Terminal (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Terminal
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Robin Cook
illustrator =
cover_artist = Tom Stimpson
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York
release_date = 1993
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 445
isbn = ISBN 0-330-32148-X
preceded_by = Fatal Cure
followed_by = Contagion

Terminal is a medical thriller written by Robin Cook. The novel peeps into the boom and curse of biotechnology.

Plot summary

The novel centers around the investigation of a medical student named Sean into a mysterious cancer called "medulloblastoma" and the secret behind the hundred percent remission treatment offered by a medical institute called "Forbes Cancer Centre". In his investigation, Sean learns that the institute is responsible for the creation of the cancer. The secret behind their offering of 100% remission of the disease is that the creators had also invented an antibody to the disease. The institute procured Social Security numbers and other identifying details of wealthy people and their dependents, and as opportunities arose from those people undergoing surgeries or being on IV therapy, they were infected with the transformed SLE virus. Because the virus was encephalotropic, it manifested with early neural symptoms in the infected patients, in the form of seizures and convulsions. The infected people, once they were completely cured of the disease, were usually willing to donate large sums to the Forbes.This book heavily deals with the controversial issues of the time.