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Brain
Both of them suspected that something was wrong--terribly wrong--in the great medical research center where they worked. Both of them wondered why a beautiful young woman had died on the operating table and her brain secretly removed. Both of them found it impossible to explain the rash of female patients exhibiting bizarre mental breakdowns and shocking behavior. Both of them were placing their careers and very lives in deadly jeopardy as they penetrated the eerie inner sanctums of a medical world gone mad with technological power and the lust for more...
307 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
381 people are currently reading
3349 people want to read
About the author
Robin Cook
190 books5,057 followersLibrarian Note: Not to be confused with British novelist Robin Cook a pseudonym of Robert William Arthur Cook.
Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine, biotechnology, and topics affecting public health.
He is best known for being the author who created the medical-thriller genre by combining medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. His books have been bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List with several at #1. A number of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest. Many were also featured in the Literary Guild. Many have been made into motion pictures.
Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard that included general surgery and ophthalmology. He divides his time between homes in Florida, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Jean. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to make the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical conundrums.
Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France while he was in medical school. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in the 60's. During his navy career he served on a nuclear submarine for a seventy-five day stay underwater where he wrote his first book! [1]
Cook was a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees, appointed to a six-year term by the President George W. Bush.[2]
[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas and background for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, medical research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, drug research, drug pricing, specialty hospitals, stem cells, and organ transplantation.[3]
Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know much about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as that has enormous potential for treating disease and disability but touches up against the ethically problematic abortion issue."[4]
Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in being a doctor. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 35 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're n
Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine, biotechnology, and topics affecting public health.
He is best known for being the author who created the medical-thriller genre by combining medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. His books have been bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List with several at #1. A number of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest. Many were also featured in the Literary Guild. Many have been made into motion pictures.
Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard that included general surgery and ophthalmology. He divides his time between homes in Florida, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Jean. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to make the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical conundrums.
Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France while he was in medical school. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in the 60's. During his navy career he served on a nuclear submarine for a seventy-five day stay underwater where he wrote his first book! [1]
Cook was a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees, appointed to a six-year term by the President George W. Bush.[2]
[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas and background for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, medical research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, drug research, drug pricing, specialty hospitals, stem cells, and organ transplantation.[3]
Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know much about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as that has enormous potential for treating disease and disability but touches up against the ethically problematic abortion issue."[4]
Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in being a doctor. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 35 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're n
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 293 reviews
February 9, 2020
“Sure can. Just ask the computer. That thing will do just about everything but polish your shoes.”
― Robin Cook, Brain
I've read a few others by this writer and have decided medical thrillers are not my thing.
With "Brain", I did find myself involved in the story but the central premise was somewhat to creepy for me and the book in general was a downer. That is not to take anything away from the book because Brain is a book that likely anyone who is a fan of medical thrillers would enjoy.
I was testing genres at the time. This book did hook me in. I wanted to figure out what would happen and how it would all end.
SPOILERS:
Gotta give the author credit..I did not figure out the twist. But I did want to see justice done and although, at the end, it's implied, I wanted a bit more powerful of an ending.
I read it a second time, quite a bit later to se if I'd like it any better. I really did not. In some cases, when not liking a book, you can say it's the writing but not here as I did get pulled into the story. I just found it to gloomy and the whole genre is, for me, one I have decided to let go.
― Robin Cook, Brain
I've read a few others by this writer and have decided medical thrillers are not my thing.
With "Brain", I did find myself involved in the story but the central premise was somewhat to creepy for me and the book in general was a downer. That is not to take anything away from the book because Brain is a book that likely anyone who is a fan of medical thrillers would enjoy.
I was testing genres at the time. This book did hook me in. I wanted to figure out what would happen and how it would all end.
SPOILERS:
Gotta give the author credit..I did not figure out the twist. But I did want to see justice done and although, at the end, it's implied, I wanted a bit more powerful of an ending.
I read it a second time, quite a bit later to se if I'd like it any better. I really did not. In some cases, when not liking a book, you can say it's the writing but not here as I did get pulled into the story. I just found it to gloomy and the whole genre is, for me, one I have decided to let go.
January 4, 2018
Ridiculous and fun. I wish all of Cook's novels were this whacked out and macabre. It's no "Coma", but it has the same outlandish thrills as "Mindbend" and "Shock", which is fine by me. I don't expect great literature from Dr. Cook; hell, I don't even expect great storytelling. But "Brain" has just the right amount of B-movie silliness to keep the pages turning. And, since the book was released in the early 80s, a lot of it is hilariously outdated (which, obviously, adds to the fun).
August 25, 2018
Thriller médico, con algo de terror y algo de ciencia ficción. Situaciones no demasiado creíbles. Personajes normales. Trama bien desarrollada.
January 2, 2022
4.5/5 ... ("leído" en Audiolibro)
No se lleva las 5 porque, personalmente, no compro el final.
