It was a bit difficult to finish because I was unable to understand the main character and found some of her motivations to be confusing. I liked the concept of the story but I felt like the book was missing something because I wasn’t fully hooked.

With thank to Netgalley and Sciencethriller media

The Han agent is a fast paced thriller about a deadly experiment. I really enjoyed this book and it kept me hooked from the very first page.

The Han Agent is such a compelling bio-thriller. It had the cutting-edge science, the twists, the turns and the bad guys we love to hate, bundled into one fast-paced adventure that is all too relevant to our time. I see some people tossed the book before finishing, not "getting" the main character and her motivations. I can't say I "got" her, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt, wondering if a cultural difference caused the break in my understanding.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would certainly pick up the next in the series, or anything else written by Amy Rogers. This is exactly the kind of stuff I love to geekread.

This book was just great... I mean I picked it up, turned the first page and just kept reading. Characters had depth, the story was a modern take on the criminal mastermind and the settings were foreign and exotic. Highly recommend putting this one in the beach bag.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I truly enjoyed this book, as, truth be told, this is not my preferred genre. Each page kept me reading the next -- always a good sign. Some surprising twists kept the story both engaging and suspenseful. So glad I read it ... you will be too.

A great medical thriller that reads like a Michael Crichton novel! Rogers uses her personal background in medicine and biology to weave a chilling novel of "What if...?" that kept me riveted to my chair. Plenty of plot twists and shocking discoveries along the way, The Han Agent is absolutely awesome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to preview a digital ARC of this book.

I enjoy medical fiction. I was looking forward to reading this book, but it disappointed a little bit. First of all, when I requested it, I don't think I realized that it was a series. I typically don't like reading series books, and I felt the same about this one.

The main character is a female scientist who is doing research on a type of flu. She is terminated from her position at a university and moves to Japan to work with her brother. While in Japan, she gets caught up with the conflict between China and Japan and territorial battles over some islands.

Honestly, I couldn't get past the first half of the book because it was moving too slow and had too many subplots. I was very interested to get into the actual conflict of the bio warfare, but it was moving too slow.

Han Agent is a frightening and fascinating fast paced medical thriller about the influenza virus being used as a bio terrorism weapon for genocide.
Amika, an ambitious Japanese American scientist is dismissed from University of California Berkeley for violating a ban on the genetic manipulation of influenza. She is quickly hired by a pharmaceutical company in Japan and soon realizes there is more to her new employer and the new found freedom to work on influenza. Her work could lead to genocide against the Han Chinese something her employers intends to continue in the path of Unit 731, Japan’s 1930's biological weapons unit.
Knowing that the science in this book is real make this all the more frightening and leaves you wondering if biological warfare is the future.
Several reviewer felt this book was slow, but as a fan of medical thrillers I found it hard to put down.

Readable story but its difficult to suspend disbelief in this unlikely plot. The author is said to specialise in science based fiction, but the science in this book is not credible. Wonder woman heroine can produce viruses to order in days with minimal lab support.

Amika Nakamura is a young researcher studying the influenza virus, an extremely mutable agent that causes wide epidemics and can pass from animals to man. When she is expelled from the University of California because of her work on banned genetic modifications, she accepts an employment by Koga, Japan, where she can continue her research.
But her very first field-mission goes terribly wrong: she barely escapes an ambush, and Shuu, her brother, is accused of murder. To save him, Amika comes down to compromises that trap her in a deadly game, a spiral of hate and thirst for vengeance rooted in World War II, coming now to threaten her own life...

"The Han Agent" is a thriller novel that, starting from current scientific knowledge, extrapolates a possible, terrifying future development.
Despite some not fully developed character, the story surely flows with successes, failures, intrigues and surprises. At the same time it touches sensitive issues, such as the possible limits to the research and the scientists moral responsibility. Luckily, the author, Amy Rogers - she herself a microbiologist - is good at keeping the telling fluid and the reader's interest high.

My thanks to ScienceThrillersMedia and to NetGalley for the book to review.

