I read this while on holiday in the tropical Bay of Islands and it was the perfect read. Set in Scotland during a blizzard it was a delight to be reminded that I no longer lived in a cold climate. The pace picked up half way through, with each character's motivation and decision-making being clear and believable. I note some people found this book contrived and one described the characters as cardboard, yet it delivered what it set out to achieve. A racy action novel about averting a major international crises. The formula is tried and tested and you get what you expect . Near misses (a term that technically means a hit - if you nearly miss something, therefore you... anyway, I digress) dramatic tension and good vs bad.

The reason I read Ken's books is because they are so easy to read. He unfolds complicated plots in a simple way and does all the work so the reader doesn't have to. Some people confuse this with simplistic writing, but it is the polar opposite.

My wife has just received Winter of the World. I hope it is better than Fall of Giants, which I would rate at a mere 3.5 to 4 stars.

Ärligt talat något av det sämsta jag läst någonsin.

Halva boken är bara introduktion av karaktärerna, som är så tråkiga att du inte kommer ihåg dem. Varje gång jag öppnade boken för att läsa hade jag glömt bort vem som är vem, och deras relationer till varandra. Liksom, jag blev helt bestört eftersom jag trodde att det var Sophie och Craig som var bonussyskon och helt plötsligt började de hångla, men nope, det var Sophie och Tom som var syskon.

Romansen mellan Toni och Stanley gjorde mig illamående. Först och främst var åldersskillnaden faktiskt av betydelse här. Han är över 60, och har varit gift i 40 år. Hans fru dog nyss. Toni känns väldigt ung. Typ hälften hans ålder. Och så hela grejen med att han är hennes chef, och hur opassande det är att de inleder en relation då. Han säger det själv också, men sen är det inget mer om det alls.

Ännu mer kritik om romansen i boken. Det kändes liksom som att den vill säga att en kvinnas liv inte är fullständigt om hon inte hittar en stor stark man som kan ta hand om henne. Och sånt fokus på att män "erövrar" kvinnor när de startar en relation med dem. Usch.

Jag var obekväm med hur Follet beskrev Sophie. Hon är 14, och i epilogen 15, men han skriver på ett sådant sexualiserande sätt att jag vill slänga boken i väggen. Jag behövde inte en scen där det beskrivs hur sexiga underkläder hon har. Nej tack. Är tacksam att vi slapp en sexscen mellan henne och Craig, men det som hände var fortfarande lite konstigt. Vill inte skriva ut det här, men usch alltså. Översexualiserat till 100%.

Sen var ploten katastrofalt dålig också. Motivet för antagonisten var verkligen "min pappa vill inte betala av mina skulder från att spelat bort mina pengar, så jag ska släppa ut ett dödligt virus som kommer ta kål på hela mänskligheten". Trovärdigt? Nja.

Okej, rant over. Tack för mig.

I read this on a recommendation and I have to admit that it surprised me how simple this book was written, but in a way, it was somehow educative and informative. I have to admit that I hated biology in school, I was at first very excited to learn more about human body and animals but soon I realised that they expect me to know every little irrelevant fact that exists. And I hated it.
This book was a great reminder of differences between viruses and bacteria, and I'm happy that I now know it for sure now. Maybe it is a stupid thing to say, but that's what I really liked.

The main storyline was a bit like some action movie, but I didn't mind it. It was thrilling, intense and with a lot of twist and cliffhangers. It was predictable in a way, but isn't almost every book?

The characters what everything but likeable, they were so shallow, without any character, just very stereotyped and mean. But I didn't mind it a lot. Side stories of characters were also very stereotypical and their bonds were very weak.

All in all, it wasn't bad book, but it is not actually a masterpiece.

This is an ideal novel to read at Christmas when you just want to escape all things Christmas. It's a juicy soap-opera of a thriller with a little love story on the side that takes place during a massive blizzard in the very small village of Inverburn, Scotland on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.

Written by Ken Follett, this is the story the Oxenford Medical research facility where scientists are hard at work developing drugs for killer viruses. Security is state-of-the-art to protect both the lethal strains of live viruses with which they work, as well as the valuable drugs they are creating to combat those viruses. Toni Gallo, a former police officer, is the relatively new head of security hired by the big boss, Stanley Oxenford. The book opens with the gruesome death of a lab technician who smuggled an infected lab rabbit out of the facility; the rabbit was carrying the deadly Madoba-2 virus that is more lethal than Ebola. Toni's security system failed, and she is to blame.

Meanwhile, the snow is furiously falling on Christmas Eve, and the phones at Oxenford mysteriously go out all at the same time. We readers know why (even if it takes Toni a while to catch up), and a break-in—an inside job—could leave the world at risk for the spread of Madoba-2. All it takes is a sneeze, and millions would be dead. How could that incredibly sophisticated security system be cracked wide open? It was done by its creator/designer: Kit Oxenford, Stanley's only son. Kit's nefarious behavior and betrayal of his family was done for one reason only, and it's so headshakingly awful. When the armed gang of four thieves can't master the snow, they end up at Stanley's remote and picturesque cliffside home by the sea where his entire family has gathered for Christmas. And now they are all in mortal danger.