Me ha pasado un poco lo que con algunos libros de Stephen King, la trama es muy buena, me apasiona cómo escribe éste hombre, cómo te mete los personajes por los ojos, como hila las tramas y cómo te hace "experto" en temas médicos, pero en éste libro no le compro el final, bueno, no el final en sí, que es previsible, sino la explicación previa (no sé cómo expresarme mejor para no hacer spoiler), me parece que no supera un montón de preguntas simples que cualquiera puede hacerse. (en el caso de King es cuando de repente "se tira" a lo paranormal para explicar según qué cosas y, si le perdonas éso, los libros son espectaculares)
Por lo demás es impecable, tanto que, como siempre, me ha absorbido completamente desde que lo empecé.
No se lleva las 5 porque, personalmente, no compro el final.
Me ha pasado un poco lo que con algunos libros de Stephen King, la trama es muy buena, me apasiona cómo escribe éste hombre, cómo te mete los personajes por los ojos, como hila las tramas y cómo te hace "experto" en temas médicos, pero en éste libro no le compro el final, bueno, no el final en sí, que es previsible, sino la explicación previa (no sé cómo expresarme mejor para no hacer spoiler), me parece que no supera un montón de preguntas simples que cualquiera puede hacerse. (en el caso de King es cuando de repente "se tira" a lo paranormal para explicar según qué cosas y, si le perdonas éso, los libros son espectaculares)
Por lo demás es impecable, tanto que, como siempre, me ha absorbido completamente desde que lo empecé.
February 3, 2015
Let me begin by stating that I did enjoy this book significantly. I for some reason had a preconceived notion that the story would be much trashier than it turned out to be, which might have influenced my opinion in a positive way; I was pleasantly surprised, ergo inclined toward a kinder review. My grievances are, in the end, minor ones, even though they did affect my reading experiences negatively.
Brain takes place over three days in the life of Dr. Martin Philips, a radiologist who has fared well in his career and is now collaborating with a computer scientist in research that could revolutionise the field. When testing out a device he has been given, he starts finding peculiar anomalies in several patients' head X-rays. Something is not right, people are exhibiting unexplained symptoms and then disappearing, and soon Philips finds himself in danger as he tries to get to the bottom of these mysteries. I admit, for some bits I did feel like I was at the edge of my seat. The novel was gripping and easy to read, so I plowed through it in just a few days — which at the moment is a bit of an exception for me. When the final twists began to be revealed, I was delighted at the successful red herrings. Funnily enough, my intuition woke up at the last minute and when the true culprit's identity came to light, I already knew to expect it. Whether or not this was supposed to happen, I haven't the foggiest.
However, there are multiple issues which prevent me from giving the novel a higher rating. First, Cook falls victim to the sin familiar to many writers: suddenly pausing to describe his characters at length, instead of giving an image of their appearance at a gradual pace. There may be differing opinions about this, but to me it has long been a sign that the writer has not quite grasped the concept of "show, don't tell". Then again, I'm not sure when that particular piece of literary advice was coined.
Second, the narration switches point of view at whiplash speed. Most of the novel is experienced inside the skull of the main character, Dr. Martin Philips, but every now and then we are given a chapter or part of a chapter through someone else's eyes. That is not what I find problematic. What I find problematic is the way we are often taken to another person's headspace for a couple of sentences, maybe a paragraph, before jumping back to Philips or whoever else is the main focus right then. For some reason, omniscient narrators irritate me. Perhaps here it was a source of annoyance because the switch felt like an unnecessary blip in the flow.
Third, and this might really start to sound like nitpicking, Cook keeps going back and forth between what he calls his main character. In one sentence it's Philips, in the next it's Martin. I understand that this is the author's tactic to avoid using either one of the names until the point of aggravation, and to avoid using descriptors such as "the man" and "the doctor" but hells if it doesn't drive me bonkers. There is no internal logic to when either name is used! That is the issue.
Then there is the fact that the blurb on the back is misleading, although I suppose I should not dock any points for that—this is a common problem for books. I have never understood it and I never will.
It's probably a good thing I know next to nothing about medicine. Otherwise, the practices portrayed in the novel might have seemed rather archaic. Now, even though I know that they must be, it did not bother me.
In closing, I would recommend this to friends of medical thrillers who do not mind reading older material, but in all honesty, you can take it or leave it. I am certain there must be more modern versions of the same type of storyline. And yes, the subject matter did provoke a few thoughts.
Brain takes place over three days in the life of Dr. Martin Philips, a radiologist who has fared well in his career and is now collaborating with a computer scientist in research that could revolutionise the field. When testing out a device he has been given, he starts finding peculiar anomalies in several patients' head X-rays. Something is not right, people are exhibiting unexplained symptoms and then disappearing, and soon Philips finds himself in danger as he tries to get to the bottom of these mysteries. I admit, for some bits I did feel like I was at the edge of my seat. The novel was gripping and easy to read, so I plowed through it in just a few days — which at the moment is a bit of an exception for me. When the final twists began to be revealed, I was delighted at the successful red herrings. Funnily enough, my intuition woke up at the last minute and when the true culprit's identity came to light, I already knew to expect it. Whether or not this was supposed to happen, I haven't the foggiest.
