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Home  Sci Fi Studios Magazine The Fan Film Revolution The Mysterious Brain of Dr. Robin Cook: Part II: Medical Thriller Fever Continues
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The Mysterious Brain of Dr. Robin Cook: Part II: Medical Thriller Fever Continues |
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Written by Wendy Gamble
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Tuesday, 19 June 2007 |
Perhaps Robin Cook novels should be placed behind the counter, to be handed out only to the morally correct. There are some company execs and criminal minds who could gain wicked inspiration from the twisted terrors Cook invents. They are at once so close to reality as to be possible, and unthinkable for their sick-minded solutions. In part one of this series we gained a bit of insight into the author and his earliest works. Now let's delve deeper into his long list of publications so you can see what I mean.
Brain:
 World-class researcher and radiology department head Dr. Philips stumbles on a secret government project involving—you guessed it—the human brain. Philips suffers through problems with colleagues, girlfriend, and eventually, government spies to first keep his research going, then find out just why it's working so well.
Real-life technology now approaches that of the novel. My husband works on computer-vision projects that accomplish the same purpose as Philip's leading edge diagnostic invention. However, it's quite possible that the mutilated bodies utilized in the novel would be cheaper than expensive cameras, lasers, computers, and software—so don't give this book to my husband's boss! You might at first laugh at the ancient 1980s "high tech" computers, but you won't be laughing at the end of the book.
I did get a laugh from Cook's description when Philips was following a suspect, of "night people" looking, "bizarre and grotesque." I quickly had to tone down my image of shriveled figures with gross deformities to clubbers with tattoos, beer bellies or purple hair.
The characters in Brain are very appealing. I don't mean I'd personally want to meet all of them, but the assortment of conflicting personalities adds a lot of drama. Phillips is a wonderfully imperfect hero. He becomes obsessed with his research to the point of getting in trouble with his chief for neglecting regular hospital duties; yet we're made to sympathize with him beautifully.
According to the author's message, he was bringing to light the issue of human experimentation in a medical setting, and how intimidating the staff can be to patients. I've noticed myself, if you don't want to do what they say, there's a lowering of the voice, a cool manner. I've wondered if there's a class in med school called, "Doctor Dominance 101," in which they learn how to push their rolling stools with just the right force to land face to face with a patient to eyeball them. So Dr. Cook's point was poignant.
Fever:
 A brilliant cancer researcher discovers his daughter has leukemia from environmental poisoning. It's sad that this 1982 novel is still such a current horror story. Our hero, Dr. Martel, battles employers, industry, charges of insanity, and even the police to work "feverishly" to find a cure for his little girl.
This is another grip-the-book tale, with characters you fall in love with. The description of the invented science is fascinating, as is the real and realistic medicine needed to keep the young heroine alive through being smuggled out of the hospital to an ad hoc lab.
An interesting secondary character was the rebellious teenaged brother, reluctant to donate marrow, or behave as his straight-laced father thought he should. That subplot led to my one disappointment in this novel, as that character conflict was resolved rather quickly and completely at the end without Martel having to activity deal with it.
There was no author's message in this one, but I think the point was pretty clear. Let's stop pollution!
Godplayer:
 This is a really fun one, getting back more to the medical side, and delving into psychology. Our doctor protagonist, Thomas, is a prominent figure with a social conscience that goes astray. His wife, a beautiful psychiatrist ends up in a tragic situation trying to deal with her troubled husband. This one gets into the issue of doctors on drugs, and bosses not wanting to deal with it, nor pester senior, valuable staff.
A series of deaths start to look suspicious, and the methodology eventually revealed is unfortunately horrifyingly easy to do. A simple switch from one element to another forms a deadly saline drip, easily set up by the perpetrator.
In fact that method of killing is so easy, the same switch of salts has happened by accident at real hospitals. I recall a news report of a series of accidental deaths in a hospital because the KCl was packaged similarly to the NaCl, and stored right beside it on the shelf. Too much potassium chloride quickly kills. There are reportedly thousands of deaths per year in Canadian hospitals due to errors! If I needed surgery, I'd be reading all the labels on the IV fluids, pills, and saying, "Excuse, me, you don't mind if I autoclave those, do you?" I'd be the patient from Hell.
The mercy killing issue is the thought provoking element of this tale, and Dr. Cook is masterful at entwining it with a good, suspenseful story with a tragically fallacious medical mind.
Tune in next issue for more mind-bending ideas from a doctor who practices medicine with words as readily as a scalpel.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 June 2007 )
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