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The Proteus Cure Kindle Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 333 ratings

"Paul Wilson and Tracy Carbone have penned a winner. The suspense is razor sharp and the characters masterfully drawn. Paul Wilson is at the top of the game, and Tracy Carbone is a welcome addition to the genre. You'll love The Proteus Cure." – Michael Palmer, NY Times best selling author of Political Suicide

In medical ethics, the line between right and wrong is often blurred. Who is to decide what is for the good of humanity?

Changing the world. One person at a time…

That is the mission statement of Tethys Hospital, run by Dr. Bill Gilchrist and his deformed sister, Abra. VG723, their revolutionary stem-cell-based therapy, appears to be capable of doing just that for the cancer patients who come to Tethys. VG723 is often their last hope. But if they match the protocol, they're virtually guaranteed a cure.

Dr. Sheila Takamura, a young, dedicated oncologist, is proud to be involved in the clinical trials. Once the FDA approves it for widespread use, VG723 will revolutionize cancer therapy. That is why she's alarmed when former patients return with bizarre syndromes. Yes, they're cancer free, but they're experiencing dramatic changes in their hair and skin and general appearance. When she investigates a possible link to the protocol, those patients start dying. As the body count grows, Sheila finds her own life in danger. She comes to suspect there might be a literal meaning behind the Tethys motto – but can she learn the truth in time to save herself and millions of others?

"Wilson is one of the masters of the medical thriller." – Larry King

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CGJ37MG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shadowridge Press; First edition (April 20, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 20, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1084 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 405 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 333 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
333 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the book's plot and found it engaging. They found the writing quality intelligent, well-crafted, and different. The characters were described as wonderful and the villain was portrayed as obvious from the beginning. The book kept readers hooked with its fast-paced story and surprising twists that kept them turning the pages.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

74 customers mention "Plot"62 positive12 negative

Customers enjoy the plot of the book. They find it interesting, well-written, and executed. The story is told from multiple points of view, with a believable premise and twists and turns that keep readers hooked. Readers appreciate the overall intent and underlying themes of the book.

"...The Proteus Cure is the perfect medical thriller, guaranteed to have you flipping through the pages long after you should have gone to bed...." Read more

"...As it unfolds, the premise is believable - could all this happen? And the ethical questions are intriguing...." Read more

"...Their DNA has been changed. There are plot twists that make you feel like your on a roller coaster ride. Where would it all end?..." Read more

"...the vast majority of his recent solo writing, this one is straight medical/SF thriller, without so much as a hint of supernatural horror, similar to..." Read more

40 customers mention "Readability"40 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it interesting and engaging, with a great story and characters that keep them hooked until the end. The pacing keeps the story moving smoothly, keeping readers hooked until the end.

"The Proteus Cure is a good read and moves along at a reasonable pace, however it lacks the level of drama and intensity that makes it difficult for..." Read more

"Quite enjoyable and read twice because of the probabilities of this becoming a reality in the future...." Read more

"...I found it a bit slow in places, but overall, quite enjoyable. No science clunkers...." Read more

"...I won't say I was disappointed. As far as medical thrillers go, it was pretty good...." Read more

23 customers mention "Writing quality"20 positive3 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book. They find the writing intelligent, well-crafted, and original. The characters are well-developed and the book is an easy read for longtime readers.

"...The characters are few and fairly well developed. They carry the story along well...." Read more

"...FPW has a unique writing style that is very recognizable to longtime readers. The same is true of his characters and their actions...." Read more

"...n't quite a "I can't put it down." I don't know why--it's well crafter, well-written & plotted, but I guess it's not quite Michael Crichton." Read more

"...There were a lot of editing errors, but the writing was good enough that I found myself able to ignore them...." Read more

21 customers mention "Character development"16 positive5 negative

Customers enjoy the character development. They find the characters wonderful and the story has tension throughout. However, some readers feel the villain's motivations are unclear from the beginning.

