: State of Fear
Author: Michael Crichton
I haven’t been that impressed by Michael’s recent releases, but went ahead and got this. I purposely avoided any knowledge about it, but knew that it was somehow controversial though I didn’t know any details about why. Turns out, it’s an anti-environmentalist novel. Michael uses extensive research to show that most of the environmental science is hogwash. It’s an interesting and educational read. While I consider myself very pro-environment, I’m also rational and practical, and I don’t believe most of the riduculous assertions I hear (on both sides) and so I enjoyed this part of the novel. Unfortunately, as a novel, the book suffers. The story’s about several eco-terrorists who plan a series of artificially-created natural disasters (including a tsunami) in order to provoke more environmental laws and donations to environmental causes. Michael does his best spy-novel imitation, but everything falls a bit flat, and all the heavy science thrown in constantly really drags things down. A non-fiction book would have been better, or perhaps a simpler, more linear plot. As it is, it feels convoluted, bewildering, and a bit boring. The science, however, is fascinating, and it’s worth reading just for that (regardless of which side of the issue you are on).
Topic: [/book] |
