Whiteout is one of those novels that you can read in a matter of hours. It has a fast rhythm and although sometimes these books have a very obvious structure, Ken Follen hides it with the finesse of a master couturier.

Spanish version:
En blanco es de esas novelas que puedes leer en cuestión de horas. Su ritmo trepidante te engancha casi a la primera página, y aunque a veces este tipo de libros tengan estructuras tan pautadas, Ken Follen las esconde con la finura de un maestro costurero.

Another excellent Ken Follett! The book is fast paced, interesting, believable and manages to explain and educate about the risks of contagion with new vaccines or viruses. The description of the security of a high security laboratory is based on good research and visits to two such labs, one in the UK and another in the US, and Ken Follett always surrounds himself with good advisers on such topics.
Because it is not such an unthinkable scenery nowadays, it is worthwhile reading. Besides it is an incredibly good story!

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon 20 March 2017.

I loved reading Whiteout" by Ken Follett. He sure is diversified in his writings. This book was fast action, tense at moments and with a little romance included. The author delves into human nature and emotions that changes the course of each character. There are the frightened who turn brave, the meek who suddenly stands up to protect, the selfish fearful who blames others for the consequences of his actions, the strong who remain strong, the ambitious jerks, and the real bad guys and demented gal. Then, there is the comic relief who lightens the story whenever she speaks or enters in a room during a tense situation. And through it all, a family that sticks together through personal trials and anguishes. Ken Follett has no problem making a moral woman the loyal, strong and smart hero that saves the world. Three quarters into the book, I couldn't put the book down until I was done. I've read a few of Ken Follett's books and I loved them all.

This book was a big disappointment to me. At first I thought it could be just as good as the "third twin" since it is a criminal story related with biology. I couldn't be more wrong.

1. The writing is poor to the point of being full of sentences that could have been written by any 11 years old kid

2. Little scientific research - mainly based in explaining that labs which study dangerous viruses have high security measures (which is pretty obvious to anyone)

3. No character development. Everyone is the same from the beginning to the end and even Kit doesn't seem to have "learned the lesson"

4. WTF gaps that no one understands. Why the hell Frank was such a bitch? Who was the scientist who died? How did he really feel? And did he get sick doing his work or after taking the rabbit?

5. Non sense characters with erratic behaviours - yes Toni's mother could have some dementia already but come on!

6. Nice love story ruined. Too fast, without any purpose whatsoever.

However the poor descriptions and the easy-going dialogue makes it easy to read since the story is interesting, so I guess that's the positive side of it.

Foi a minha estreia em Ken Follett e adorei!!! A maneira de escrever, a forma com que nos prende a cada parágrafo, as intrigas. Muito bom!! Só não dei 5 estrelas porque depois daquela emoção das últimas páginas o final podia ser assim mais "Uau!!!"

This was a winner in my estimation. It was an audio book that I listened to on my long drives to visit my daughter. There was plenty of action and suspense and a dab of romance. A research company is trying to come up with an antidote for a very deadly virus. There is a robbery and a hostage situation in the midst of a huge blizzard. You really don't know what will happen until the finale. The heroine Toni is the security guard with lots of guts, smarts and gusto. I love it when the story has strong ladies. Ken Follett, I shall look for your other books.

Whiteout, Ken Follett
Whiteout (2004) is a thriller novel written by British author Ken Follett about the theft of a deadly virus from a lab in snow-covered Scotland. As a Christmas Eve blizzard whips out of the north, several people converge on a remote family house. As the storm worsens, the emotional sparks-jealousies, distrust, sexual attraction, rivalries-crackle, desperate secrets are revealed, hidden traitors and unexpected heroes emerge.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز چهاردهم ماه دسامبر سال 2009 میلادی
عنوان: کولاک: (طلوع عشق)؛ نویسنده: کن فالت؛ مترجم: فرشته خجندی؛ تهران: مروارید‏‫، 1385 1387)؛ در 465 (433) ص؛ شابک: 9789648838473؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیایی - سده 21 م

استنلی استنفورد، صاحب یک شرکت داروسازی معتبر در دنیاست، شرکت توانسته ویروسی مرگبار را کشف کند، که در علم پزشکی میتواند بسیار سودمند باشد. ویروس بسیار خطرناک است، و میتواند مردمان بسیاری را در چند روز نابود کند. تروریستهایی نیز به دنبال این ویروس هستند. «کیت استنفورد» پسر «استنلی»، در قمار به حریفان خود باخته، و رقبایش نیز از همان تروریستهایی هستند که به دنبال ویروس بوده اند. «استنلی»، برای بازپرداخت بدهی قمار خویش، خیال دارد به شرکت پدرش دستبرد بزند، و ویروس را بدزدد، و به مشتریهای خویش بفروشد، تا هم بدهی خویش را بپردازد، هم از پدرش که او را از شرکت بیرون انداخته، انتقام بگیرد، و هم باقیمانده ی عمر خویش را با پولی که به جیب میزند، خوش باشد. ا. شربیانی

Great thriller! Set in Scotland during a Christmas blizzard. A devastatingly fatal virus is stolen from a pharmaceutical lab. The head of security doggedly follows the trail of the perpetrators who are thwarted by the blizzard.

