The Proteus Cure

by | Jul 30, 2013 | Reviews

PROTEUS CURE

What is VG723? Can it cure cancer and change the face of modern medicine?  THE PROTEUS CURE delves into those questions along with the mission statement of Tethys, the hospital where Dr. Sheila Takamura begins to think her patients who have been treated, might be victims of a conspiracy of which the world has not yet dreamt.

F. Paul Wilson, who ran neck and neck with Robin Cook for mastery of the medical thriller, teams up with relative necomer Tracy Carbon in this lightning-quick read that will cause many to question “cures” in the medical field. As Wilson turned to his now iconic Repairman Jack series, he left behind a treasure trove of knowledge of what truly occurs behind the scenes in hospitals and research across the globe. Thankfully, for his readers, he rediscovers it here and with a renewed passion for the genre. Carbone, who edited the Stoker Award finalist for EPITAPHS, a successful anthology for the New England Horror Writers and THE SOUL COLLECTOR, a touching YA fantasy, joins forces with Wilson for a wild ride.

The plot is deceptively simple. Takamura works for a hospital that treats cancer patients with the aforementioned stem cell therapy. It works, brilliantly, yet those she helped have now developed other problems, ones which will alter their lives, and mankind’s, forever.

It all seems merely inconvenient, the physical transformations they undergo, especially when compared to cancer – until the patients begin to die, one by one.

Sheila races to find that Bill Gilchrist and his strange sister, Abra, who own the hospital may be engineering one of medicine’s biggest secrets – and horrors.

A fine thriller that will open many a reader’s mind this summer.

About Dave Simms