Review by Joy Catap -- The Prize by Geoffrey M Cooper

[Joy Catap]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Prize" by Geoffrey M Cooper.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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When greed took over, the moral was shoved forcefully to the side. When one set his eyes on the prize, principles were overlooked. The Prize written by Geoffrey M. Cooper is a medical thriller that will make you realize that scientists are just like politicians, no matter how beneficial their discoveries are. With the wrong motivation, maybe they can even be worse.

The book follows the story of researchers who were working to discover a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and who were aiming to get the prestigious Nobel Prize. Things started to get south when the ambitious Eric Preston got threatened by the success of Pam Weller’s research. He would do anything to get the Nobel Prize no matter what it took, even a life.

Let me ask you something. What do you feel when you heard the names of Albert Einstein, Aristotle and Socrates? Maybe you feel awed, intimidated and amazed. Well, that was the goal of Eric Prescott. He wanted to be one of these science giants. He aimed to be the Albert Einstein of this generation.

Here came Pam Weller, the scientist who beat the arrogant Eric Prescott in discovering a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Would the ambitious Albert Einstein wannabe let someone beat him to his Nobel Prize? Of course not. Eric convinced Holly Singer, a postdoc working for Pam, to work against Pam.

What I liked most about the book is that it made me realize how toxic the science industry was. Many wanted the recognition, and many would go against ethics just for that recognition. The part where in Holly Singer wanted the first authorship on the paper that they would publish made me stopped reading the book to think for awhile. What if something like this happened to one of the hundred books we already read? What if the first author in one of your books was not really the one who deserved the first authorship? What if the first author in one of the books on your shelf experienced a scary verbal battle before he got that position? Thirst for recognition is a scary thing. After I read that part, I now consider first authorship as a toxic necessity in publishing a paper.

As a chemical engineering student, this book gives me knowledge about what is waiting for me in the future. Science, just like politics, is not always about service. It’s also about connections and favors. Fans of thrillers and medicine will like this book so much! It’s a page-turner. It kept me hooked until the end. There were times that I couldn’t take the suspense anymore so I would stop reading for a minute to breathe and calm my heartbeat. After I calmed down, I would go back to the story only to read another scene that would put me on the edge of my seat again.

No matter how much I want to recommend this book to everyone, do not read this if you are against animal experimentation. The story contains a lot of experiments on mice and if you are against it, you will get offended. Also, this is not a crime fiction novel that revolves around the mystery of the killer’s identity. This doesn’t contain many shocking twists. You already know the bad guy from the start, but that doesn’t make the book any less suspenseful.

There are only few things that I would like to change from the book, and one of them is the epilogue. I got dissatisfied on how things turned out. I want to see how the bad guy suffers in the end; sadly the author robbed me of that satisfaction. I also want to see more sweet moments between Pam and Jake. Although this is a medical thriller; a little romance won’t hurt.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book is a must-read! I didn’t notice any grammatical error while reading. Once I got hooked, I didn’t want to put it down. Kudos to the author!

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The Prize
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I hate it when the epilogue messes up the book for me. Sometimes, the author really should just leave things to the imagination of the reader.
On a different note, as someone who works in academia, in Engineering, even, I can tell you that while there is the potential for greed, arrogance, and pride are there, as they are in every human, it is not the norm.

[Joy Catap]

I hate it when the epilogue messes up the book for me. Sometimes, the author really should just leave things to the imagination of the reader.
On a different note, as someone who works in academia, in Engineering, even, I can tell you that while there is the potential for greed, arrogance, and pride are there, as they are in every human, it is not the norm.

Oh we have a different view about the epilogue I don't like when the ending leaves me hanging. And thank you for saving my brain from overthinking about my future in Engineering. I need that.