"...The characters in the novel are complex and fully fleshed out with sympathetic back stories that blur the line between good and evil...." Read more

"...And the ethical questions are intriguing. The characters are few and fairly well developed. They carry the story along well...." Read more

"...Her writing is somehow softer and less angular than FPW's. The characters were OK, not flat, but not as fully fleshed out as they might have been,..." Read more

"...It did not have the feel of an f paul wilson book. The characters were weak and the plot was just not interesting...." Read more

10 customers mention "Page turner"10 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's engaging story with unexpected twists that keep them turning the pages.

"...It certainly was fast paced and a page turner in my opinion." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a true page-turner...." Read more

"...It was a good read and had a great number of plots and turns to keep you guessing throughout the whole book. Loved it...." Read more

"...Completely different with a fast paced story guaranteed to be a page turner. Hated to see it end...." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's pacing. They find it fast-paced and engaging, keeping the story moving along well.

"...The characters are few and fairly well developed. They carry the story along well...." Read more

"...I could not go to sleep until I knew the conclusion. It certainly was fast paced and a page turner in my opinion." Read more

"The Proteus Cure is a good read and moves along at a reasonable pace, however it lacks the level of drama and intensity that makes it difficult for..." Read more

"Enjoyable medical thriller. Fast and easy read. I am a big fan of the Keep and other F. Paul Wilson books...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2013
    Writing a review of "The Proteus Cure" by F. Paul Wilson and Tracy L. Carbone is proving to be quite the daunting task, as to say too much about this medical thriller would be to give away some of the great plot twists that fill the pages.

    The premise of Proteus is that a hospital is on the precipice of something huge; a miracle drug that cures patients of every type of cancer. The clinical trials are proving a near 100% success rate, but not every client is a match.

    Dr. Bill Gilchrist heads Tethys Hospital with his deformed sister, Abra. Together, the siblings spearhead the clinical trials of the miracle stem-cell based therapy VG723. All they need is the FDA to approve it for widespread use for their dream to become a reality.

    Sheila Takamura is a dedicated doctor in the employ of Bill and Abra. Her history with the clinical trials makes her a foremost authority on the drug. When she begins to suspect that VG723 may cause some alarming side-effects, someone decides that she has to be silenced.

    Soon, Dr. Takamura finds herself racing against time to uncover the horrifying truth about the alleged miracle cure and the ultimate nefarious reasons why the drug is so important to the hospital.

    F. Paul Wilson is no stranger to medical thrillers, having penned his fair share: The Select, Deep as the Marrow, Implant, and Legacies among them. With The Proteus Cure Wilson is in top form, peppering the story with a sense of foreboding and palpable dread. His signature "Trust No One" paranoia-inducing style is fresh and tightly constructed.

    Tracy L. Carbone is the mastermind behind the story, having approached Wilson at a reader/writer convention with the idea. Over time, many emails were exchanged until the two authors drafted The Proteus Cure.

    The fact that Wilson's portions and Carbone's portions are indistinguishable from each other speaks volumes to the level of talent Tracy Carbone has.

    Tracy Carbone's narrative is tense and suspenseful with a creeping sense of horror added to the mix. The idea that something of this magnitude could very well happen places a sense of urgency within the story, leading the reader to believe not only is it possible, but it is only a matter of time.

    The characters in the novel are complex and fully fleshed out with sympathetic back stories that blur the line between good and evil.

    The Proteus Cure is the perfect medical thriller, guaranteed to have you flipping through the pages long after you should have gone to bed. It also does for doctors what Psycho did for showers!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2014
    This novel is a lot of fun - not in a comedic sense but in a solid sci-fi-ish thriller kind of way. You've read something like it possibly, but this take on the "something sinister going on behind the scenes at a hospital" has much well-researched background on stem cell possibilities. As it unfolds, the premise is believable - could all this happen? And the ethical questions are intriguing. The characters are few and fairly well developed. They carry the story along well. If you like a light novel with questions that will challenge you, give The Proteus Cure a try.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2013
    The premise of this not only good but eerily plausible. A cure for cancer is in a trial study in humans. It works but what is the price to be paid? People receiving the treatment is having startling side effects. Their DNA has been changed. There are plot twists that make you feel like your on a roller coaster ride. Where would it all end? I read this book in 2 days and stayed up to the wee hours in the morning to finish it. I could not go to sleep until I knew the conclusion. It certainly was fast paced and a page turner in my opinion.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2013
    "The Proteus Cure" by F Paul Wilson and Tracy Carbone came about from a series of conversations between Ms. Carbone and FPW that morphed into a collaborative writing effort. In contrast to the vast majority of his recent solo writing, this one is straight medical/SF thriller, without so much as a hint of supernatural horror, similar to some of his early work. The plot is relatively original, and the ending is probably not what one would have predicted. Some recipients of an experimental miracle cure for cancer start showing some very unexpected side effects that are noticed by one oncologist employed by the Tethys Hospital. Sheila Takamura begins to investigate, and things rapidly go south from there.