However, there are multiple issues which prevent me from giving the novel a higher rating. First, Cook falls victim to the sin familiar to many writers: suddenly pausing to describe his characters at length, instead of giving an image of their appearance at a gradual pace. There may be differing opinions about this, but to me it has long been a sign that the writer has not quite grasped the concept of "show, don't tell". Then again, I'm not sure when that particular piece of literary advice was coined.
Second, the narration switches point of view at whiplash speed. Most of the novel is experienced inside the skull of the main character, Dr. Martin Philips, but every now and then we are given a chapter or part of a chapter through someone else's eyes. That is not what I find problematic. What I find problematic is the way we are often taken to another person's headspace for a couple of sentences, maybe a paragraph, before jumping back to Philips or whoever else is the main focus right then. For some reason, omniscient narrators irritate me. Perhaps here it was a source of annoyance because the switch felt like an unnecessary blip in the flow.
Third, and this might really start to sound like nitpicking, Cook keeps going back and forth between what he calls his main character. In one sentence it's Philips, in the next it's Martin. I understand that this is the author's tactic to avoid using either one of the names until the point of aggravation, and to avoid using descriptors such as "the man" and "the doctor" but hells if it doesn't drive me bonkers. There is no internal logic to when either name is used! That is the issue.
Then there is the fact that the blurb on the back is misleading, although I suppose I should not dock any points for that—this is a common problem for books. I have never understood it and I never will.
It's probably a good thing I know next to nothing about medicine. Otherwise, the practices portrayed in the novel might have seemed rather archaic. Now, even though I know that they must be, it did not bother me.
In closing, I would recommend this to friends of medical thrillers who do not mind reading older material, but in all honesty, you can take it or leave it. I am certain there must be more modern versions of the same type of storyline. And yes, the subject matter did provoke a few thoughts.
July 13, 2022
Simply amazing. The twist towards the end is unbelievable and I did not see that coming. This is the prime Robin Cook of the late 70s and the early 80s. Without revealing too much, I would say that as early as the late 70s Cook had written very intelligently about AI, Cybernetics and Neurolinguistics. He seems to have been a visionary back then. The story is well written albeit the flow is typical Robin Cook. However, when you keep in perspective that it was written in 1976, the ideas and concepts of advancements in Physics ,that today, we take for granted, actually qualified as fiction, and that Robin Cook had the vision to harness the abstract idea and find an application, which today has transcended from being a fiction back then to a regular reality, speaks very high of Robin Cook. To me this book was even better than Coma.
Must read for all thriller buffs, especially the creepos like me who like medical thrillers and morbid at those...
Must read for all thriller buffs, especially the creepos like me who like medical thrillers and morbid at those...
October 8, 2010
The story starts with a girl Kathereine Collins going to a GYN clinic where she undergoes treatment for some Gynac ailments. She has starts having seizures where she smells a repulsive but familiar odor and then loses consciousness. As the book goes on it tells about other young women around the same age with the exact same symptoms. The story's main character is Dr. Martin Phillips, a doctor in neurophysiology at a New York City hospital. He is working on a self-diagnostic x-ray machine along with his companion Michael, a researcher at MIT. Later on in the story, Phillips starts to discover the hidden experiments involving human subjects for testings purposes. Now that he knows, he realizes he can never tell anyone of bad things would happen. This was the first medical thriller I've ever read, I would definately recommend this to anyone who enjoys exciting and action packed novels.
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February 19, 2022Okay, i did enjoy this, although it was a little slow-paced for my liking. The end wasn't quite predictable. It was intriguing ngl. This contains a lot about medical terms you need to understand to grasp the story, that's basically saying I was googling things every two seconds. Except for a few creepy characters, it was a nice read.
March 15, 2020
Al terminar de leer este libro realmente quedé asustada. Y las notas del autor al final desearía que también fuese ficción. Robin Cook tiene el talento para contar historias, y aquí nos habla sobre la experimentación en seres humanos; nos introduce en la historia de el médico Martin Philips que esta participando en el desarrollo de una nueva computadora capaz de realizar diagnósticos a partir de radiografías, esta nueva computadora que se alimentó inicialmente del conocimiento del médico, ahora arroja resultados que sobrepasan la capacidad del médico, y éste asombrado busca nuevos casos para corroborar la información, de ahí se ve envuelto en un drama de que los pacientes seleccionados desaparecen antes de que pueda hacerles las pruebas.
Me sentí identificada con las emociones que expone de las pacientes que acuden al hospital donde la atmósfera así como el personal resulta intimidante, brusco e impositivo. Creí que solo yo me sentía así.