We have all heard of the human experimentation done in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, but many may not know that Japan had its own human experimental camp known as Unit 731 located in Pingfang, China during World War II. From 1937-1945, over 3000 Chinese men, women, and children were subjected to brutal experimentation that included vivisection on the victims and removal of organs while the subjects were still alive. Diseases such as syphilis, bubonic plague, cholera, and other diseases were tested on victims to design a potential biological weapon. Relations between Japan and China since World War II have been tense with both sides still feeling animosity towards the other. Japanese and Chinese hostilities and the history of Unit 731 are the backdrop of Amy Rogers’ newest thriller, The Han Agent.

The main character of The Han Agent is Amika Nakamura, a Japanese-American virologist, who happens to have a keen interest in the most deadly form of the influenza virus. Unfortunately, Nakamura is a flawed character in that she behaves more like an adolescent than a serious young researcher at a highly esteemed university. She feels that she is above any rules and behaves accordingly which eventually gets her kicked out of UC Berkley and banned from medical research in the US. Fortunately for her, with the help from her brother, she is hired by a company in Japan known as Koga Pharmaceuticals. It doesn’t take her too long before she makes her next foolish mistake by developing a physical relationship with the head honcho at Koga, Hiroshi Naito. Nakamura’s hubris turns out to be her downfall as a more sinister plot takes advantage of this flaw in her character to exploit her extraordinary abilities as a virologist. Eventually she sees the light but the damage has already been done, so it is up to her to make it right even if the final outcome is death. Since Nakamura is an anti-hero, it is difficult to warm up to this character, but she does show how a rogue state could take advantage of a scientist’s vulnerabilities and use their talents for their own means.

There are numerous thrillers that look at the possibility of using a deadly virus as a bioweapon, but most focus on radical groups such as ISIS or religiously zealot groups as being the harbingers of doom. Additionally, bioweapons are difficult to control and could infect anybody. The Han Agent has a different take, by focusing on what seems to be a normally rational group of people except for their long deep seated hate for their enemies and specifically targeting them with a bioweapon. The Japanese are normally a very peaceful culture except when it comes to their feelings for the Chinese. Though most Japanese citizens wouldn’t want to see all Chinese wiped off the face the Earth, unfortunately there are some that would. So why not create a designer virus that targets the Chinese? It is terrifying enough to know that a group of zealots could cause Armageddon with any bioweapon, but these fringe groups are rather obvious and methods can be used to monitor them and keep them in check. But when a group of individuals with influence and wealth decide to target a group of people that are to their disliking, they could find the means to obtain such technology. Jews could target Arabs or vice versa. White Supremacist could target blacks. Genocide would take on a whole new dimension.

With historical references and reflections on new technology, Amy Rogers’ The Han Agent is both an educational and exciting novel. Rogers is considering continuing this as a series with the next book in the series entitled The Han Vector that will primarily feature Captain Michael Lindstrom who makes a brief appearance in The Han Agent as a member of the global influenza team at the CDC.

This book starts so slow I wondered if I should continue reading. Fortunately I did, and was ably rewarded. This is a thriller that combines violence with biological warfare. It examines the bond between brother and sister as the events in their lives bring them to Japan after being born in America/ The characters are realistic, if a little stereotypical. The suspense grows through the story as new information is found along the way. The path to the end is tortuous and twisting, but the conclusion is satisfying. Once you start reading you will not be able to put this book down.

The Han Agent by Amy Rogers is a so-so medical thriller.

In the 1930's Japanese scientists began experimenting with biological weapons, but the program was forced to end due to WWII and all notes and evidence of the experimentation was hidden away. Jumping to the present, Japanese-American scientist Amika Nakamura is an ambitious young virologist working at U.C., Berkeley who defies a ban on genetic manipulation of the 1918 influenza virus. She publishes a paper on her work and is subsequently expelled, fired, and banned from working at any U.C. school. She accepts a position with Koga, a pharmaceutical company in Tokyo. Her younger brother Shuu also works for Koga. She travels to the Senkaku Islands, near the southern tip of the Japanese archipelago and quickly Amika and Shuu are entangled in a high-profile geopolitical struggle between Japan and China.

Those of you who follow my reviews know I enjoy thrillers involving viruses, plagues, dystopian scenarios, etc. The Han Agent was seemingly a perfect fit for my preferred genres. What I never envisioned was being bored and having to force myself to finish a book featuring biological weapons. After an intriguing opening, the action in the first first half of the book slows down and the hook, the biological weaponization of a virus, is set aside for political posturing.

