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Dec 09, 2008

Iorick rated it:

Another truly great book by one of my favorite authors. An invincible virus is stolen from a high security medical research facility in Scotland, and the motive runs deeper than anyone could expect. It's Christmas eve, and Stanly Oxenford is dangerously close to losing his facility thanks to a heartfelt technician bringing home one of the test animals, and trying to cure it. and thanks to his debt, if he loses the Kremlin, he loses everything he owns. i recommend this book to those who enjoy mys More...

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Oct 02, 2011

Eva rated it:

All the action in Whiteout takes place within 24 hours on a snowy Christmas Eve in Scotland and Follett emphasizes the urgency of the situation by titling the chapters with the time of day. As the hours and half hours tick by, built in deadlines add to the tension of the story.

Follett’s characters are richly drawn and well-varied. Teenagers, senior citizens, women, men—Follett avoids the homogeneity that plagues lesser books. He creates a heroine, Toni Gallo, who is fallible yet tri More...

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Jun 19, 2011

Katy rated it:

Ken Follett writes a fast-paced thriller based in Scotland.

Stephen Oxenford is developing an anti-viral vaccine and to study its effects, he is working with the deadly Mabola-2 virus - an Ebola-type disease with a deadly difference: Mabola-2 kills 100% of its victims. When 4 thieves counter the top-notch security system (with a bit of insider assistance) put in by Toni Gallo, a former police detective, she must discover where they have gone and get it back before they hand it over to More...

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Feb 05, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Lots I really liked about this book. It is a thriller, and in some ways, it typifies the genre. (I.e., I feel like it doesn't matter who writes thrillers - the voice, tone, etc. always sounds the same. Dan Brown sounds like Ken Follett sounds like James Patterson. You get the idea.) However, the ending was fairly unpredictable, and that is what I liked about it. While the bad folks are not kept a secret, the way the storm and a family affect the outcome was a change of pace. Only real comp More...

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Jan 31, 2011

Kelanth, in tenebris lux tua rated it:

Questo libro mi ha convinto della mia teoria che a volte gli scrittori di bestsellers si prendono una vacanza e fanno scrivere i loro libri a qualcun altro, tanto per tenere in "auge" il nome e vendere il proprio cognome. Avevo questo libro nello scaffale da un po' e dopo aver letto "Mondo Senza Fine" mi era tornata la voglia di leggermi Follett. Avevo abbandonato perchè dopo aver letto tutti i suoi libri e averlo visto cadere in una spirale discendente mi ero fermato. " More...

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Apr 12, 2010

J rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jan 29, 2010

Jeff rated it:

I decided to sample another work from the author of one of my favorite books, The Pillars of the Earth. It was extremely disappointing. I made it through about a third of the book and it was a vanilla drama of killer viruses and apparently a big storm on the way and the scientists and security guards that attempt to fight outbreak and hardship. It's the sort of thing that might have been written by any of a sheaf of modern authors like Michael Crichton, Patricia Cornwell or James Patterson an More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2011

Scott rated it:

It's funny. I tried this book years ago and I quit on it, it just didn't grab me quick enough. I'd say it does take a while to get into this one, but once it's going, it's a good read! This book includes what I think of as a "summary" ending - where at the end of the climax, we forward one year and we find out what happened to everyone as a result of the action. I often don't like this type of thing, but the characters are strong enough that I wanted to hear more from them, and I d More...

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Apr 05, 2011

Patricia rated it:

Comprei este livro na passada 6ªfeira, pois estava na Fnac com 40% de desconto e tinha ficado curiosa em relação ao autor, pois apesar de ter comprado Os Pilares da Terra, na feira do livro de Lisboa no ano passado.
E depois de ler o livro, a pergunta que se impõe “como é que eu ainda não tinha lido nada de Ken Follett?”
O livro é um thriller alucinante que nos deixa literalmente agarrados ao livro e que se torna muito complicado largar o livro.
A história começa com o desapareci More...

5 comments like

Feb 28, 2010

Leah rated it:

Meh.
My sometimes-sarcastic commentary

1. Oh no! A book about the potential for a deadly virus that causes the sufferer to bleed from basically everywhere. Oh how new and and exciting. Especially in 2003.

