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Life Blood
In "Life Blood", Thomas Hoover brings together impressive storytelling skills with fascinating, authentic medical detail and more than enough suspense to keep readers poised on the edge of their seats. Like Tess Gerritsen's In Their Footsteps, Michael Palmer's The Patient, and Nelson DeMille's Plum Island, this thriller from an exciting new voice promises to shoot straight...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
December 1st 2000
by Pinnacle
(first published 2000)
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Morgan Smyth James is a 38 year-old movie-maker who wants one thing: a baby. The problem is, she's invested years, time and money into the baby-making process, yet the cries she hears in the nursery are only in her dreams. So she sets off to make a movie about adoption, whereby she falls into a spiraling whirlpool of deceipt, betrayal, and conspiracy involving smarmy doctors and foreign military thugs.
I liked the charachter, Morgan, and though he doesn't play a largely active role in the book, I...more
I liked the charachter, Morgan, and though he doesn't play a largely active role in the book, I...more
In a word awful. I only managed to get around 20% through this book which is pretty poor. It was incredibly annoying to read. Thomas Hoover I can only assume is a man yet he has chosen to write a female character for his lead and do it in the first person. excellent if you can get into the psyche of the character and make the reader believe she is a real person. Unfortunately 'she' just comes across as a man writing a female character by the numbers, not only that but the way she speaks and thin...more
I rather enjoyed this novel. The central character was believable and the references to documentary filmaking accurate (I was a doc maker). Secondary characters were less well dealt with, but the mad doctor antagonist was sufficiently greedy and insane, without being a stereotype, to maintain interest in the conflict. Dialogue was good. The premise - without spoiling the plot - was topical, interesting and well defined: I was left in no doubt what was happening although the twists were fairly ea...more
A great freebie for my Nook!
Thomas Hoover's novel about the difficulties of pregnancy leading to desperate procedures. Enter the alternative medicine pregnancy guru who claims he can perform a miracle if you will only participate in his "program" located in the jungles of Guatamala. Otherwise he will provide you with a beautiful baby to adopt (nevermind they all look alike) for a mere 60K.
Something about this sounds fishy to a film maker desperate to be a mother and dealing with her own person...more
Thomas Hoover's novel about the difficulties of pregnancy leading to desperate procedures. Enter the alternative medicine pregnancy guru who claims he can perform a miracle if you will only participate in his "program" located in the jungles of Guatamala. Otherwise he will provide you with a beautiful baby to adopt (nevermind they all look alike) for a mere 60K.
Something about this sounds fishy to a film maker desperate to be a mother and dealing with her own person...more
Summary: Pinnacle 2000 New York filmmaker Morgan James is about to journey straight into the heart of a dark conspiracy, hidden deep in the mist-shrouded Maya rain forest of Central America, where a bizarre human experiment (including a baby factory) comes at a terrible price. In Vitro, Independent Film, Adoption, Fertility, Human Eggs, Guatemala, Peten, Maya, Mayan Pyramid, Vision Serp
Review: I found this book outstanding. It's very long but so good. Morgan, I adored her, and she went through h...more
Review: I found this book outstanding. It's very long but so good. Morgan, I adored her, and she went through h...more
This started out extremely slow for me because I found the author was trying to provide you with too much plot background. And at the sametime introduce you to too many characters; many of whom really didn't have a main purpose to the storyline. Once you get through the first third of the book the story picks up very quickly. And I could see why this was toted as a "terrifying medical thriller in the bestselling tradition of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook".
I almost gave up on this book and it did take quite a few pages before it got into the good stuff. Once it got going, I had to keep reading and would even think about the plot when I wasn't reading the book. I would read more by this author. What an imagination. I kept thinking that a woman wrote this book and I found it intriguing how a man could think like a woman. This author must be a very sensitive man to be able to do that.
For me, the ending of this book was the best part. At several places in the book I found myself sitting back and saying "what is wrong with her?" because of actions taken by the main character that just didn't make sense. Overall, the book held my attention but not enough that I would go off looking for more books by the same author.
