely brilliant.
I'm sure you will find you can't put it down and I would definitely say that Ken McClure is Scotland's answer to Tom Clancy.

Es un libro muy realista en cuanto al manejo de comida en cualquier parte del mundo, parte del problema que se escribe en el libro y por supuesto queda en el aire, es que hacer para que dicho manejo sea más higiénico y menos burócrata, cosa que es casi imposible en nuestra época, a lo mejor más adelante alguien hará algo para mejorar la calidad de los alimentos y sus establecimientos, la duda sigue estando en el aire.

Inicialmente, se piensa que el libro sólo habla del gran riesgo (una realidad) de la contaminación a nuestros alimentos, de nuevas cepas de bacterias normalmente inofensivas (E. coli, en este caso). Pero también es una denuncia a un sistema que seguimos pensando es perfecto y sólo busca nuestro beneficio. Nada mas alejado de la verdad. Malos servicio médicos, intereses creados, burocratismo, corrupción de dirigentes públicos (y dicen que en los EE UU no pasa, sólo en Latinoamérica, Asia y África, pero en la tierra de Washington las cantidades tienen mas ceros), la deficiente inspección sanitaria y las malas prácticas en la industria alimenticia americana. Lean este libro, y no sólo vigilarán su comida, verán al divino gobierno americano de otra manera. MUY RECOMENDABLE, JUNTO CON EL LIBRO DE NICOLS FOX (SPOILED) Y LOS DOS LIBROS DE LAURIE GARRET (ESPECIALMENTE BETRAYAL OF TRUST).

This book does an excellent job of taking pretty complex concepts and procedures and making them easy to understand and perform. Step by step instructions are a very helpful reference. We used this book in both my drafting and autocad classes - both taught by Ms. Prater. I will keep this book as I know that when I graduate, it will be a handy resource for me to refer back to.

Para ser un libro que leí sin previo aviso ni recomendación es muy bueno. me quede pegado desde el principio. Sus explicaciones y como se imagina el futuro y los avances de una civilización paralela son bastante creibles. Es una mezcla de ciencia ficción con suspenso, lo recomiendo definitivamente.

The book makes you, get into the story, and you are feeling like you were the girl. it makes you feel really scared.

I have such vivid memories of this episode. It's the best hunter episode there is, in my opinion. The rapist character, Lloyd Fredericks, played by frederick Coffin, is at once frightening, and pathetic.The opening scene of him in his car, listening to oldies, grabbing latex gloves out of the glove compartment is a compelling beginning.
The camera (cleverly used) follows him to the front door of his victims house, where we see his gloved hands open the door with a key..Interesting. Then once inside in the dark, while his unsuspecting victim is in the shower, we see him pull a stocking mask over his face, grotesquely distorting his features. This is a scary transformation to witness in real time, and, like a good movie, sets the scene in motion. Later in the episode, when we see Dee Dee on the phone with hunter, confirming that she is home safe, and alone, the camera cuts to Lloyd's creepy sheer, stocking masked face waiting quietly upstairs...Dee Dee shows incredible strength +cunning, as she traps the sadistic rapist, as he attempts to attack her again. The imagery, story line, woven 3 different ways, makes for exciting 80's television, and the bad guys smushed features beneath the tight stocking mask, remains the most shocking tv moment from my childhood.

Un libro que no puedes dejar, es la historia de una egiptóloga de "librito" que decide finalmente ir a dicho país para empaparse de su historia. Llegando, en el interior de una tienda de un mercado típico, le muestran una bellísima estatua de Seti I (vaya que Cook describe muy bien), y minutos después, ocurre un asesinato y la estatua desaparece. Todo ocurre vertiginosamente, historias dentro de las pirámides de Giza, quedar atrapada dentro de una de las tumbas de los reyes, asesinos y asesinados a su alrededor, y ella, en la búsqueda de la estatua, con el mejor fin que podrían esperar para un libro de acción y gran suspenso. De verdad muy recomendable. Lo he dado a leer a mis amigos y a ninguno le ha decepcionado. Mis hermanos que no gustaban de la lectura, a partir de este libro, no han dejado de encantarse y seguir leyendo. Un libro que te transporta a Egipto y definitivamente te enamora de ese país y su misticismo.