WILBUR'S HEART

In this second installment in McClurken’s series, medical-device engineers team up with surgeons and other researchers to pursue a novel transplant procedure.

Successful engineer and entrepreneur Martin Ackerman is developing a new startup, Neuro-Tek, that aims to use pigs to test neurological devices and procedures. His company shifts its focus, though, when he begins working with Sharon Hildebrand, a heart transplant surgeon at Boston General, on a new technology for xenotransplantation—specifically, putting the hearts of pigs into human patients. Martin does have some concern that the public might not be ready for what they’re trying to do, however. At the same time, Martin’s fiancée, Trudy, begins experiencing cardiac problems, resulting in a foreseeable collision of Martin’s professional and private lives; as Trudy notes, “There’s a chance I might someday need one of those cute little piggies to save my life.” Overall, the novel has a premise that many readers will find fascinating. The work is very dialogue-heavy, and many conversations come off as stilted and distractingly expository. At one point, for instance, Martin and Sharon, two present-day characters with deep medical knowledge and advanced degrees, have the following exchange: “Remind me, what’s ADHD?” “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Used to be called ADD, but hyperactivity was so often also seen that the name was changed. Don’t make a big deal of this.” Such moments seem to indicate a lack of confidence in readers to glean anything from context. In addition, the characters who question the ethics of Martin’s research—particularly U.S. Sen. Mark Dunn—are drawn so unsubtly that readers may find it hard to believe that cable news programs would platform them. As a result, although the ideas at the heart of the novel have promise, the work never quite lives up to its potential.

A predictable and overly explanatory medical thriller.