Me sentí identificada con las emociones que expone de las pacientes que acuden al hospital donde la atmósfera así como el personal resulta intimidante, brusco e impositivo. Creí que solo yo me sentía así.
July 30, 2013
Brain was entertaining, intelligent and completely ridiculous in equal measures. I admit I enjoyed it, despite never buying the premise for a single moment. Cook has a talent and it's for telling a good yarn that keeps the pace going. It's not so much that he's believable or a good writer (although I've read worse working in the thriller genre). Also, I think I understand TeeVee shows like House a little better having read this.
October 14, 2021
Медицински трилър, в който кулминацията и екшъна са събрани в последните 100-тина страници. Сравнително четивен, въпреки неизбежното наличие на куп медицински термини и изрази. Добро четиво, но не очаквайте някакъв шедьовър.
November 18, 2018
3,5/5
Tiene una muy intrigante trama que nos mantiene al vilo durante todo el libro. A pesar de eso, muchas de los problemas que le surgen al protagonista son resultas de maneras demasiado irreales. La temática que da nombre al libro se evidencia a lo largo de toda la novela y nos lleva a hacernos preguntas sobre ética y la tarea que los médicos realizan en los hospitales.
Tiene una muy intrigante trama que nos mantiene al vilo durante todo el libro. A pesar de eso, muchas de los problemas que le surgen al protagonista son resultas de maneras demasiado irreales. La temática que da nombre al libro se evidencia a lo largo de toda la novela y nos lleva a hacernos preguntas sobre ética y la tarea que los médicos realizan en los hospitales.
July 4, 2025
This is an absolutely wonderful book. I can't stop myself from reading it cause I really want to know what will happen next.
July 2, 2025
What a thrill ride.
October 2, 2018
This novel is Dr. Cook's 4th published novel (Year of the Intern, Coma & Sphinx) and his 2nd medical thriller. It came out 4 years after Coma. It is a mixture of Quincy, ME; Medical Center; Emergency! & Trapper John, MD with a little St. Elsewhere and ER thrown in.
The interesting medical & victimology aspects are: all female, have abnormal pap smears, develop a form of epilepsy & have an attack post OB/GYN exam. Warning: Chapter 6 is particularly graphic for people with weak stomachs.
Ultimately this novel along with his previous work Coma shows the danger of lax medical research ethics and the inherent dangers of socialized medicine.
The interesting medical & victimology aspects are: all female, have abnormal pap smears, develop a form of epilepsy & have an attack post OB/GYN exam. Warning: Chapter 6 is particularly graphic for people with weak stomachs.
Ultimately this novel along with his previous work Coma shows the danger of lax medical research ethics and the inherent dangers of socialized medicine.
October 28, 2022
3.5 stars
More than the story line, my rating is for the level of forward thinking in the fields of Neuroscience and AI which was way ahead of its time compared to the decade when the book was written.
This was my first book by Robin Cook and honestly, I expected more from the story. It felt like a lot of time was spent to build the mystery and it all came crashing down in the last 10-15 pages.
More than the story line, my rating is for the level of forward thinking in the fields of Neuroscience and AI which was way ahead of its time compared to the decade when the book was written.
This was my first book by Robin Cook and honestly, I expected more from the story. It felt like a lot of time was spent to build the mystery and it all came crashing down in the last 10-15 pages.
May 28, 2014
Stilted narrative, sterotypical characters . . . Stick with medicine, Dr. Cook.
September 29, 2015
A shocking medical thriller!
September 12, 2024
Robin Cook’s writing has always been unpleasantly horrifying to me. And, to be fair, not in the worst way. He blends reality with fiction within the world of science and medicine so well that it’s hard to not believe his stories as truth rather than their associated fiction. Unfortunately, Brain doesn’t really scratch the Cook itch for me. Sure, the premise is there and solid and good—medical research based on hidden breakthroughs of neuroscience—but the characters and plot fall short.
Dr. Martin Phillips is our main character, engrossed in his work and his newfound love with Denise who works in the same hospital as him in NYC. He’s handed a computer by his partner in research that can scan x-rays and interpret what it sees, even learning from inputted information. For the early 1980s, this is an enormous leap into the future, especially since the computer picks up abnormalities that even the seasoned Dr. Phillips misses. When he starts putting together some unpleasant occurrences throughout the hospital and some patient disappearances linked with these occurrences, he finds himself in the sticky situation of trying to piece together how these patients are linked, why, and what the hospital’s institution has to do with it.
Sounds intriguing, and is, but the characters fall flat on their faces. I consistently found loose threads that aren’t tied up by the end, a definitive conclusion to say the least, and all the while I found myself completely uninvested in the goings-on of poor Dr. Phillips life. I wanted more out of this story and didn’t receive it.
