From Publishers Weekly
Carl "The Father of the Pill" Djerassi returns with another "science-in-fiction" account (after Menachem's Seed) of discovery in the making, his newest subject being the intersection of capitalism and reproductive technology. Brilliant grad student Renu Krishnan is sent by her professor at Brandeis, Felix Frankenthaler, to research the effect of nitric oxide (the NO of the title) on penile tumescence. In Israel, she falls for her co-worker, Jeptha Cohn; their experiments on his erection invention become downright personal. She also falls, in a different way, for Martin Gestler?a businessman who persuades Renu to give up academic science to produce and market their NO "platform." The dizzying array of acronyms and superwonks (including return players like Menachem Dvir and Melanie Laidlaw) can bore and terrify readers by turns as they throw around words like "polyzeniumpolyolates" in casual conversation, but Djerassi clearly knows his way around labs and the money that makes them go?even if the success of Viagra lends unintentional prescience to the novel's scientific-fiscal intrigues.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This fourth novel in Stanford chemistry professor Djerassi's science-in-fiction tetralogy (e.g. Menachem's Seed, LJ 7/97) centers around the timely issue of a new treatment for male impotence utilizing nitric oxide (one possible reading of the "NO" of the title). Readers will appreciate watching the personal and professional growth of Renu Krishnan, an Indian postdoctoral student at Brandeis whose involvement in the development of the NO method allows her to break through many of the gender barriers still facing female scientists. This tale of scientific ethics combined with straightforward descriptions of the behind-the-scenes machinations common in both academia and industry is characteristic Djerassi, and his exploration of topical scientific issues and updates on recurring characters should appeal to fans of his previous work.?Rachel Singer, Franklin Park P.L., IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
