Dr. Robin Cook is what is generally known as an "over-achiever." With medical degrees from Columbia and Harvard, he already had enough accolades, but that didn't stop him from becoming a best selling novelist to boot. To accomplish such a dual career (or triple now that he has a young son, with the aid of lab techniques used in some of his other novels). He surely must have an off switch for the daydream button artistic people are infamous for.

I first read Coma as a teen and when I revisited it I was like an alcoholic having a set-back, going through about one of his novels per week. When disturbed by the children for something silly like food I would find myself muttering things such as, "There must be some crackers in the cupboard." However, I didn't get quite as clued out as a friend who read a novel right through a bank robbery while she was standing in line! So be ready to read undisturbed if you dare pick up a Robin Cook novel.

Robin has shown that fiction can be a powerful way to get ideas out beyond scientific journals or academic institutions, to where masses of people might encounter and be influenced by them. He's an inspiration for anyone wanting to take the science of medicine or medical research into the realm of speculative fiction. As I read his works I was inspired to having a better goal for my expensive science education than measuring baking liquids to the bottom of the meniscus. I hope you will enjoy exploring his fascinating and educational works with me.

The Year of The Intern:

This book is fictional only because names and other details were changed. It covers the life of an intern (doctor just out of medical school) in his dramatic daily routine. The lead character, Dr. Peters experiences what the author and his fellow interns at the time went through. I found this as gripping as his thrillers, and a fascinating study of personalities and adverse working conditions. Though the book wasn't a story as much as a series of events, it kept me in suspense about how Peters would manage, and what crisis would happen next. It reminded me of James Herriot's veterinary vignettes except there was more bitterness and less humor. This was a well written learning experience for the author, and a worthy work in itself.

From reading this I can understand why my mom has said nurses shouldn't date (medical) doctors. If met in their formative years, they can be philanderers, as the lead character indicated. I was also clued in about why during a hospital stay I had, the same doctor I saw running into my neighbor's room at night every time the alarm went off was there again in the day. I wondered when he'd slept, now I see he probably hadn't.

Such emotions were the theme of the novel as Robin showed time and time again how insufficient the system was (at that time anyway). Trying to remove doctors from their pedestals in the minds of his readers has been a continuing effort on his part throughout his long list of novels. When the book ended, though, I wanted to know what happened next. When, if ever, did all or some of Dr. Peter's faith in medicine come back?

Though his sci-fi based thrillers are more pure fun, none is more informative or fascinating that this first novel.

Coma:

This is probably Robin's most famous medical thriller, and it's a good one; not better than some of the others, but it was the start of a whole new sub-genre in fiction, giving it a solid place in history.

The story deals with a medical student, Susan Wheeler, stumbling on a horrific scenario in which organs are being stolen from patients who have been placed into comas.

I made sure to buy the 25^th anniversary edition so I could read Robin's special letter to fans. In it he states it was not his most artful work, but I enjoyed the continued flavor of The Year of The Intern, with details about medical procedures and the character's feelings about them. That intimate look at day to day medicine fades in his novels over time, and though the later novels have other good qualities, I sometimes miss that raw look at day to day dangers.

The message Dr. Cook wanted to convey, according to his author's message, was the scarcity and preciousness of donor organs. It's a serious, and still timely issue, which as a surgeon he would like brought to people's attention. He claims it really wasn't his intention to scare people away from operating room eight! My personal solution to the problem of organ scarcity is having banks of cloned organs stored at hospitals, an idea I wrote into the Medlab story being worked on in Sci Fi Studios' Creative Corner.

Though Robin states the novel is not science fiction because of the likelihood of the horror he wrote about coming true, there are science fiction elements. The tour of the coma patient "storage" hospital is rich in inventive ideas.

In his author's note, Robin also shares his research on women in medicine at the time (circa. 1976), saying it was much more difficult and stressful for female students, such as his lead character, Susan Wheeler. Susan was extremely bright, but her supervisor, Dr. Bellows was startled that she was pretty when he met her. She was sent to change in the nurses lounge because they were the females, and had to barge into the all-male doctor's change room to get a scrub outfit with pants. Susan wasn't expected to swear, either, so she enjoyed startling people with it.

All in all, a gripper with fascinating insights and social aspects to reflect upon.

Sphinx:

A good, solidly enjoyable novel somewhat reminiscent of a gothic romance, with the heroine, Erica, being a protector of Egyptian artifacts. This was one of his diversions from the medical world, with the only connection being Erica's physician fiancé, who actually played a very small role in the story.

I didn't empathize with her as much as some of his other characters. Perhaps I wasn't convinced myself of the grave importance of what she was doing compared to the danger she knowingly put herself in (or should have known about). I enjoyed the descriptions of ancient Egyptian monuments and artifacts, and the suspense and character drama. I didn't guess who was a "bad guy," but I knew she was going to escape from a tomb she was trapped in by finding a secret passage. (Maybe I've played too much Dungeons and Dragons.)

Compared to a Sydney Sheldon novel I found on the living room floor and read (it must have popped off of some shelf, figuring it was its time) it was not annoyingly predictable. I appreciate the frequency with which Cook features female characters in his novels, but I must admit I've never found them to be quite as realistic or deep as his male doctors. He tends to make his leading ladies impulsively willing to put themselves into danger when I feel other options haven't been fully explored.

Robin's point in this work was the safeguarding of national treasures, and how they should belong to the country who treasures their history and sacred properties.

As we look at the rest of his novels in future issues, we'll see the various medical related social issues Robin brings to his reader's attention. Though he considers himself a doctor first, he's skillful at creating a sugar coating of exciting fiction around his thoughtful medicine for the world.