Well, you'd think I'd learn from reading the first one but both were free. Another medical type thriller about fertility and adoption. Again, heroine who isn't exactly brilliant and continues to place herself in a position where she gets in bad situations. Silly heroine. I don't believe I'll read another one of these even if it's free.
Had potential. The premise of the story was good, catchy, but there's something about a main character perpetually acting stupidly and making bad decisions that puts me off. Also some parts had entirely too much detail while others left you grasping for more which made for a frustrating read.
Above all else, this book was entirely too long, and it took a lot of effort for me to really get into it. But the trade off was an intriguing story, though I don't know if the reveal was all it hoped to be. I also found it interesting that the author, Thomas Hoover, wrote from a female first person perspective.
Got this free for my amazon kindle. It started well and drew my in with the storyline and mix of characters. It seemed to fall away for me around three quarters of the way through. Whilst I appreciate it's fiction it just started to get silly in terms of our heroine seemingly being able to do anything despite what odds were against her. I found myself reading the last few chapters quick to try and finish the book and move on. Shame. Cant complain for free though.
very slow read. it never really grabbed my attention, wanting me to keep reading. I think this book has taken me the longest to read because I could never really get into the character or stay focused. it seemed like it took forever to get to the real story in the book
Good book, great premiss but something felt off in the writing. The main character was too nonchalant in times of crisis. She was able to carry on everyday conversations and even be witty at times when her life was in danger. It kind of took some of the suspense away for me.
Kinda disapointed in the ending of this book.... The whole book gives vage details... Then the end just leaves off "okay", but there are things that aren't cleared up... Going to try another book (Syndrome) by Thomas Hoover and see if it's any better...
Not one of the best books I've read. The cover made the book seem more interesting than it really was. Far too long and quite a struggle to just finish it. Good thing it was free or I would have been really disappointed.
2 stars only because I was able to finish it. The main character acts like an IDIOT throughout the whole book and it gets very annoying. Also, the writing is overly detailed at times and rushed at other times. At least it was free on my Nook!
I was hoping to get into the book as it progressed, but not so. I finished the book so it got more than 1 star. Needless to say I never got into the book and wouldn't recommend it unless you have nothing else to do.
There's an adoption center in South America which seems to have amazing results. The waiting list is filled quickly, and the children seem to resemble each other physicially.. Lots of secrets, and rightly so.
This seemed a bit too long drawn out, was dull in places. The ending wasn't particularly interesting or unpredictable. Uninspiring plot and unengaging characters. All in all a disappointing read.
Had this ended better, I would've given it a better rating. How do you end a book like that? Overall good story, although somewhat predictable. But hey, for a free download, pretty good
Another treasure from the free list! I thought the story was interesting and it kept me entertained. Some of it was a bit far fetched but I enjoyed it.
Hoover's Life Blood is like opening your refrigerator will your most exquisite delights inside. With every chapter satisfying all the senses leaving you wanting more, with a shock twist to leave you to re-think your morale's and beliefs. I particularly enjoyed the writing style as it was easy to pick up and hard to put down,
The only criticism I found was over hyphenating words to create new words out of them, but on the hold brilliant
The only criticism I found was over hyphenating words to create new words out of them, but on the hold brilliant
This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and I think he is quite good. It really makes you wonder about this whole conventional medicine and what really goes on in this world. Very catchign book!
Very well written,but something is just not right about it.....mixed reviews right now just finished it
I downloaded it as a free eBook for my Nook. It was perfect for what I wanted, a light summer read. I might have been more disappointed if I had purchased the book as opposed to a freebie. It does take a little while to get to the thrilling moments, but if you like medical type thrillers and just want something light to read this is your book.
intriquing story but unbelievable in parts and think the ending could have been better written
An easy read with an engaging plot. Definitely worth the free price from B&N. :)
Not as good as others by this author, but fast paced reading.
Lots of very unlikely scenarios, but it did keep me interested.
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Thomas Hoover has a doctorate in oceanography and served as senior vice president of an architect-engineering firm in New York, where he has lived for several decades. His vices include being an avid sailor and a recognized collector of the classical music of India. He began his writing career with two classic non-fiction books on Far Eastern art and religion and then moved into fiction writing wi...more
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