The Magic Bullet

By Harry Stein

Book Overview

Daniel Logan has the world at his feet. As the most gifted young doctor at New York City's top medical facility, he's been aggressively wooed to join an exclusive, lucrative private practice in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044021808X
• ISBN13: 9780440218081
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: Delacorte
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.3" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Welcome to the toxic world of cancer research

"The Magic Bullet" is one of the most exciting medical thrillers I've read. The novel's setting is the fictional American Cancer Foundation, which, like any elite institution, is populated by brilliant but not always likable figures. There are villains aplenty in "The Magic Bullet," and they seem willing to go to any length to defeat the enemy -- not cancer, but any cancer researcher who seems to be nearing a breakthrough.Exactly how far they will go is the question that vexes the story's protagonist, a young researcher named Daniel Logan. Logan is pinning his hopes -- and his professional future -- on the slim chance that a drug which has proven ineffective for AIDS will have a second life as a treatment for breast cancer. But setback after setback has him wondering which is more toxic -- the cancer-fighting Compound J or his ultra-competitive colleagues.Yes, this book has its flaws -- in particular, a "storybook ending" that seems written with Hollywood in mind. Nevertheless, the first 388 pages of this 390-page novel offer a suspenseful ride through the high-stakes enterprise of cancer research, where one scientist's victory is another's failure. I'm sorry this book is out of print. In addition to its compelling portrayal of the subculture of medical research, it contains an achingly funny scene at Daniel's childhood home that would fit seamlessly into Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections."

A "must-read" for medical thriller fans!

This book is exciting, absorbing and thought-provoking. I couldn't put it down. It left me feeling that society as a whole had been violated by the political strength of a handful of self-serving, egotistical, glory-seeking medical practitioners. One can't help but wonder what really goes on behind the newspaper headlines we read. This book will make a first-rate movie. (Perhaps Matthew McConaughey will be cast as Dr. Logan.) I will definitely read more books written by Harry Stein