Book Crash Review: The Prodigy Project by Doug Flanders

by Doug Flanders
© 2010 by Douglas R. Flanders
Published by Prescott Publishing



Doug Flander's, The Prodigy Project , is a medical thriller crafted around the author's personal experiences and lifestyle. Flanders utilizes 15 years of experience as an Army reservist and almost two decades of medical practice to write an intriguing story with excellent, thorough, and believable detail.

The story captivates the imagination of readers with a plot centered around an operation to awaken dormant viruses within human DNA in effort to create a biological weapon powerful enough to give its master control of the globe and the future of humanity. The discovery of the operation by two young Chinese researchers leads them to contact the United States with information about the operation and attempt to flee China before their actions are realized. Jon Gunderson, a doctor and an expert in bio-weaponry, comes to their aid with his wife and nine children in unknowing accompaniment. When plans for rescue begin to go awry, Jon must face his family and admit his dishonesty about his work but his family must reconcile their anger and disappointment if they are to rescue the young informants and leave China with their family intact. As the large and closely-knit family seeks to leave China in safety, Jon must also be mindful of the earth shattering consequences of failure to remove the researchers and foil the virus-reviving operation.

The novel is 327 pages of exciting and realistic detail complemented by a thrilling storyline and the broad knowledge base of the author. Flanders clearly describes scenes with excellent detail of landscapes, physical and emotional conditions, relationships, and communication between characters. He develops his characters extensively allowing readers to feel as though they know them but not to the extent that their actions and decisions are predictable. Flanders' attention to detail and medical expertise also contribute to the quality of this novel as he is able to craft scenes of medical complexity that can be easily understood by lay readers. The author's love for family (and big ones!) is clearly communicated in this novel and he is able to draw from firsthand experience in organizing and portraying a large family within the pages of the work.

Although an excellent novel, the author is somewhat emotional in his descriptions at both the beginning and the end of the work. There are a few instances in which he seems to be writing scenes as he would like them to (or perhaps as they have) played out in his own family. Additionally the author seemed to be attempting to include every good idea he could conceptualize within his book and seems to rush to cram as many as possible into the story near the end. Although this makes the work seem somewhat over-dramatic in its final pages, it does not reduce the overall quality of the novel.

In addition to offering readers excitement and great detail, Flanders also carefully weaves family values and the importance of faith, trust, and forgiveness into the pages of his novel. He easily integrates his faith and beliefs into the story and characters but also allows characters to make mistakes and experience failures in their own faith and family.

Overall this is an excellent novel. Readers will be easily caught up in the excellent story-telling and will experience difficulty setting the book aside. The work is well suited for both teenaged and adult readers.


I received this book from the publisher through the BookCrash program at no charge in exchange for this review.