Within the first few pages, this becomes a pressure-cooker of a novel that simmers with tension as it reaches the chilling conclusion.
Follett has deftly added a love story to the mix, and the result is a page-turner that will keep you up far past your bedtime.

A 2004 thriller involving the theft of a deadly ebola virus and the attempts of the female head of security to recover such before it can be used in a terrorist attack. A budding illicit romance, heavy snows in northern Scotland, the minimal efforts of local police, an ambitious television reporter, the avaricious children of the head of the pharmaceutical firm and a besieged home during a Christmas blizzard all make for page-turning excitement.

Personally, I prefer Follett’s extended historical novel series both for the richness of his research and their extensive length, but his contemporary thrillers are much more than merely entertaining since he had mastered that art of character development intertwined to just the right depth with and engagingly regular pacing of his plot structures.

Unfortunately, I can remember almost no detail from this book now, more than decade after having read it.

Recommended.

All'inizio molto avvincente, ma poi l'ho trovato prolisso, mi ha annoiata, temevo di non riuscire a finirlo. Per i miei gusti ci sono troppe descrizioni, troppi dettagli ed è troppo lungo. Riconosco una trama molto studiata, ma ci sono a mio avviso diverse ingenuità dal punto di vista scientifico.

3.5 Stars

My second novel by Ken Follett.

The way he explores the minds and emotions of the characters really adds to the overall edginess. He takes you into their heads and you start wondering how some people can be so shallow.

This is a crime mystery/thriller dealing with a deadly virus that is stolen from a laboratory. It is an older book, published in 2004. We have a strong woman named Toni who is the brains on the block (hooray) and her mother who turns out to be a real hoot just when some comic relief is needed!

A lot of relationship drama is spiraling out of control with different members of the family. They are all home for the Christmas holiday and become trapped during a miserable blizzard. The police are on the hunt for the virus thieves and the bad guys are hold-up and too close. A tension filled journey that was part thriller, part procedural.

Library loan 6/19/2021 / book published in 2004

3,5 ⭐
Adoro Ken Follett. É realmente um autor empolgante que sabe desenvolver as narrativas e prender o leitor.
Este thriller é sobre o roubo de um vírus num laboratório e toda a tentativa de fuga dos ladrões. A acção decorre em 3 dias 24 a 26 de Dezembro debaixo de uma tempestade de neve.
Aliado ao assunto principal, o roubo, também conhecemos a família e os seus enredos.
A determinada altura a narrativa torna-se viciante e não queremos parar de ler.
Porém, não foi dos meus livros preferidos do autor, não pela escrita que é fenomenal, mas pela história em si que não criei muito gosto nem empatia pelas personagens.

Fun little thriller, told Follett style. In that, we had a plethora of POVs in this under 400 page novel. The way the plot weaved through these POVs, and his cunning on which POV to use when, is another notch in Ken's "great writer" belt.

We had family drama, a bio-warfare inspired theft, a holiday backdrop, and a blizzard here. The way in which he used them in this novel was brilliant. This book is, by no means, pushing boundaries, but it doesn't need to. It is what it is - a fun little thriller. Glad I was along for the ride.

Classica storia alla Ken Follett: suspense, azione, buoni sentimenti; non un best seller ma una lettura leggera e piacevole. Considerato che la protagonista è una donna determinata, arguta e "rossa" come potevo non immedesimarmi

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 down roads, phones, security systems, etc. Ebola is named for the Ebola River Valley—the site of the first recognized outbreak.

I'm aware that Ken Follett is a phenomenally famous and much loved author, but this was my first time reading him and I'm pretty sure that fame and admiration isn't driven by books like this. There's not much WRONG with the book, but I suspect a week from now I won't remember much about it.

It wasn't the book I expected based on the cover blurb and the opening chapters. I was expecting a major outbreak of the Ebola-like disease that killed the lab technician who stole a rabbit. I was expecting the 'family' faced with challenges of getting through Christmas and a major snowstorm to be dealing with a major virus - but I was completely wrong. I think I probably would have preferred the story I didn't read to the one that I did.

I work at a place with a BSL-3 lab and that scares me enough. The idea of BSL-4 would give me sleepless nights. Toni is the 38-year-old ex Policewoman who is head of security at the lab and she has a crush on her 60-year-old pharmaceutical genius boss (seriously Mr Follett - was that creepy age gap really needed?). After discovering the theft of the infected rabbit and the death of the lab technician, Toni should have more pressing issues on her mind than mooning over the old fella.

Not since Die Hard has Christmas been so blatantly exploited as the setting for a major crime. Bad guys are plotting to steal a new anti-viral drug.... or are they? Caught in the middle of a major snow storm, the baddies find themselves all mixed up with the Christmas gathering of the pharmaceutical company boss's family at a house that has flashy cars lined up outside but allegedly only one shared bathroom for the guests in the main house. Repeatedly, we see various family members bumbling around in the snow for very little plot impact.

It's OK. It's not a terrible book but it's not perfect either. Lots of cliches, lots of unsurprising twists, lots of snow. That's about all I can say.

Would I read Follett again? Maybe, maybe not.