    The science in the science fiction is pretty shaky in places. Viruses are millions or billions of times smaller than cells, and they do not get stuck in the cell membrane. They enter the cell and normally hijack the protein synthetic machinery in the nucleus of the cell to make more viruses. Viral vectors such as the ones described in the novel can indeed be used to insert small gene sequences into a cell's genome, but cannot do what they are described as doing. which is crucial for the plot to make sense. Stem cells can indeed do close to what is claimed, but the problem is that you'd first have to get rid of the all the original cells. That's the main reason why the horrible chemotherapy that kills off all a patient's own blood generating cells in the bone marrow is necessary for stem cell (bone marrow) transplants to work for cancer. But I guess maybe only biologists or science geeks would be bothered by this.

    FPW has a unique writing style that is very recognizable to longtime readers. The same is true of his characters and their actions. In many places, I was (correctly or not) acutely aware that I was reading FPW's writing, and in others, the writing of someone else, i.e. Ms. Carbone. Nothing wrong with the way she writes, but she's just not FPW. Her writing is somehow softer and less angular than FPW's. The characters were OK, not flat, but not as fully fleshed out as they might have been, and many of them, particularly Sheila, behaved in a rather unrealistic and credulous manner. Note that I am not so lukewarm about all of FPW's collaborative efforts: "Draculas" was a complete hoot of a bloody vampire tale, and it was written by 3 or 4 authors, including Blake Crouch (who has since become another of my favorite authors).

    In summary, the novel was OK, I'm glad I read it, but I usually prefer my FPW straight.

    J.M. Tepper
    9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Giancarlo Marchesini
    4.0 out of 5 stars È uno dei miei autori preferiti
    Reviewed in Italy on April 6, 2016
    Ottimo, come tutte le opere di Paul Wilson, Ragazzi, perché mi costringete a scrivere in modo prolisso? Mi piacciono i giudizi concisi
  • regis
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Proteus Cure F. Paul Wilson
    Reviewed in Germany on December 10, 2013
    Mir gefiel er!
    Ein Kritiker ist ein Mensch, der keine schöpferischen Anlagen besitzt und sich daher befähigt fühlt, das Werk von schöpferischen Menschen zu beurteilen. Darin steckt eine gewisse Logik; er ist unparteiisch - er haßt alle schöpferischen Menschen gleich.
  • Paul W Ramplin
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is how thrillers SHOULD be written.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2013
    I have been an avid F Paul Wilson reader for many years now so I was always going to buy this book. I have to say though, if I hadn't already been an avid reader, this book would have started me off.
    It's a medical thriller, but if you're non-medical, please don't let that put you off. I don't have a medical bone in my body and thanks to Wilson and Carbone's in-depth but easy-to-understand explanations of the medical areas, I was never left in the dark.
    I can't emphasise enough how good this book is: it had me hooked from the start - I was reading it at any given opportunity. It ticks all the boxes: excellent and believable characters, superb story, fast paced, 'oh wow' moments, 'oh no' moments; it's all there. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
    I said I'd been an avid F Paul Wilson reader, and that will certainly continue, but on the strength of this book, I have now become an avid Tracy L Carbone reader too.
  • svent
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on June 19, 2015
    Clear and utter brillant
  • Iain Sibbring
    4.0 out of 5 stars Kept me involved to the end
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2013
    The story flows nicely and the characters were well written and made you care for them. The suspense built quite nicely to the end, although in places the plot was a little predictable. Overall an interesting read

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