I did not know that Richard Preston was related to Douglas Preston (The Reliquary, The Relic, Codex) but I guess that their passion for thrillers is a family trait. It didn't dawn on me until I read the acknowledgement page and saw Richard thanking his brother on it.
Ok, so The Hot Zone... while it was terrifying, it was not nearly as frightening as its "The Cobra Effect." The first fifty pages are a heavy, ominous decesent into not only the fear inspired by the Ebola virus, but the mystery of its origins on the African continent. As it is a true story, don't expect the pace to speed up, or for there to be any death-defying car chases. Expect a lot of information on biohazard suits, procedures, virus identification and case studies.
I enjoyed this book like I would have enjoyed a Discovery Channel special. It's depiction of an Ebola outbreak in Virginia...Yes, in the United States was intriguing, but no there are no machine guns involved and I don't believe that Preston does more than talk about people being in quarantine. Still, this is definitely in the top 10 of my Biological Thrillers List.
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