Book Review: "Germ" by Robert Liparulo

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducting GERM (WestBow Nov 1, 2006) by Robert Liparulo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert's novel paints a scenario so frighteningly real that six Hollywood producers were bidding on movie rights before the novel was completed. His acclaimed debut novel, Comes A Horseman, is being made into a major motion picture by producer Mace Neufeld and his short story "Kill Zone" was featured in the anthology Thriller, edited by James Patterson.

Robert is an award-winning author of over a thousand published articles and short stories. He is currently a contributing editor for New Man magazine. His work has appeared in Reader's Digest, Travel & Leisure, Modern Bride, Consumers Digest, Chief Executive, and The Arizona Daily Star, among other publications. In addition, he previously worked as a celebrity journalist, interviewing Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Charlton Heston, and others for magazines such as Rocky Road, Preview, and L.A. Weekly. He has sold or optioned three screenplays.

Robert is an avid scuba diver, swimmer, reader, traveler, and a law enforcement and military enthusiast. He lives in Colorado with his wife and four children.

He is currently working on his third novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

If you breathe, it will find you...

The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. On it are business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None know what is about to happen...but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known.

The GERM...a more advanced form of the Ebola virus...has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. If your DNA is not a match, you simply catch a cold. But if your DNA is a match, within days your internal organs liquefy and you die a most painful death. There is no cure.

The release of the virus would usher in a new era of power...one in which countries are left without any form of defense, where one person or millions could be killed with 100% accuracy yet result in no collateral damage to property or those not targeted.

That time isn't coming...It is now!

GERM is coming. Pray the assassins get you first.

Yes, Christian fiction can be gory

When I received this book in the mail, the first thing everyone said when they saw it was "Oh your book is wet." Actually I'm not sure why there are spotted raised dots on the cover, but it sure was a way to get people to notice the book! To be honest this isn't the type of book I would normally pick up. I'm glad though that I did, I would have missed out on a really intense, suspenseful read. While reading it, I kept thinking I was in 24 with a touch of the Constant Gardener. The story moves at a extremely fast pace and you never get bored. I really liked all the characters, Julia is a very good female lead. ("Jack"ie Bauer!) And my goodness, those Atropas guys were creepy. The description of the weapon they used and how it tore the body up after you've been shot made me squirm. Same with the first chapter of the story, extremely gross out situation. But I liked it because it's definitely not something one would expect in a Christian fiction book. (blood and guts?? isn't that sinful?) Great way to hook you into the story (if you haven't thrown up on the pages already). Really scary when you think about how those guys seem to share the same identity and only think as one. What's even more scary is how realistic the storyline is and how there's a possibility it could happen in this day and age. If they make this novel into a movie, I'll definitely be in line for it. This is the type of book that would appeal to both the secular and Christian crowd.

Germ by Robert Liparulo is published by Thomas Nelson (2006)