Synopsis:
A revolutionary medical breakthrough. A technology, so advanced, people will kill to prevent its discovery. Dr. Taylor Abrahms, rising above his troubled past, is an expert in the burgeoning field of Medical Virtual Reality. A gifted researcher, he’s created an experimental fusion of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and microsurgery that will revolutionize the way surgery is performed. With the Virtual Heart Project (VHP), Taylor can enter a virtual recreation of his patient’s beating heart and perform critical, life-saving surgery entirely within the realm of virtual reality. But in the political war zone of San Francisco University Medical Center, not everyone is thrilled. With a health care crisis threatening to bankrupt the nation, advanced biotechnology is a flashpoint in health care reform. Taylor’s research is scapegoated and he finds himself caught between warring factions in medicine and politics that will do anything to shut his project down, a battle that rages all the way to an upcoming Presidential election. Soon, Taylor finds himself the target of nonstop attacks: the destruction of his career, scientific sabotage, and murder, as those associated with the Virtual Heart Project are killed, one by one. Fighting for his medical career and eventually his life, Deadly Vision tells the tale of Taylor’s battle against overwhelming odds, political machinations, sabotage and murder, to bring this modern technology to reality and save the life of someone he loves.
Favorite Lines:
“Face time was a powerful currency in power-hungry Washington.”
“Blind idealism is a death sentence, Taylor.”
“Taylor didn’t think he’d ever get used to how amazing it was, to be standing inside a beating heart.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
Todd Severin’s Deadly Vision tees up a Silicon-Valley whistle-blower murder, a bleeding-edge medical breakthrough, and a scorched-earth U.S. Senate race—then fires the starting gun on page one. The plot bounces between Dr. Taylor Abrahms, an earnest ER resident refining a “Virtual Heart” laser-surgery platform, and Senator Randolph McIntyre, a savvy populist who smells political gold in attacking Big Tech. Their collision course is set the moment a frantic programmer is gunned down on his way to the Justice Department, and the tension never really lets up.
Characters drive the fun. Abrahms is the sort of bright-eyed idealist who still believes science can change the world if you just work hard enough, while McIntyre is a back-slapping master of the photo-op who weaponises public fear with chilling ease. The supporting cast pops off the page too—think caffeine-fueled coders, hospital lifers who can fillet a budget request with two sharp questions, and money-men who treat venture capital like live ammunition.
What makes the thriller click is how grounded the breakthrough tech feels. Severin layers in the grant meetings, committee approvals, and cost-benefit knife fights that usually get hand-waved in this genre. When Abrahms finally demo-drives his digital heart, it’s exhilarating and utterly believable—but you can feel lobbyists and bureaucrats waiting to pounce the second something misfires.
Beneath the chase scenes and Senate hearings lurks a real ethical debate: how far should medicine bend to politics, and who actually benefits when it does? Severin lets those questions simmer without slowing the pace. A couple of late-book twists flirt with movie-villain bombast, yet the breathless energy carries them over the line and straight into a satisfyingly tense finale.
Summary:
Overall, Deadly Vision is a big, crunchy page-turner for anyone who likes their techno-thrillers wired with hospital monitors and Beltway intrigue. Expect smart science, messy conspiracies, and a hero stubborn enough to keep swinging even when the stakes jump from research funding to national security. Happy reading!
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