Dr. Martin Phillips is our main character, engrossed in his work and his newfound love with Denise who works in the same hospital as him in NYC. He’s handed a computer by his partner in research that can scan x-rays and interpret what it sees, even learning from inputted information. For the early 1980s, this is an enormous leap into the future, especially since the computer picks up abnormalities that even the seasoned Dr. Phillips misses. When he starts putting together some unpleasant occurrences throughout the hospital and some patient disappearances linked with these occurrences, he finds himself in the sticky situation of trying to piece together how these patients are linked, why, and what the hospital’s institution has to do with it.
Sounds intriguing, and is, but the characters fall flat on their faces. I consistently found loose threads that aren’t tied up by the end, a definitive conclusion to say the least, and all the while I found myself completely uninvested in the goings-on of poor Dr. Phillips life. I wanted more out of this story and didn’t receive it.
November 4, 2025
7 / 10 ⭐️
Thriller
El dr. Phillips quiere retirarse del juego político que conlleva ir ascendiendo dentro de su departamento en el hospital, así que junto a un amigo suyo están programando una máquina que revolucionará el campo de la medicina. Ahora mismo tiene que encargarse de darle radiografías para que la máquina aprenda de sus diagnósticos. Lo que no esperaba que es la máquina detectara varias anomalías en algunas pacientes desaparecidas misteriosamente.
Me ha resultado bastante lento pero muy interesante.
Robin Cook tiene un don en escribir thrillers dentro del campo de la medicina.
Creo que se anda demasiado por las ramas describiendo demasiado exhaustivamente cada habitación en la que entra el protagonista cuando no tiene nada que ver con la trama.
Lo que es la acción es primero muy interesante y al final trepidante.
Y ese final no me lo vi venir para nada.
Aún y teniendo varias teorías en mi cabeza ni por asomo se acercaban a la realidad.
Este libro lo leí para completar un reto, libro publicado en 1981. Así que sí, se nota un poco que es anticuado, pero todavía ahora se deja leer y sigue sorprendiendo.
Thriller
El dr. Phillips quiere retirarse del juego político que conlleva ir ascendiendo dentro de su departamento en el hospital, así que junto a un amigo suyo están programando una máquina que revolucionará el campo de la medicina. Ahora mismo tiene que encargarse de darle radiografías para que la máquina aprenda de sus diagnósticos. Lo que no esperaba que es la máquina detectara varias anomalías en algunas pacientes desaparecidas misteriosamente.
Me ha resultado bastante lento pero muy interesante.
Robin Cook tiene un don en escribir thrillers dentro del campo de la medicina.
Creo que se anda demasiado por las ramas describiendo demasiado exhaustivamente cada habitación en la que entra el protagonista cuando no tiene nada que ver con la trama.
Lo que es la acción es primero muy interesante y al final trepidante.
Y ese final no me lo vi venir para nada.
Aún y teniendo varias teorías en mi cabeza ni por asomo se acercaban a la realidad.
Este libro lo leí para completar un reto, libro publicado en 1981. Así que sí, se nota un poco que es anticuado, pero todavía ahora se deja leer y sigue sorprendiendo.
February 24, 2021
2,5 estrelas
O processo de ler este livro não foi dos mais empolgantes e não me senti fortemente envolvida pela história até as 80 últimas páginas. Depois de toda a leitura, a revelação do suspense vale a pena, mas o autor poderia ter colocado um pouco mais de sensibilidade (não só acontecimentos envolvendo diagnósticos etc) ao longo da ficção, mesmo esse não sendo o foco do gênero literário.
Comparando-o com “Coma”, os personagens são muito superficiais (por exemplo, Martin claramente tem uma personalidade compulsiva, porém, os sinais desse aspecto da personalidade dele são mostrados de maneira pouco tocante), além disso, representação feminina não é das mais agradáveis (todas as pacientes da clínica ginecológica reagem de maneira muito semelhante, faltando uma individualidade entre elas; Denise é usada apenas como apoio emocional para Martin, sem muitas opiniões e desejos próprios, poderia ter sido melhor construída).
O processo de ler este livro não foi dos mais empolgantes e não me senti fortemente envolvida pela história até as 80 últimas páginas. Depois de toda a leitura, a revelação do suspense vale a pena, mas o autor poderia ter colocado um pouco mais de sensibilidade (não só acontecimentos envolvendo diagnósticos etc) ao longo da ficção, mesmo esse não sendo o foco do gênero literário.