Now, I can suspend disbelief with the best of them and roll with the action, assuming there is some action, but it is difficult to overcome sheer disdain of the main character. Amika is arrogant, self-important, overly confident, and annoying as all heck. I rapidly grew tired of her and her whining. Add to this a predictable plot and the lack of true, thrilling action and suspense and it is hard to rally support and enthusiasm for a novel. The quality of the writing is good, however, and the narrative does reach a satisfying conclusion. I'm sure there are other readers who will enjoy this novel more than I did.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of ScienceThrillers.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/09/the-han-agent.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2112527133

Okay. That’s what I gather from reading the synopsis and reading up to 22% of the book before I DNF it. Yes, I DNF this book. Why?

Like I said, the story is about media and dealing with them. I don’t think there’s a big something going on in this book. If there is, well, they did a poor way to show it. While reading this, all I could feel is the problem towards the media. I know this book is medical-thriller and I read some of the reviews of this one on Goodreads I can see a lot of people praising this book.

I admit that those reviews somehow influenced me to continue reading this book because when I reached around the 4th chapter and there’s still nothing interesting going on, I was so close on DNF-ing this. And when I continue my read on this book, I was really hoping that it would catch up eventually. Hoping that an interesting something will happen right around the corner. But no, nada, there’s nothing.

It was slow and I don’t like it. So I stopped reading at 22%.

The book has amazing narration though. It’s the kind of narration that you’ll find yourself hard to stop reading. It’s in third person point of view but still, it was a good kind of narration. I feel like I was actually reading it as fast as I could read a first person point of view book.

It’s such a bummer that I had to DNF this book because I’ve never read a book with this kind of genre before. However, I don’t really want to push myself to finish reading something that I don’t find worth my time. This is my second DNF read this month and I feel so bad about myself. I’m not really the kind of person who DNF a book that easily. I always give a book a lot of chances before I give up on them.

To wrap this up, the only thing I liked about this book is the narration. Lol. But if you bessies are the type of reader who appreciates medical-thriller then go ahead and read this. It just didn’t work for me but I hope that it will work on you. :D

The Han Agent is a well-written medical thriller that builds anticipation and dread up till the very end as it follows renowned virologist Amika Nakamura and the results of her work and moral choices. The start of the novel sees her led away in disgrace from her work at a prestigious university for disregarding safety prohibitions in testing and mutating the Influenza (flu) virus. No one will hire her, and her life is adrift until a prominent mainland Japanese biotech billionaire offers her a job and wants her to continue her controversial and dangerous research.

Amika's ambition and laissez faire moral attitude betray her, as she finds herself caught up in a deadly game of revenge between an ultranationalist Japanese faction and the Chinese, who they despise. She doesn't know who to trust, and her desire for notoriety and personal success may result not only in her own undoing, but unleash a viral payload that could wipe out millions.

I found the science believable and intriguing, and the Japanese pursuit of a bio-weapon "Manhattan Project" during World War II to be truly frightening. Knowing that it could happen made it even more so. That project lay dormant after the war, waiting to be resumed by those who would fan the flames of vengeance, and the opportunity presented by a virologist talented enough to complete the work. Amika is hard to like through much of the novel as her ambition outstrips her compassion for other human beings, but the changes in her throughout the novel as she begins to realize what she has done make for a great read. I could definitely see some country attempt something like this in the near future. 4.5 stars.

Exciting plot, interesting characters. Genocidal war explained and shown to be possible, between Japanese and Chinese characters.

I really enjoyed this read. The book started off a bit slow but that was mostly to get things set up for the rest of the book, especially the science. After things are set up, it snowballs into a wild ride.
Amika (Dr. Nakamura) was kicked out of her last research facility and became a pariah in the United States medical community for her cutting edge research of the genome for influenza. When she is offered a job in Japan at the same company her brother works, she jumps at the chance. The transition is easy as she grew up a Japanese-American and knew there language. When things go horribly wrong on her very first research trip, she does everything she can to protect her family and her work. But is she just a puppet in the master's hands?

