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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Crichton is sorta becoming like King for me. I either really like the book or really don’t like it. This one was the later.
Normally he is able to mix the “science” and the story in an interesting way. This time….snore.
Normally he is able to mix the “science” and the story in an interesting way. This time….snore.
This is a challenging book for me to review. On the one hand, I agree with two of the author's basic points, 1) that leaders rule through fear which is often manufactured for more efficient management and 2) that the environment is not a static thing that we can just "leave alone" and all will be great - it's constantly changing and no one really knows how to manage it effectively.
But my problem with this book, however, is that it massively vilifies the environmentalists to the exclusion of all other players. Any bad guys in the industrial sector? Not here. Any bad guys in the governmental sector? Not in this book. It's all the fault of the psycho monomaniacal environmentalists who will stop at nothing to, um, screw up the planet. And that just makes what could have been a really good book into little more than a standard "evil consortium thriller" into which you can insert any bunch of bad guys.
But my problem with this book, however, is that it massively vilifies the environmentalists to the exclusion of all other players. Any bad guys in the industrial sector? Not here. Any bad guys in the governmental sector? Not in this book. It's all the fault of the psycho monomaniacal environmentalists who will stop at nothing to, um, screw up the planet. And that just makes what could have been a really good book into little more than a standard "evil consortium thriller" into which you can insert any bunch of bad guys.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Crichton's anti climate change manifesto. he cherry picks data to support his narrative all the while railing against environmentalists for doing the same. as for the action, why don't the bad guys just shoot the good guys instead of leaving them in 'deadly' situations that they always manage to get out of?
didn't like the premise and didn't like the characters
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Se siente el mismo corazón y pasión que arrojó en Parque Jurásico. Si bien la historia es mucho más lenta e incluso tediosa en ocasiones, también es mucho más realista.
Es como leer un true crime en términos de ciencia ficción, algo así como un true scifi. Debo decir que pudo haber sido mucho mejor en términos de trama, ya que tenía todo para hacerla más dinámica y divertida, pero el autor puso el foco mucho más en el motivo del libro que es la crítica detrás de la política e intereses del cambio climático y eso lo hizo con creces.
Un buen libro que le sobra contenido ya que se hizo confuso en un comienzo, pero que ya tomando ritmo (siendo sincero ya desde la mitad) se vuelve insoltable y con mucha tensión.
Es como leer un true crime en términos de ciencia ficción, algo así como un true scifi. Debo decir que pudo haber sido mucho mejor en términos de trama, ya que tenía todo para hacerla más dinámica y divertida, pero el autor puso el foco mucho más en el motivo del libro que es la crítica detrás de la política e intereses del cambio climático y eso lo hizo con creces.
Un buen libro que le sobra contenido ya que se hizo confuso en un comienzo, pero que ya tomando ritmo (siendo sincero ya desde la mitad) se vuelve insoltable y con mucha tensión.
I really wanted to like this story, I really did. However, the more I read, the more I couldn't handle the thinly veiled agenda of the author to write off climate change as a worldwide conspiracy to keep the populace in a "state of fear". There was repeated contradictions interspersed throughout the book, where he uses an example to disprove climate change then uses the same type of example to prove his idea of a global conspiracy and obvious conservative bent. This story made me feel like I was reading a transcript from Alex Jones Info Wars....yes, that bad.
Kind of feel like comparing Eugenics to Global Warming is a bit much. Also, a lot has happened since this publication that indicates climate change is real and a problem. Then there's the meme that says "what if global warming isn't real and we better our world for nothing". Oops, we made a better, less polluted world and we didn't have to.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Michael Crichton knows how to tell a suspenseful story. In previous books like Congo, the Jurassic Park books, and Timeline, he knew how to mix storytelling with hard science without going over board on technology. In "State of Fear" the story is heavily layered with hard science. Not that the topics aren't interesting, but it's that the story gets lost in long drawn out explanations. All of the sudden I was reading a textbook instead of a story. There were sections where a character would explain climate change or the several paragraphs about Yellowstone. This got tedious and dry real fast. I wondered that there must be a point in the explanation to get to the end. Well, I got to the end. Those paragraphs explaining ideas, weather, and eco-organizations were merely there to let the reader be aware of them, but they didn't really do anything for solving the conflict of the story. It took away from the excitement of the actual story. Maybe someone who had zero idea of those things would find the new information exciting, but since I've read and watch documentaries on climate change and National Parks, I found it boring. The other side to "State of Fear" is that the characters travel and face trouble in extreme weather and extreme war zones. If you are sensitive to panic situations, this is probably not the Michael Crichton book for you.