Terminal
Robin Cook
1993
Pan Macmillan
pp. 445
A medical thriller by Robin Cook, Terminal traces the journey of a medical researcher/ doctor and a nurse. As they try to arrive at the status of their personal relationship, they also traverse the adventurous path of unravelling the mysterious illnesses and cure at a cancer centre. The story is gripping and unlike some of his other books, the mystery continues to hold till the end. It is only in the last two chapters that all the pieces tend to come together.
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Besides the medical explanation for the unethical practice involved at the cancer centre, Cook also touches upon issues of espionage and the world of high society crime. None of Cook’s novels that I have read so far has ever remained untouched by social issues and ethics in medical practice. In this book as well, he talks about the impact of cutting research funding, as also about the ways in which private medical facilities will find ingenious ways of making money. The path the protagonists take in uncovering these practices is less than ethical in itself. The somewhat larger than life hero’s brash ways are given justification in his less than optimum social and familial circumstances. Cook thus also presents a possibility for people to overcome their odds and make a life for themselves. Inspiring, indeed!
After a long time, I have read a gripping read by Cook. This may be because I took a sabbatical from reading his books having reached saturation with his writing. I feel refreshed and I am quite tempted to watch the movie based on this book.
I have come to realise that having dwelt on identity much of my life, I continue to find that as the central theme in most of my reading. In Cook’s work, it is commendable, how he gives a very distinct identity to each of his characters. You can visualise them with their characteristics and histories. The complexity, of human behaviour, thoughts and emotions, comes out really clearly which is often missing in many popular fiction books.