Miracle Cure [Mass Market Paperback]

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Miracle Cure [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Details

Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
Publisher: Signet (September 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 045123491X
ISBN-13: 978-0451234919
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Harlan Coben
Price : $9.99

Customer Reviews

MIRACLE CURE is one of Harlan Coben's first novels, written in 1991 when he was in his mid-to-late twenties. The novel is essentially a fast-paced whodunit about a series of murders involving the recipients of an experimental AIDS vaccine. This book is now out-of-print and almost impossible to find. I'm a big fan of Coben's work, and I was lucky enough to track down a very old copy of this novel in my local library.
This novel did very little for Coben's writing career. MIRACLE CURE didn't sell very well, and it would be another four years before Coben wrote his next novel, DEAL BREAKER, which introduced Myron Bolitar. I recently read an interview with Coben where he openly admitted that this novel was bad.
MIRACLE CURE isn't exactly terrible, but it is easily the worst written novel I have ever read by Coben. The characterization in this book is pretty cardboard, and most of the dialogue is rather stilted and flat. The plot is slow-paced at the beginning, and then quickly spirals out of control toward the end, with one overblown plot twist after another.
This is also the most political book written by Coben, with a very strong gay-rights stance and many barbs aimed at religious conservatives who oppose AIDS funding (in fairness, there's a twist at the end that will probably annoy a lot of liberals too). I'm guessing that some of the political views taken by Coben in this book were probably quite daring at the time. Unfortunately, some of the scenes in this book are overly preachy, which may even annoy readers who agree with Coben's beliefs.
I was also somewhat surprised by some of the rather graphic sexuality and language in this book. Part of the book takes place in the red light district in Bangkok, Thailand, and Coben vividly describes some of the sexual activity that takes place there. If you're not a fan of these types of scenes, then you should avoid this book.
MIRACLE CURE is a nice reminder that good writers often need time to develop their talents. This is definitely a subpar novel, but it does contain some glimmers of Coben's talent. The plot is inventive and some of dialogue is sharp and funny. Still, it would be another ten years before Coben would write his breakout book, TELL NO ONE, that would transform him into one of the biggest superstars in the suspense genre.
My advice is to skip this book unless you're a Coben completist.

Author Harlan Coben has inserted a signed note in the front of this new printing of "Miracle Cure" that urges readers who haven't read any of his other books to put this book down immediately. He goes on to critique the story and explain that it's one of his first novels. I respect his honesty and wish that I had taken his advice about trying another book.
The book has a lot of problems. The most egregious is the storyline, which revolves around the HIV/AIDS crisis and the search for a cure, and is badly dated. It includes a fallacious debate about the morality of AIDS sufferers where more than one person posits that victims contract the disease because of they are gay or drug users. Hurtful comments and totally omitting any reference to the millions of non-drug using heterosexual victims of the disease worldwide. This was a known problem even in 1991 when this novel was written.
"Miracle Cure" includes a serial killer and a high-level conspiracy to torpedo research being done to develop a vaccine to stop AIDS. Those elements are the book's greatest strengths although the conspiracy angle is never fully resolved at book's end. The novel's characters--a pro basketball player, a popular TV journalist, politicians, scientists and assorted family members--had interesting possibilities, but they are not really fully developed. The one exception is the serial killer who is described in careful detail, but ultimately becomes nothing more than a device to further the storyline.
Author Corben in his opening warning about the book states that for all of the book's flaws, he still admires it for its energy and risk-taking. I don't share that view. This just isn't very good writing. So why reprint it now? The publisher must have seen a way of squeezing some extra bucks out of the author's present reputation as one of the most successful writers of popular fiction. It's a shame that Coben didn't at least insist on revising some of the weakest parts of the book.