Book Review: The Hades Factor

Reviewed By: Luke Croll - RAM

The Hades Factor     Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada TPB
Robert Ludlum , Gayle Lynds
Class/Genre:   Fiction   Mystery   Thriller   Espionage
Series: Covert-One # 1
HarperCollins; 2000; £16.99; 432pp
Classification: Adult fiction (Thriller)

A terrible virus suddenly strikes down some people, totally unconnected. Lt. Col Jonathan Smith is investigating and barely survives numerous attempts on his life. His fiancée is not so lucky - the virus kills her.

Smith soon discovers that this is no accidental virus - someone is controlling it and they are using it to wipe out as many people as possible. Can they be stopped or is the world's population going to take a dramatic nosedive?

This was a fast-paced novel and very reminiscent of some other Robert Ludlum novels that I have read. I do not know how well the work was shared out or who did what in the novel, but it certainly had the flair of a Ludlum novel, as well as the technical research that was evident here. Ludlum and Lynds have clearly investigated in detail the effects of viruses, etc.

It seems that virus thrillers such as this are becoming much more commonplace in the literary world. Look at the books from Richard Preston and other such authors. This work lacks originality regarding its basic subject matter, but the quality of the rest of the novel and the sheer intricacy of the plot pull it into the region of the best sellers. If you like Ludlum or Lynds, you are going to have a hard time putting this novel down.

Richard Preston is going to need to look out - there are contenders to his crown.

Luke Croll - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Luke Croll - Conference interpreter and translator
http://lukecroll.translatorscafe.com