Spiral

A Novel

By: Paul McEuen

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this riveting debut thriller - a finalist for Best First Novel at the 2012 Thriller Awards and a nominee for a Nero Award - the race is on to stop the devastating proliferation of the ultimate bioweapon. Spiral is perfect for fans of Michael Crichton, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, and Richard Preston.

When Nobel laureate Liam Connor is found dead at the bottom of one of Ithaca, New York’s famous gorges, his research collaborator, Cornell professor of nanoscience Jake Sterling, refuses to believe it was suicide. 

Why would one of the world’s most eminent biologists, an 86-year-old man in good health who survived some of the darkest days of the Second World War, have chosen to throw himself off a bridge? And who was the mysterious woman caught on camera at the scene? Soon it becomes clear that a cache of supersophisticated nanorobots - each the size of a spider - has disappeared from the dead man’s laboratory.

Stunned by grief, Jake, Liam’s granddaughter, Maggie, and Maggie’s nine-year-old son, Dylan, try to put the pieces together. They uncover ingeniously coded messages Liam left behind pointing toward a devastating secret he gleaned off the shores of war-ravaged Japan and carried for more than 60 years. What begins as a quest for answers soon leads to a horrifying series of revelations at the crossroads of biological warfare and nanoscience. At this dangerous intersection, a skilled and sadistic assassin, an infamous Japanese war criminal, and a ruthless US government official are all players in a harrowing game of power, treachery, and intrigue - a game whose winner will hold the world’s fate literally in the palm of his hand.

©2011 Paul McEuen (P)2011 Random House

Fast paced thriller

This is a great beach (or gym) book. I was hooked from the first 10 minutes and the pace did not let up. I agree with the NY Times review that compared McEuen to Crichton in his prime (e.g., Andromeda Strain).

Top notch science thriller

I liked the characters in this story, I liked the narration, the action is fast and the story is well written. The science is fun and the author brings it to the reader in an enjoyable and accurate fashion. The story does remind one of crichtons but the author has his own style and the reviews that pan this book as not standing up to Michael C's almost had me passing on this book, that would have been a mistake as this is a good book it is well written and fun and worth your time, this author has his own style and deserves to be read.

Exciting and Educational

Great book. Makes you think, teaches you things you never knew about history, teaches you about aspects of science you probably never thought about, all this without boring you and keeping you excited by a great story, fun action, interesting characters, and many twists.

Great Reader.

Bio-terror Thriller that Breaks the Mold

I'll admit up front that there were a few times I thought the pace lagged a bit. McEuen spent a lot of time developing interesting and intriguing characters, and in the process the plot slowed.

On the other hand though, I became attached to the characters. Well developed and interesting, the list of characters was kept short leaving plenty of time to get to know each character well. The killer mold threat (a character in it's own right) and the way it was presented was a unique take on bio-terrorism that is hard to find in today's thrillers.

Fans of science based thrillers should give this one a listen. You won't find quite as many explosions and violence as you might see in a Tom Clancy novel, but there is enough intrigue to make it thrilling.

Makes you think you should be taking notes.

Too much science and too little character and plot development made this more work than pleasure. The narrator tried to make up for it with melodrama but overdid it.

Can't wait for his next!

Just finished Spiral, Paul McEuens first novel, and can't wait until his next one!! Excellent techno-thriller with something for everyone.... Political intrigue; Explosions; History; Murders; Sword play; Love; Romance; Evil vixen; Revenge; Mutant fungus; A Boy and his dog....
Light and easy read, however full character development and action packed.
Worth a credit and you won't be disappointed.

Unbelievable, implausible plot

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The plot is contrived and completely implausible. I could not suspend my disbelief at all. The characters have no personality - the character of the scientist is that he's Irish. That's it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Paul McEuen again?

Probably not.

What about Rob Shapiro’s performance did you like?

He did an excellent job of narrating. I just wish he had something better to work with.

Any additional comments?

The book seems very amateurish. More like a self-published novel than a novel that has been selected by actual editors.

Pass if you like Chrichton & Clancy

I've read Michael Chricton's Andromeda Strain, Rising Son, and Swarm. So I check the science thriller box. I've read almost everything of Clancy's so I check the techno thriller box. Unfortunately I've also read Ludlum... Apparently Paul McEuen's read all of them too. And tediously distilled out their formulaic items and plot lines. So carefully that there are just no surprises here in spite of a ton of research he's anxious to show off.

The name makes sense... Spirals are repetitive, and so's this story line.

BUT... I'd forgive McEuen all of that if he didn't insist upon branding his oft-told story with Ludlum's "I-Hate-America's-big-fat-red-neck-conservative-leaders-who-are-dangerously-stupid" sub-plots. In this case it wasn't even part of the story arc, just a box McEuen seemed compelled to check. Must be some primal need of his to prove that he's not reeeeely Clancy or Chriction. He's got nothing to prove... he's not either of those talents. I'll not read another of his books.

Great science fiction (not fantasy)

Good science fiction is hard to find. Too much of the genre has been contaminated by fantasy. I like to read a book where I understand the laws of physics (or at least most of them). This book proposes some plausible scientific developments and weaves a skillful thriller story around them. The setting for the book comes from McEuen's home town of Ithaca, NY and the surrounding area. This area has enough interesting features that the author did not have to invent any.

I'm waiting for McEuen's next book.

Implausible

The initial premise of this book was intriguing and then the author ran out of ideas...and we moved into absurdity. At a certain point, I was just plodding along disappointed that the early ideas did not pan out. The weak plot and weak characterisations were tedious and the constant references to Cornell were yawn worthy- after thisI have no desire to visit Ithaca (although I have to admit it was not on my bucket list).

It seems odd that so many people enthusiastically embraced this book.It appears to have been written by an academic author convinced he could write good fiction, and he can't-he should stick with academic articles; he has important contributions to make to his area of expertise, but not to fiction.