Comparando-o com “Coma”, os personagens são muito superficiais (por exemplo, Martin claramente tem uma personalidade compulsiva, porém, os sinais desse aspecto da personalidade dele são mostrados de maneira pouco tocante), além disso, representação feminina não é das mais agradáveis (todas as pacientes da clínica ginecológica reagem de maneira muito semelhante, faltando uma individualidade entre elas; Denise é usada apenas como apoio emocional para Martin, sem muitas opiniões e desejos próprios, poderia ter sido melhor construída).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2020
“a anestesia era como estar numa plataforma segura mas estreita, à beira de um precipício”
“Regressando à sala de urgências, Thomas olhou à sua volta. Das sete às nove havia ainda um certo descanso, como se as pessoas, enquanto comiam, interrompessem as suas desgraças e as suas misérias. Por volta das dez horas os bêbados, as vítimas de acidentes de viação e as vítimas dos ladrões e psicopatas começavam a chegar; por volta das onze horas eram as vítimas dos crimes passionais.”
“Como a maioria dos seus colegas, casara durante os anos de estágio no hospital, talvez como uma espécie de reacção contra a sua vida académica, opressiva e exigente.”
“Nada de grande neste mundo foi realizado sem paixão” (Hegel)
“Regressando à sala de urgências, Thomas olhou à sua volta. Das sete às nove havia ainda um certo descanso, como se as pessoas, enquanto comiam, interrompessem as suas desgraças e as suas misérias. Por volta das dez horas os bêbados, as vítimas de acidentes de viação e as vítimas dos ladrões e psicopatas começavam a chegar; por volta das onze horas eram as vítimas dos crimes passionais.”
“Como a maioria dos seus colegas, casara durante os anos de estágio no hospital, talvez como uma espécie de reacção contra a sua vida académica, opressiva e exigente.”
“Nada de grande neste mundo foi realizado sem paixão” (Hegel)
December 31, 2019
La última vez que leí a Cook fue en la prepa. Es decir, hace unos quince años. En este tiempo he pasado por todo en el haber médico, desde las experiencias como pobre estudiante, el internado, el peculiar servicio social, la desgastante especialidad, y demás. He pasado por la práctica privada, pública, docencia. He conocido a todo tipo de médicos, especialmente radiólogos, neurocirujanos y obvio patólogos (tres estirpes centrales en este libro). Todo para lo siguiente.
Cook desenvuelve una trama que al principio es demasiado lógica y verosímil. Desde los términos y enfermedades, pasando por las descripciones de cada estudio, hasta las personalidades de cada especialista, muy bien retratados. Fue muy agradable leer todo este barullo, aunque el final haya salido por la tangente a lo más ciencia ficción que podía. Agradable, pero prefería la primera parte realista.
Me da gusto que al patólogo se le da un lugar importante en cuanto a jerarquía del conocimiento. Se le retrata raro, porque lo somos, pero fidedigno.
Disfruté el libro.
Cook desenvuelve una trama que al principio es demasiado lógica y verosímil. Desde los términos y enfermedades, pasando por las descripciones de cada estudio, hasta las personalidades de cada especialista, muy bien retratados. Fue muy agradable leer todo este barullo, aunque el final haya salido por la tangente a lo más ciencia ficción que podía. Agradable, pero prefería la primera parte realista.
Me da gusto que al patólogo se le da un lugar importante en cuanto a jerarquía del conocimiento. Se le retrata raro, porque lo somos, pero fidedigno.
Disfruté el libro.
dnf
October 30, 2020I need to bail on this one after about 30 pages. There's a scene where a woman's brain is being operated on, the woman is awake and everything is described in detail from her point of view. I just can't go on! This is not for the faint of heart 😨
Interestingly enough, when I mentioned this experience to my mom, it turned out she had bailed on the same book, after the same scene, for the same reason!
Interestingly enough, when I mentioned this experience to my mom, it turned out she had bailed on the same book, after the same scene, for the same reason!
May 17, 2019
From the beginning Lisa Marino's surgery to the end I was in suspense. The pace calmed a little until Dr Martin Philips followed Helmut Werner, a creepy character. Then the plot took off from there. A very disturbing read.
June 16, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Brain by Robin Cook
“Uploading your consciousness isn’t the future—it’s already happening, and they’re doing it without your consent.”
The Plot (Spoilers Ahead):
Neuroradiologist Dr. Martin Philips and pathologist Dr. Denise Sanger are both rising stars at Manhattan General Hospital. They’re bright, driven, and very confused when multiple healthy patients—including a young woman undergoing a routine brain scan—suddenly wind up brain-dead after being referred to a mysterious facility called the Noyes Clinic.
These aren’t your average surgical failures. There’s no hemorrhage, no stroke. The brains are…just gone. As Denise and Martin dig deeper, they discover patients with perfectly intact bodies but completely missing cerebral function—described as “functional decerebration.”
The link? All of them were sent to Noyes, a supposedly high-tech neuro clinic funded by a shadowy government-backed corporation.
The real kicker: Denise and Martin uncover that these patients’ brains weren’t just destroyed—
As the duo closes in on the truth, they’re targeted by the clinic, stalked, and forced into hiding. The closer they get to exposing the program, the more they realize they’re not just dealing with unethical science—they’re dealing with a cold, calculated machine system that sees human brains as code.