2. The completely believable heroine of the day, Toni, trained in engineering, decides to be a police officer, shamed off the job, now a security director for a lab that holds aforementioned bloody virus (and a cure. Ok, a cure that actually doesnt' work --poor ra More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Stacey rated it:

Oh for heaven's sake, Follett. Just because as a sixty-ish man you wish that a hot 38-year-old redhead would find you irresistible does not mean you have to bake this into a novel in such a thinly veiled fashion. And P.S., the book was actually going pretty well until said 38-year-old hugged the handsome sixty-ish man and felt——AHEM——wetness in her underthings. I beg your pardon? Way to ruin an otherwise almost-convincing romantic moment. Also Mr. Follett, you don't actually have to wrap up EVER More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2011

Thom rated it:

Time (and the filling of it) can be a trademark of an author. Some writers can’t do justice to their story unless it is spread over decennia’s or longer. A majority of the works of James Michener fall under this category. Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth and World Without End also weaves a tale over generations. Whiteout is on the opposite end of this spectrum. The story is played out in a three-day period. The Christmas holidays and a freak Scottish snowstorm add to the mix. Follett proves hi More...

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Nov 27, 2011

Susan rated it:

This book was an easy read, it catches you right from the beginning. There are few inconsistencies that bothered me. The son is fired from the company yet the security system he set in place is never changed??? The passwords to important security areas are never changed. Seems a little off but all in all it was a good book.

"A missing canister of a deadly virus. Toni Gallo, the security director of a Scottish medical research firm, knows she has problems, but she has no idea More...

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Jan 07, 2012

Nicole rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jun 18, 2008

JANET rated it:

A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SIDE OF KEN FOLLETT'S WRITING OF "PILLARS OF THE EARTH" AND "WORLD WITHOUT END".
IT WAS A GOOD ACTION STORY WITH A LOT OF RESEARCH AND DETAILS THAT MADE YOU PICTURE EVERYTHING VERY WELL. I ENJOYED IT AND COMPLETED IT IN TWO DAYS.

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Jul 18, 2011

K.D. rated it:

There are just many jaw-dropping scenes in this novel that I was able to read this in very few days! One of the thriller-novels of Ken Follett that I enjoyed. There are impossible scenarios but that sometimes makes adventure novels exciting.

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Mar 13, 2010

Jmassa rated it:

A deadly virus is stolen from the vaults of a drug company in Scotland. Can the Facility Director (a gorgeous 36-year-old former policewoman who is secretly in love with her boss (the shy but brilliant professor who founded the company)) catch the thieves and avert a terrorist plot to spread worldwide plague? On Christmas Eve? In a blizzard? With her mother in the car?

Follett is a magician, skillfully mixing thriller and soap opera with dashes of sex and violence. I can't quite figur More...

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Apr 09, 2010

Jen rated it:

I picked this up for a quarter at the thrift store. The mention of a biological threat got my attention.

But although the descriptions of the lab were interesting, this wasn't the medical thriller I expected. I don't usually read in this genre, but I kept looking at the cover where a "pageturner" was promised and thinking, "did they mean the way I keep turning the pages hoping a plot will come along?" I think 350 or 400 pages of setup is a bit much.

No More...

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Mar 29, 2009

Becky rated it:

I liked this better than the last Follet novel I read (not counting Pillars of the Earth), I'm not really sure why the "critics" rave about his amazing story telling skills. The books I have read are only average. However, I do seem to read them until the end, so I'm not really sure what that says about me.

I don't really like conclusions where the "blame" is placed on characters the reader hasn't met or has any involvement in the storyline. Seems like a reall More...

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Dec 15, 2009

Laurie (Kwiltreader) rated it:

I enjoyed reading this snuggled under warm quilts as the cold front and snow came blowing across Texas sending temperatures to freezing and below. The title accurately defines what happens in a blizzard and how that affects the plans of all. A lethal virus is stolen by the man who set up the facility’s alarm system. While his family is planning a cozy Christmas get together, he and 4 other thieves plan to get away to sell the virus to the highest bidder. Then the blizzard comes which shuts d More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 18, 2010

Tim rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Apr 13, 2010

Amanda rated it:

This was an interesting book with a lot of action. The characters are believable, and the premise is possible, but maybe not all that plausible. It's well written and well thought out. There's also a few little romances in the book, which is a nice break from the more technical descriptions needed to explain the science and the security aspects of the book.
This is the second book I've read by Ken Follett and I liked this one more than The Hammer of Eden. I would recommend this book t More...

