The race is on to stop the devastating proliferation of the ultimate bioweapon: a drug-resistant fungal infection. “A fascinating ride through a world of bioweaponry, nanoscience, murder, and international intrigue . . . one of the best debut thrillers I’ve read in a long time.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston ITW THRILLER AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL • NERO AWARD NOMINEE When fungi specialist Nobel laureate Liam Connor is found dead at the bottom of one of Ithaca, New York’s famous gorges, his research collaborator, Cornell professor of nanoscience Jake Sterling, refuses to believe it was suicide. Why would one of the world’s most eminent biologists, a eighty-six-year old man in good health who survived some of the darkest days of the Second World War, have chosen to throw himself off a bridge? And who was the mysterious woman caught on camera at the scene? Soon it becomes clear that a cache of supersophisticated nanorobots—each the size of a spider—has disappeared from the dead man’s laboratory. Stunned by grief, Jake, Liam’s granddaughter, Maggie, and Maggie’s nine-year-old son, Dylan, try to put the pieces together. They uncover ingeniously coded messages Liam left behind pointing toward a devastating secret he gleaned off the shores of war-ravaged Japan and carried for more than sixty years. What begins as a quest for answers soon leads to a horrifying series of revelations at the crossroads of biological warfare and nanoscience. At this dangerous intersection, a skilled and sadistic assassin, an infamous Japanese war criminal, and a ruthless U.S. government official are all players in a harrowing game of power, treachery, and intrigue—a game whose winner will hold the world’s fate literally in the palm of his hand.
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"Fine first novel; plot well-crafted (I didn't see the obvious connection between two characters until the author wanted me to); characters are interesting and real. My only quibble is occasional shifting of perspective in the midst of a chapter. Learned a lot about fungi, too. Hope McEuen keeps writing." — Peter (4 out of 5 stars)
"Fine first novel; plot well-crafted (I didn't see the obvious connection between two characters until the author wanted me to); characters are interesting and real. My only quibble is occasional shifting of perspective in the midst of a chapter. Learned a lot about fungi, too. Hope McEuen keeps writing."
" It was an ok read. I really wanted more techno thriller than mystery. "
" Action packed story about bioweaponized fungus and the 'little people' caught in the crossfire. I didn't want to put it down! "
" 3.5 stars. A competent science fictional thriller about bioterrorism and nanotechnology. I don't think the author should have ever left the central cast of four connected characters, and every time he did so, the book bogged down, dragging my rating down a half star. There is a lot of technical information in here, so if you don't like learning when you read your thrillers, you probably won't like this. "
" Good but not great for me. Seemed a bit far fetched for me to live it. Clever though. "
" I thought it was thrilling but i did not like it. i did not really know the characters enough to feel sorry or scared. did not really like it. "
" a good story, entertaining, well explained technical details "
" You will love this and read it in one go. First novel, thriller, placed in Ithaca, nanotechnology, heroism, cute kid, family ties, romance...it has everything! "
" Techno thriller about biological warfare and nanotechnology, written by a Cornell physics professor. Better than Crichton at his best! A trifle gory for Christmas time, maybe... "
" I'm not much into Sci Fi, but this one kept me reading! It was a more believable Sci Fi thriller. "
" I haven't read the book yet but it is certainly a must have! Just read the review in the WSJ and I'm hooked on the story line! "
" This book is set just a few miles from where we live, so I know a lot of the references made in the book. The story itself is a bit sophomoric and ends too abruptly for this book to be really good. An okay airplane read. "
" Lots of biotechnological details in this story that can either scare you or if you are not a science fan..can slow down the story. Gave it 3 stars because I did want to find out how it all ended. "
" Fascinating technology; pretty sophomoric writing and characterization "
" A nano-biology thrilling set at Cornell University. Just released on Kindle today, Suzie bought it for me. "
" This was pretty good! Biological weapon/suspense novel. Lots of good technical and science info in a suspense format. "
" I loved this book! It was a thriller with an aspect of bioweapons and nanotechnology that made the plot much more interesting. Some of the technology is made up, but some of the genetic capabilities are actually new and exciting techniques used today! "
" A little gruesome for my tastes. "
" This was pretty much your basic epidemic threat novel, but with some fun parts. Glowing fungus? I say yes. And that's about all there is to say about it. "
" Exciting debut by this author! Reminded me of Philip K Dick--amazing, almost implausible science, wrapped in a really cool espionage story. There were some weak points, but I'd recommend this book. Along with a caveat of start it on a weekend because you won't put it down and you won't sleep! "
" Not very good even though I've a penchant for plague, disease and dystopia. Also, it's marred a strong racist streak. "
" 3.5 stars...Debut thriller by leader in nanoscience; bioweapon discovered at end of WWII + nanorobots + Japanese war criminal + assassin = end of the world? "
" This novel is quite the page-turner in my opinion. I am not an expert in suspense and thriller novels but I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's written well and quite believable in the historical fiction parts, which makes it better in my opinion. This is one very cool book. "
" Excellent first novel and thriller -- sort of sci fi. "
" An excellent thriller, armed with technical details that add to the suspense rather than slow down the action. A fantastic debut. "
Paul McEuen is the Goldwin Smith Professor of physics at Cornell University. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Agilent Technologies Europhysics Prize, a Packard Fellowship, and a Presidential Young Investigator Award. He lives with his wife in Ithaca, New York.
Rob Shapiro is a musician, writer, voice actor, and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He performed several seasons of radio comedy on Minneapolis Public Radio and voiced the titular lion in Leo the Lion. He is a musician and composer with his critically acclaimed band Populuxe. He is also a business consultant and software system designer.
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