Fiction & comics

Patient One’s Story Corner

Enter imagined laboratories, difficult choices and extraordinary lives. These are stories, not evidence.

Browse the five picks ↓

Original comics · first two chapters free

Patient One’s own stories

Fictional adventures. Patient One is an imagined character, never a real participant or testimonial.

Still Breathing
Read the free comic · PDF ↗

Good Boy. Bad Options.
Read the free comic · 2 parts →

The Inheritance
Buy chapter · $1.50 + applicable tax →

A Matter of Confidence
Buy chapter · $1.50 + applicable tax →

The Other One · Part 1
Buy chapter · $1.50 + applicable tax →

The Other One · Part 2
Buy chapter · $1.50 + applicable tax →

This week’s featured five

Five picks to explore

Five editorial picks for the week of October 26, 2026. Shelf updated October 30, 2026.

Pick 01 · Fiction · responsibility

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Classic prose

A scientist creates life and confronts the responsibilities that follow. A foundational companion to the Church’s fictional world.

Read the 1818 text free on Project Gutenberg ↗See book on Bookshop.org ↗See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

The original 1818 text is public domain in the USA. This free edition does not include the modern Penguin edition’s introduction or editorial material. Outside the USA, check local copyright rules.

Retailer purchase links are paid affiliate links.

Pick 02 · Fiction · identity

Flowers for Algernon

Daniel Keyes

Curious reader

An experimental change in intelligence raises questions about dignity, identity and the limits of scientific ambition.

Check library borrowing on OverDrive ↗See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

Borrowing depends on your library’s collection, library-card eligibility and current availability. The linked record identifies the Student Edition; Amazon search results may include other formats.

Retailer purchase links are paid affiliate links.

Pick 03 · Fiction · laboratory thriller

The Andromeda Strain

Michael Crichton

Curious reader

A scientific team races to understand a deadly microorganism. A thriller about uncertainty, containment and investigation.

See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

Retailer purchase links are paid affiliate links.

Pick 04 · Fiction · medical ethics

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

Reflective read

A restrained, unsettling novel about friendship, humanity and lives shaped by a medical system. Best approached without spoilers.

See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

Retailer purchase links are paid affiliate links.

Pick 05 · Fiction · medical thriller

Coma

Robin Cook

Curious reader

A medical student investigates unexplained comas in a hospital. Fictional suspense, not a depiction of routine clinical care.

See book & reviews on Amazon ↗Book details & source ↗

Retailer purchase links are paid affiliate links.

Ten more on the shelf

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Cover thumbnails: Open Library, where available; used to identify the books. Cover and book rights belong to their respective owners. Historical books may not reflect current science, policy or clinical care.