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Robin Cook: Coma

Darren

Active Member
Thread title updated to link to our new reviews library.

The synopsis.
In Boston's largest hospital, two patients undergoing routine surgery fall victim to a baffling mishap. They never regain consciousness.

Fighting against the scorn of her colleagues and the medical establishment, one brave woman starts to investigate the coma cases: steadily uncovering something unbelievably hideous... COMA. The fear will never leave you.
 
I won't read this one since I've seen the movie. Not much fun when you already know the ending...
It was a good one though!
A 1978 movie starring Michael Douglas and Geneviève Bujold, produced by Cook and Crichton.

Marie
 
I think I've read the book a couple of years ago, but I can't remember either, only vaguely. I guess it didn't make much of an impression...
 
Okay, I've finished. Anyone else ready to start discussion?

Any impressions about Susan Wheeler?
 
Am I the only one who finished this book? :(

Oh well, my thoughts:

Spoiler Alert
I originally read Coma back in the late '70s, shortly after it came out. At the time, I thought it was a gripping and plausible, medical thriller. On the whole, I think it's stood the test of time rather well (other than a few technical things like IV bottles vs. IV bags, etc.). The story is almost scarier now since organ transplants have become more common and the black market for organs is very real.

What really bothered me was the main character of Susan Wheeler. I ddn't like her. Yes, she was attractive, smart, and determined, but she had NO common sense. And how on earth did she think she could just ignore her pages? Because she thought she had better things to do than start an IV cut-down? In reality, she could have been bounced out of her medical clerkship for that alone! AND, she sure wasn't very smart about handling her superiors. She almost went out of her way to piss them off. Rant, rant, ..... The only positive thing I can say about Susan Wheeler is that as a doctor, she makes a good private investigator.

Apart from the Wheeler character, I think Coma is still a good whodunit thriller.
 
Finished too :)

Overall, a gripping thriller. As Ell says, it was written in the late 1970s so some of the medical aspects are dated, but the overall plot is still very real.
An organ transplant black market could easily exist today
.

I agree that the Susan Wheeler character is very annoying. Totally self-obsessed, I found her a little dangerous!
Althought only a student, she still neglects her duty to her patients to pursue her own personal interest. I also can't imagine many students having the "bottle" to start a shouting match with their professors!
.

Well worth reading. The pace is fast and never loses its ability to keep you interested. Although their are some technical medical details, these are minimal and are akin to some of the jargon which authors such as Tom Clancy use. Keeps you guessing until the very last few pages!
 
Darren,

Glad I'm not the only one who found Susan Wheeler annoying - though I don't remember thinking she was so obnoxious the first time I read the book. Maybe I just forgot.

Having been in healthcare, I liked all the medical jargon - but then again, I like the science jargon in sci-fi stories, too :D
 
The only book I've read by Robin Cook is Contagion and I really enjoyed it. I'll have to catch up on some of his stuff.
 
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