Risking the World
Page 32
RQ: The science seems completely believable. Could something like this really happen?
DP: Absolutely. Maybe it wouldn't be TB, perhaps another bacterium or virus, but bioengineering is capable of more every year. The same goes for nanotechnology, and Bucky Balls really do exist. The cancer research that gave Claire the idea of attaching a bactericidal agent to a vector has been tried, and these kinds of things are the hope of tomorrow for many of the diseases and conditions that plague man. Unfortunately, science can be turned against us. Just ask Dr. Frankenstein.
RQ: You manage to get into the heads of David and Claire without making either seem typically male or female by giving them each male and female characteristics. Do most of your readers like or dislike this way of treating the hero/heroine?
DP: Hard to say, but I like to think they appreciate it, especially in the opposite sex.
RQ: Do you figure out the plot step by step or does it just magically come together?
DP: Writing is a fascinating process and many different constructs can be used. Having a plot with threads that work together makes the writer and the reader interested, but sometimes things you never thought of suddenly give the story a whole new pastiche. Jeremy was a late addition to the story, but his death wound up infusing the actions and motivations of so many characters it's hard to believe he was never part of the original story. That was true for Roscoe's sister Amy too, but by having her, Claire came to see Roscoe in a whole new way. Maybe she even sort of loves him.
In the final analysis, storytelling is everything. That's what makes the characters come alive. No joy for the writer, no joy for the reader!
RQ: Is one of the characters in the book you? Or do you have a favorite character?
DP: Whoever the point-of-view character is becomes the favorite at that moment. That's true and necessary in order to uphold the pact the writer has with the reader – to produce a book worth the time it takes to read. Hope you enjoyed Risking the World.
Book Club Discussion Guide
1. Children's relationships with their parents are an underlying theme in Risking the World. Discuss how the death of Claire's parents at an early age seems to influence her personal and professional relationships through her life, especially in Paris. And when she reflects back on her life in the explosion at the vaccine plant, do you think she underestimates the loss of her husband? How does David's relationship with his parents inform all of the adult relationships in his life?
2. Trust is a big issue throughout the novel. It imbues not only the relationship between David and Claire, but also between David and Bobby, David and his parents, David and his subordinates like Ian. For Claire it includes Claire and Roscoe, Claire and Sandra & Francie, and Claire and Don. Do you think this is due to specific character traits of David and Claire, or do you think it comes from the situations in which they find themselves?
3. If you were David, would you have trusted Bobby when you learned he went behind your back, or might you have given him a pass under the circumstances?
4. With the threat of another Tivaz TB bioattack looming, a Thanksgiving meal is shared in London. We've all spent holidays where something ominous looms and yet we participate in the tradition. Do you think David and Claire and Bobby and Elizabeth were better able to cope with the stress of their ongoing situation because they celebrated, or were they foolish? What would you have done in their shoes?
5. Is there any time you find Varat a sympathetic figure, and if so, when? How about Omar Messina?
6. If you were Claire when David lashes out at her when she's about to go back to Morocco at the end of the book, would you have been able to forgive him?
7. Death often brings regrets. Consider the type of regrets death brings in this novel and how they are similar or different. For example, David and Claire both have regrets when they believe the other one is dead. How are these regrets different than David's regrets over Varat's death or Claire's regrets over Messina's death? What about Claire's regrets over her relationship with Roscoe, or Varat's regrets over his relationship with David?
8. A lot of characters take different kinds of risks in this novel. Claire risks her scientific career more than once, David goes behind Bobby and James' backs to investigate Persian warrior codes, Elizabeth takes a chance on Bobby, Bobby takes a chance on his brother, Don agrees to find a nanotechnology expert at a company he abhors, David's father gives him a second chance, and Roscoe risks his professional future for his sister. What drives people to take risks? What have your experiences in life shown you about the plusses and minuses of taking risks?
9. How do the risks in this novel reflect on the global risks of terrorism and the impact on individuals
10. Do you think David and Claire have a future together at the end of the book or will she be unable to trust him or any man? Did she make the right career choice in taking over Sandra's lab or is she at the mercy of her past losses again?
11. If there were to be a sequel to this book, which characters would you most be interested in reading about again? Why?
Chapter Index
Part One: Allies in No Man's Land
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Part Two: At Odds in London
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Part Three: And So It Begins
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Part Four: Regrets and Discoveries
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
About the Author
A Conversation with Dorian Paul
Book Club Discussion Guide
Table of Contents
Part One: Allies in No Man's Land
Part Two: At Odds in London
Part Three: And So It Begins
Part Four: Regrets and Discoveries
About the Author
A Conversation with Dorian Paul
Book Club Discussion Guide
Chapter Index