3.5 stars. This is the first book by Amy Rogers that I have read so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a well written medical thriller. This can be read as a standalone. There is violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all info here. The author did a good job of explaining what is going on and describing the history and settings of the story. The characters, even though I couldn't stand some of them, were well written and multidimensional. There are a lot of clues in the storyline that keep you guessing what twists and turns will be revealed next. This storyline makes you wonder if this could be happening right now somewhere in the world.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to leave a review for other readers.

While most of you who have followed my reviews for a while know I love sci-fi, fantasy, Jane Austen, history, and architecture, most of you probably don't know that I'm a card carrying scientist with a PhD. While my area of expertise is now chemistry, my undergraduate degree was in Microbiology and Immunology. My parents are physician researchers. I've been a National Science Foundation fellow. And thus, my problems with this book begin.

Amika Nakamura is a post-doctoral research fellow who mysteriously finds a way to acquire highly infectious viral culture specimens of the 1918 influenza that caused the global pandemic that wiped out millions. She is working with them in her humble Berkeley virology lab clean room, unbeknownst to her post-doctoral advisor, and the university, until with much hubris she submits a paper for a conference about her research. Because if you're doing something illicit, by all means try to tell the entire research community. Yeah, it's amazing that she could keep that whole thing going, especially since highly contagious influenza viruses require at a minimum Bio-Safety Level 2 facilities and in the case of particularly virulent forms, BSL-3 facilities. There are only a handful of BSL-3 rated facilities in the US and Berkeley isn't one of them. Okay, you say, suspend a little belief. This is fiction. Well...

Imagine a protagonist who is filled with hubris, who gets fired for blatantly unsafe research you have no idea how she was doing in the first place, who has to destroy all her specimens because they are so unsafe, and who takes a job with a big Japanese pharma firm and then spends her time ogling the big director thinking to herself that Hiroshi Naito is good-looking and so of course she should try to seduce him because "job security and a little fun." Hey great idea, <i>said no female scientist wanting to be taken seriously EVER.</i> This character and her various machinations are like a parody. From trying to help her brother by going along with a trumped up rape scenario she denies to a reporter and then later tacitly confirms in public, this character lacks all credibility and logic for a trained scientist. Amika-san has to be one of the least likable lead characters I've read in a long time. She has nothing going for her. She is shallow, calculating, and risk-taking in a field where risk can easily kill people. All the characters appear to be equally vacuous, and self-consumed, btw.

And then there is the backdrop of the research scenario and its lack of understanding of public health research. For instance, if you have an outbreak of avian flu, do you 1) do sample collection and analysis through your governmental public health branch to research and track the flu or 2) give all your bird specimens to a big pharma company and tell them to start gain-of-function research on a vaccine? (By which, in the latter case, we mean lump together a whole bunch of terminology and try to make a plausible story out of them.) Why, 2, of course! The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan wants no part of this scary bad research and is happy to have a post-doctoral fellow, who was FIRED from her previous gig for doing unsafe research, handling the research for a mega-corporation interested in helping viral genes GAIN function (by which we mean enhanced activation of various genes of interest). Of course they do.

Rogers has taken a bunch of facts about influenza and avian flu (including the very real fact that in Japan they have had a great interest in the risks of an influenza pandemic affecting a densely populated country, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9REAM329LI for instance) and the dispute over the Shenkaku/Diaoyu/Tiaoyutai Islands and, like a test to see if it's cooked spaghetti, she has thrown them together to make a story stick against a dryase board.

On top of these overriding problems, I have the underlying issue of cultural appropriation, with which I can foresee others far more qualified than I am will have a boatload of fun. Yes, those clever revenge-seeking Japanese and those bad Chinese jackals! Add viruses! Shake, stir! Oh, such fun!

If you want to read a good fiction book about a pandemic, reread Richard Preston's <i>The Cobra Event.</i> If you want political intrigue added to a global viral mutation pandemic, read Mira Grant's <i>Newsflesh</i> series.

Special note added: Why do you have to heavily tranquilize a goat, when already you're "vaccinating" them with birth control in a dart? Hmmm. Search me.

A real page turner couldn't put it down characters are well developed