The Medical Issue Examined:
Cook gets full-on sci-fi medical thriller here, with issues that still feel disturbingly current:
Artificial intelligence built from human brains
MRI and neuroimaging technology used for harm
Consent and bodily autonomy in experimental science
What happens when tech ambition overrides ethics
It’s a creepy fusion of medicine, and futurism.
Characters:
Dr. Martin Philips – Ambitious and a bit arrogant, but his arc is strong. As the mystery deepens, so does his character.
Dr. Denise Sanger – Arguably the emotional heart of the story. Intuitive, compassionate, and a solid counterbalance to Martin’s data-driven thinking.
The Noyes Clinic team – All sterile smiles and veiled threats. They’re what you get when billionaires decide to “disrupt” neurology.
The AI program itself – Not a sentient villain, but a terrifying symbol of how human identity can be reduced to a research variable.
Writing Style:
More speculative than many Cook novels, Brain reads like a hybrid of thriller and early techno-horror. The pacing is swift, with chapters that alternate between medical discovery and creeping dread. It’s not as emotionally grounded as Fever, but the intellectual horror runs deep.
Cook’s medical knowledge is on full display, but he uses it here to unsettle, not reassure.
Final Word:
Brain is where Cook lets his freak flag fly—in the best way. It’s chilling, clinical, and bold, asking readers to consider just how much of “you” is stored in your neurons, and what happens when someone else decides to steal that data.
A sharp turn into neuroscience nightmare territory, it still resonates today, especially in a world edging closer to mind-machine integration.
Read if you like:
Medical thrillers with a techno twist
Ethical violations in the name of progress
The kind of sci-fi where science isn’t the villain—people are
“Uploading your consciousness isn’t the future—it’s already happening, and they’re doing it without your consent.”
The Plot (Spoilers Ahead):
Neuroradiologist Dr. Martin Philips and pathologist Dr. Denise Sanger are both rising stars at Manhattan General Hospital. They’re bright, driven, and very confused when multiple healthy patients—including a young woman undergoing a routine brain scan—suddenly wind up brain-dead after being referred to a mysterious facility called the Noyes Clinic.
These aren’t your average surgical failures. There’s no hemorrhage, no stroke. The brains are…just gone. As Denise and Martin dig deeper, they discover patients with perfectly intact bodies but completely missing cerebral function—described as “functional decerebration.”
The link? All of them were sent to Noyes, a supposedly high-tech neuro clinic funded by a shadowy government-backed corporation.
The real kicker: Denise and Martin uncover that these patients’ brains weren’t just destroyed—
As the duo closes in on the truth, they’re targeted by the clinic, stalked, and forced into hiding. The closer they get to exposing the program, the more they realize they’re not just dealing with unethical science—they’re dealing with a cold, calculated machine system that sees human brains as code.
The Medical Issue Examined:
Cook gets full-on sci-fi medical thriller here, with issues that still feel disturbingly current:
Artificial intelligence built from human brains
MRI and neuroimaging technology used for harm
Consent and bodily autonomy in experimental science
What happens when tech ambition overrides ethics
It’s a creepy fusion of medicine, and futurism.
Characters:
Dr. Martin Philips – Ambitious and a bit arrogant, but his arc is strong. As the mystery deepens, so does his character.
Dr. Denise Sanger – Arguably the emotional heart of the story. Intuitive, compassionate, and a solid counterbalance to Martin’s data-driven thinking.
The Noyes Clinic team – All sterile smiles and veiled threats. They’re what you get when billionaires decide to “disrupt” neurology.
The AI program itself – Not a sentient villain, but a terrifying symbol of how human identity can be reduced to a research variable.
Writing Style:
More speculative than many Cook novels, Brain reads like a hybrid of thriller and early techno-horror. The pacing is swift, with chapters that alternate between medical discovery and creeping dread. It’s not as emotionally grounded as Fever, but the intellectual horror runs deep.
Cook’s medical knowledge is on full display, but he uses it here to unsettle, not reassure.
Final Word:
Brain is where Cook lets his freak flag fly—in the best way. It’s chilling, clinical, and bold, asking readers to consider just how much of “you” is stored in your neurons, and what happens when someone else decides to steal that data.
A sharp turn into neuroscience nightmare territory, it still resonates today, especially in a world edging closer to mind-machine integration.
Read if you like:
Medical thrillers with a techno twist
Ethical violations in the name of progress
The kind of sci-fi where science isn’t the villain—people are
November 25, 2020
A few brief thoughts:
(1) I've long made a hobby of reading the
Robin Cook medical thrillers. I'm glad I
found the chance to peruse this one,
since it's one of Cook's early books--
his 4th, to be exact
(2) In Coma, bodies
were snatched for organ-transplantation;
in this book, bodies are snatched
for brain-research (and to advance
an AI CAT-scan reader). So the plot
path will be familiar to Cook aficionados.