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Jan 24, 2012

Kate rated it:

A fast passed story with some interesting and some very unpleasant characters. I don't approve of animal testing, but the scientist and his staff are described in a sympathetic way. A scary scenarios which is quite worrying. The most interesting aspect is how broken relationships can adversely affect how people react to each other, and cause some silly reactions even in very dangerous situations.
An injured lab technician, a missing canister. Toni Gallo, the attractive new head of the secur More...

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Apr 01, 2010

Kenneth rated it:

To start with, this book was off my normal genre of reading, but that isn't something odd with me. I typically pick up random books all the time and this such one was certainly entertaining to me. The story progress through hours of the day, which gives a sense of countdown and an very obvious time-line. Events that take place have a familiarity with how our world operates and the level of danger we can be put in by our own technology and science. The book is down to earth in regards to the More...

2 comments like

Mar 04, 2010

Linda rated it:

"As a Christmas Eve blizzard descends upon Scotland, several people converge on a remote family house. Stanley Oxenford, the research company's director, has everything riding on the drug he's developing to fight the virus; his grown children have their eyes on the money it will bring; a local television reporter, determined to move up, has sniffed the story; and a violent trio of thugs is on its way to steal it. As the storm worsens, hidden traitors and unexpected heroes emerge."
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May 13, 2011

Maria rated it:

Na véspera de Natal Toni Gallo, a responsável pela segurança das instalações da Oxenford Medical, uma empresa farmacêutica que está a desenvolver um antivírus para umas das variantes do Ébola, descobre que um dos cientistas da empresa está desaparecido. E, juntamente com ele, um fármaco altamente perigoso. Quando o descobrem, em sua casa, este encontra-se em estado crítico, e suspeitam que está contaminado um vírus perigosíssimo. Ao mesmo tempo, um grupo terrorista tem andado planear assaltar as More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Autumn rated it:

Ken Follett is one of my favorite authors and this book didn't disappoint. It starts right off with action and it doesn't stop. I gave it 3 stars because I felt the characters could have been just a little more developed. For most of his other books I become attached to the characters very quickly but this time I didn't. I still enjoyed it and finished it quickly.

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Jan 29, 2012

Nicole rated it:

Ken Follett ist weltbekannt für seine spannenden und sehr erfolgreichen Bücher und ich lese seine Werke immer wieder gerne. Dennoch überzeugt mich die Handlung zu "Eisfieber" nicht ganz... Dabei sah es anfänglich ganz vielversprechend aus: Toni Galo ist eine Ex-Polizistin, welche jetzt für die Sicherheit eines privaten Forschungslabors sorgt. Sie ist ehrgeizig und gewissenhaft und sie findet ihren Boss Staneley Oxenford mehr als nur sympatisch. Um die Weihnachtzeit passieren im Labor m More...

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Jun 04, 2011

Julee3702004 rated it:

I really like the Ken Follett. This book is about a break-in at a biochemical lab that creates viruses and antidotes for assisting humanity as well as profit. The story begins with a small break-in at the lab and then a larger break-in by the desperate son of the owner. It all comes to a head when the thieves are caught up in a huge snow storm and are forced to check shelter at the family home of the son. As you can imagine, it is a big mess. I found the premise interesting and the book suspe More...

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Jul 26, 2011

Jerry rated it:

We’re slowly knocking off Ken Follett’s booklist, having been wowed by the “Pillars” series. Finding the last few we’ve read, including this one, “Whiteout”, to be a little ho-hum, we’re beginning to fear we started with the best, and that disappointment may be the more likely future outcome. It’s not that the story was just plain bad or lacking of suspense – but the whole tale seemed unoriginal; with villains little better than the three stooges; and the machinations of the heroine quite unli More...

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