Threshold

Threshold by Ben Mezrich

Grand Central Publishing, 1996

massmarket paperback, 336 pages
ISBN-13: 9780446605212

medical thriller

recommended - great summer reading

Synopsis from back cover:

For a lifetime, he has channeled the fear and guilt of a childhood trauma into an impassioned mission to save others. Now, inside seventy-two hours, Jeremy Ross will have to defuse an audacious plot to genetically rewire the human race. And in a heartbeat, allied with an ex-lover on a desperate quest of her own, he'll experience the greatest terror man or woman ever faced - while confronting a threat more devastating than any living creature can imagine.

My thoughts:

I saw Ben Mezrich in an interview where he gave a little shudder over his writing Threshold. I don't know why because, really, it wasn't that bad. It's a good medical thriller, full of action and adventure. Sure, you have to suspend disbelief because many parts aren't realistic, for example the medical student always getting the best of highly trained special agents or managing to clandestinely get a copy of high public officials autopsy report, but it was fast paced and entertaining. No, he's no Crichton, but I thought Mezrich successfully did what he intended.
Recommended - great summer reading fun

Quotes:

Secretary of Defense Warren T. Walker grunted approvingly as thunderous applause swirled through the sea of black gowns and tasseled hats. opening

The medics didn't know - he could see it in their silence. They'd never seen anything like this before: a grown man tearing at his own face, trying to mutilate himself, conscious of his actions but unable to control them. pg. 4-5

In some places the stretchers were seven thick, queued up for a chrome parade. Already the room was bursting at the seams, and it still seemed like the entire city was waiting outside.

A bystander might have assumed that this was the aftermath of some sort of catastrophe - perhaps an earthquake, or a hurricane. But at New York City Hospital's emergency room, this was just another Friday night. pg. 6

The EKG screen looked like Colorado in the summer, filled edge to edge with bright green mountains. pg. 12

He was immediately on guard. Was she in some kind of trouble? What kind of favor couldn't wait until morning? pg. 19

"I was hoping that you could get a look at my father's autopsy report," she said, leaning forward and lowering her voice. "I want to get your opinion on the cause of his death. A lot of what I've read in the newspapers has been confusing and I need to know the truth." pg. 25