Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
The First Horseman
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon US Audio Book Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC Amazon Canada Audio Book
John Case
Class/Genre: Mystery Medical Thriller
Fawcett, Aug 1998, $25.00, 325 pp.
Tasi-ko, a small North Korean town, is under siege by what the visiting doctor called the "Spanish Lady". Soon afterward, a plane destroys everyone in the town except Kang, who happened to be outside the area seeking help. Kang escapes to South Korea and explains to the authorities what happened to his town. Eighty years ago, the "Spanish Lady" killed thirty million people and now it is back.
Washington Post reporter Frank Daley is looking forward to joining the scientific expedition heading to the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen for what could be a major part of the story of the year. The team will try to recover strains of the "Spanish Lady" from some deceased minors, allegedly preserved by the frozen tundra. Frank misses the trip north due to a storm, but catches up with the ship and crew on their return. However, everyone seems frightened and no one will talk about what they found on the island. The obstinate Frank keeps digging in hope of finding a deep throat, but instead he learns that Armageddon may be just around the corner.
THE FIRST HORSEMAN is a first rate biomedical thriller that will become one of the top novels of the year. With our shrinking world, the story line could have come off of yesterday's headlines. The novel highlights the return of a pandemic outbreak that shook the planet eight decades ago and could come back even deadlier than before. With this book and THE GENESIS CODE, John Case makes a case that he might just be the leader of modern day biomedical thrillers.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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