(3) Since the book came out in 1981,
there are amusing old-fashioned
practices: computers are said to be
connected to "typewriters," we find
CAT scans, but not fMRIs--and there
are even overflowing ashtrays
in hospital waiting-rooms!
(4) Cook's prose-habits are front-
and-center. His descriptions of
emotions and intimacy are jarringly
clinical ("For a moment they just held
each other, postponing the inevitable,
and enjoying their closeness. Without
saying it, they both knew that their
relationship had reached a new
plateau" (p.133)) and it's a bit of
a funny surprise in those rare parts
where an exclamation point
appears in the book...
(5) The last 50 pages are a bit of
a disappointment--my attention
flagged some. In this sense, the
strong-buildup but weak-ending
is similar to what I feel about
Fever
All in all, I'm glad I read this book--
it deserves praise for its sensitive
description of a young woman's
anxieties (and the insensitivities
she suffers) as part of her GYN
exam (Chapter 5). And it's the
first I've learned about "cervical
erosion" and that the "Pap smear"
derives its name from early-cancer
detection vanguard, Dr. Georgios
Papanikolaou.
(1) I've long made a hobby of reading the
Robin Cook medical thrillers. I'm glad I
found the chance to peruse this one,
since it's one of Cook's early books--
his 4th, to be exact
(2) In Coma, bodies
were snatched for organ-transplantation;
in this book, bodies are snatched
for brain-research (and to advance
an AI CAT-scan reader). So the plot
path will be familiar to Cook aficionados.
(3) Since the book came out in 1981,
there are amusing old-fashioned
practices: computers are said to be
connected to "typewriters," we find
CAT scans, but not fMRIs--and there
are even overflowing ashtrays
in hospital waiting-rooms!
(4) Cook's prose-habits are front-
and-center. His descriptions of
emotions and intimacy are jarringly
clinical ("For a moment they just held
each other, postponing the inevitable,
and enjoying their closeness. Without
saying it, they both knew that their
relationship had reached a new
plateau" (p.133)) and it's a bit of
a funny surprise in those rare parts
where an exclamation point
appears in the book...
(5) The last 50 pages are a bit of
a disappointment--my attention
flagged some. In this sense, the
strong-buildup but weak-ending
is similar to what I feel about
Fever
All in all, I'm glad I read this book--
it deserves praise for its sensitive
description of a young woman's
anxieties (and the insensitivities
she suffers) as part of her GYN
exam (Chapter 5). And it's the
first I've learned about "cervical
erosion" and that the "Pap smear"
derives its name from early-cancer
detection vanguard, Dr. Georgios
Papanikolaou.
March 6, 2018
L'année 2018 s'annonce bien ! Le livre "vertiges" de Robin Cook m'a tenu vraiment à cœur et les événements atroces que le chercheur Martin Phillips a vécus m'ont concerné particulièrement, puisque j'ai étudié les sciences expérimentales et je vise une carrière de chercheur en biologie. Ce livre témoigne la transformation du progrès scientifique en une arme redoutable qui menace la vie humaine, dévoilant le visage terrifiant que la recherche scientifique (incontrôlée par les morales) pourrait avoir: expérimentation humaine, assassinats, maltraitance des animaux, exploitation des cadavres et création des "missiles intelligents".
Malgré l'existence d'une multitude de procédures pour protéger les droits de l'Homme et les données personnelles, et malgré la création des comités d'éthique pour surveiller la recherche scientifique , le cauchemar de l'expérimentation humaine continue à rôder, pouvant même être encouragé par les gouvernements afin d'obtenir plus de pouvoir. Ce livre montre qu'un fil fragile sépare entre la fiction et la réalité.
Un livre émouvant tissé avec un suspense fou et une bonne dose d'adrénaline.
Malgré l'existence d'une multitude de procédures pour protéger les droits de l'Homme et les données personnelles, et malgré la création des comités d'éthique pour surveiller la recherche scientifique , le cauchemar de l'expérimentation humaine continue à rôder, pouvant même être encouragé par les gouvernements afin d'obtenir plus de pouvoir. Ce livre montre qu'un fil fragile sépare entre la fiction et la réalité.
Un livre émouvant tissé avec un suspense fou et une bonne dose d'adrénaline.
December 19, 2022
When I first read this in 2014, I gave it 5 stars. It was the first Robin Cook book I’d read and I enjoyed it a lot. This is my first time in a long time rereading a book, but after working through a lot of Cook’s catalog I was curious about how this one would hold up. The pacing in this one is pretty good, actually. It has some of the same flaws as the other books but I think this one is still actually a decent airport read lol. I know tons more about AI now so that aspect seems really weak, but it was a good attempt for when it was written. I’m gonna bump this down to 3 stars because I’m not convinced it’s anything special anymore, but I am glad I read this several years ago and got introduced to a whole genre of easy reads that helped me maintain interest in reading.
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