Did you ever read a book and root for the bad guy? I found myself truly hoping he would get away with it. The reason - the protagonist makes some stupid decisions and just isn't very good at her job as head of security.

The explanation for why the incident with the rabbit occurred is not fully explained (the how it happened is explained but the WHY is really weak) and there's no reason for it other than to point out a major security flaw. The second security flaw isn't as obvious, but it has to do with a fundamental of computer security - change your password. It's a oversight that is not addressed and given the nature of the business, there's no excuse for it. Yet, Toni never faces any kind of real scrutiny or consequences for allowing the events of the book to happen. In fact, something happens near the end of the book that had me shaking my head (it has to do with Stanley - it's slightly creepy, to be honest, and completely unnecessary - although it does explain why Toni still has a job).

There's a strange thing with phones that runs through this book. At some point almost every character is looking for a phone, trying to get a phone to work or losing their cell phone. Not one person carries their cell on their person, which I found strange. Also, nobody thinks of texting - either to each other (as in "run to the neighbours and get help") or to a friend to say "hey, call the police! We have trouble over here".

I was also bothered by the puppy. How Toni ends up with the puppy is so bizarre that it doesn't make much sense. By the end of the novel, the only character I felt sorry for was the puppy.

I've read other Ken Follett novels and this one was definitely not one of the best. I had to restrain myself from skipping pages just to get to the end.

E foi com este livro e este tão famoso autor que me estreei nos thrillers. Estava difícil dar início à leitura de um livro do género, mas finalmente aconteceu. :) Claro que não é com a leitura de um livro apenas que poderei dizer se gosto muito ou não de thrillers, mas posso dizer que foi com grande ânimo que folheei cada página desta obra.

Ken Follet é autor de thrillers, romances históricos, entre outros. No entanto, não só é o primeiro thriller que leio, como também é o primeiro livro que leio do autor. Sendo assim, é-me impossível comparar a qualidade desta obra com muitas outras do mesmo.

Não vou negar nenhuma das qualidades que já vi referidas do autor. São, de facto, merecidas. É possuidor de uma escrita madura, pensada e bem elaborada, repleta ainda do suspense que tanto caracteriza os thrillers. Para além disso, “A Ameaça” consegue ser muito mais do que um thriller. Nela, Ken Follet acrescentou um pouco de romance, valores e sentimentos. Estes acrescentos enriqueceram sem dúvida a obra, no entanto, com os mesmos senti, por vezes, que o ritmo alucinante de um thriller se ia perdendo.

A narrativa desenrola-se a partir do desaparecimento de Michael Ross e de um fármaco antiviral contra um vírus mortal. E é logo neste momento que o pânico se instala nos responsáveis pela segurança da empresa farmacêutica. O que estes não imaginaram é que o pior ainda estava para vir – o assalto à Oxenford Medical, com o roubo desse mesmo vírus.

Para além desta ameaça e dos perigos a ela associados, a verdade é que, no fim da leitura, o leitor é levado a refletir numa série de questões:

Será ético o uso de animais nas experiências com vírus mortais?
Será que as pessoas mudam?
Será a família aquilo que, de facto, temos de mais importante?

E podem perguntar-se, porque falei da família aqui? Como referi anteriormente, “A Ameaça” é mais do que um thriller, ela centra-se, em grande parte, na família de Stanley Oxenford. E, como não poderia deixar de ser numa família, ninguém é perfeito, cada um tem as suas fraquezas e, até mesmo, alguns segredos. E a humildade de Ken Follet na criação destas personagens imperfeitas é de salientar.

Em conclusão, posso referir que, apesar de estar à espera de um pouco mais do autor, foi uma boa leitura, viciante, que me prendeu do início ao fim e que, provavelmente, irei ler mais livros do autor.

http://bloguinhasparadise.blogspot.pt...

Bože sačuvaj

In der Nacht nach der letzten Seite habe ich davon geträumt, wie ich jemandem von "Eisfieber" vorschwärme - das Buch hat also Eindruck hinterlassen. Ich dachte, ich lese nur einen spannenden Thriller, aber stattdessen bekam ich obendrein eine ganze Palette eingängiger, sympathischer Figuren präsentiert, deren Schicksal ich wirklich gern verfolgt habe, die mich manchmal aufgeregt und gerührt haben, und die ich am Enden loslassen musste wie liebgewonnene Weggefährten. Follett ist einfach ein Geschichtenerzähler, der seinesgleichen sucht. Davon abgesehen hat mich mal wieder enorm beeindruckt, wie präzise das Buch durchrecherchiert ist, vom klaren, schnörkellosen Schreibstil ganz zu schweigen.