Global warming – a real threat or hogwash? That’s the crucial question at the heart of bestselling author Michael Crichton’s topical novel, State of Fear (2005, Avon Books, New York, 672 pages).
Crichton weaves a complex tale of environmental terrorism and sabotage, but after his gripping past novels like Jurassic Park, Congo and The Great Train Robbery, this effort lags miles behind his best work.
A web of deception unexpectedly snares Peter Evans, a young lawyer working for wealthy philanthropist George Morton. Dangers intensify as unsavory events unfold in France, Malaysia, Canada, Japan, the US, Antarctica and the Solomon Islands.
But who represents the ultimate evil – the agents of polluting industries, deceptive environmentalists, movie stars keen to pontificate or the uncertain masses?
Sometimes the story moves rapidly, interest grows and suspense builds. More often, the momentum ebbs as Crichton grapples with environmental dilemmas and the related data.
Too many characters take timeouts to argue and debate at length about what plagues the world and why. With the author’s permission, they present numerous graphs. Crichton himself adds footnotes, appendices and a long bibliography. Most fiction gluttons neither welcome, nor want, these excess features.
State of Fear might have been a vastly better book at half the length. Delivering “half marks” sounds a tad too generous.
Approval rating: 49 per cent.
For more information: www.avonbooks.com or www.michaelcrichton.net
(November 10, 2006)
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