Blood Heat (1988) is a 383-page medical thriller by Steve Pieczenik, the writer’s second novel. The first one, The Mind Palace, was published in 1987 and is about Soviet psychiatry.
Pieczenik is a doctor, who studied psychiatry at Harvard University and received his PhD in International Relations at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world’s leading research universities in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In medical circles blood heat means the temperature of the human body, normally 37 degrees Celsius, usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person’s health. But in the book, “Project Blood Heat was nothing less than the attempted genocide of innocent Americans so you could test a new type of bubonic plague that doesn’t require rats or fleas, only a genetically altered retrovirus II, contaminating everything in its path.”(p.333) But the book’s got many twists in the tail!
There’s a lot of medical talk, pretty hard to understand if you’re not in the field. The characters and not well shaped, there’s a high degree of coincidence, but like all genre fiction, it’s a page-turner. Even if it’s got no literary value, it’s not a time-waster.
Here’s what Tom Clancy wrote about the book: “A frighteningly real medical thriller masterfully crafted by an insider.”
Steve Pieczenik wrote the following novels: The Mind Palace (1985), Blood Heat (1988), Hidden Passions (1991), Maximum Vigilance (1992), Pax Pacifica (1995), State of Emergency (1997), Active Measures (2001, writing as Alexander Court), and My Beloved Talleyrand: The Life of a Scoundrel By His Last Mistress (2005, with Roberta Rovner-Pieczenik).
He also contributed to the Tom Clancy’s Op-Center series: Op-Center (1995, with Tom Clancy), Mirror Image (1995, with Tom Clancy and Jeff Rovin), Acts of War (1996, with Tom Clancy), Games of State (1996, with Tom Clancy), State of Siege (1999, with Tom Clancy and Jeff Rovin), Divide and Conquer (2000, with Tom Clancy and Jeff Rovin), Call to Treason (2004, with Tom Clancy and Jeff Rovin), and War of Eagles (2005, with Tom Clancy and Jeff Rovin).
He also wrote a non-fiction book entitled: My Life Is Great. Why Do I Feel So Awful? (1990) and many scientific articles.
Dr Pieczenik was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under both Henry Kissinger and Cyrus Vance. Dr Pieczenik is also recognized worldwide as a national security expert, international crisis manager, and hostage negotiator. He has advised the Rand Corporation (a computer company), the State Department, the Department of Defense, and the White House.
Most of his books are now available as e-books. Find out more about his writing on the author’s official website.
Dr Pieczenik,
Wondered how you know about Fish House, NY? Lived there with my husband for four plus years. Imagine my surprise as I read in a Clancy/Pieczenik book references to Broadalbin and Fish House in upstate NY!
Hi Kathleen,
This is just a short review of the book. I don’t know the author personally. You should contact him via his website. See the link at the end of my article.