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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
very entertaining and gripping despite being ridiculous... or perhaps the ridiculousness adds to the charm
This book was "Okay" so that is why I gave it 2 out of 5 stars (and some slight "Spoilers" in this review). Definitely not my preferred reading style, I could easily predict a lot of the plot. I read & finished all 720 pages, but luckily it was a pretty quick & easy read. At, the beginning it was fairly suspenseful and interesting, but then at the end I couldn't help but wonder what is so great about this regular lawyer and Admin Assistant and why wouldn't they have some sort of special ops team in there with specialized training instead? I guess that is what makes it a fiction book, and more readable, cuz it seems like it could happen to anyone. There were a few logical faults in the plot that made no sense, like why would the "bad guys" just be able to say, "I"m going with you" and then they would ghost them and be annoying. It just didn't seem realistic. And, the character "Ted Bradley" just seemed like a spinoff from Gilderoy Lockhart from the Harry Potter Series. Overall, the book was predictable with no real surprises and with a lot of lectures disguised as dialogue. I almost started to believe some of the propaganda at first, but then it got really old. Overall, I don't regret reading this book, I think it is good to mix-it up occasionally and read books I normally wouldn't read. I found this book entertaining, even though I don't agree with the author's political opinion overall. Michael Crichton claimed the novel was a work of fiction, but his footnotes written below were all valid. And, I trust him that the sources do exist, and I didn't check any of them. But, on page 533 it caught my eye when the author cited Richard Feynman (author of 6 easy pieces). In the text he wrote, "Yes, indeed, lots of people think so. But scientific studies do not bear them out.*" Then with the footnote being: Richard Feynman: "Science is what we have learned about how not to fool ourselves." With my point being Richard Feynman IS a valid scientist, but I'm not sure how well the footnote relates to what he was trying to cite. And, also sometimes I noticed his footnotes contradict his own point, like whether or not cannibalism exists. On page 633 he uses a source that says it is is a myth, and then on page 634 he cites another source that says cannibalism happens. Overall, this book was entertaining but not life-changing in my opinion.
I was on a Crichton kick for a year or two there. This is a fabulous book by Crighton in which he presents scientific evidence that global warming is essentially non-existent, and the future generation will be just fine - in fact, they will be, he says, richer, happier, more abundant and taken care....
State of Fear is about eco-terrorists, and the extent to which those who have nothing but their own interests at heart twist the truth about ideas that have no basis whatsoever, in the name of something great, such as "Save the environment, save our future, save the earth for our children....!"
The story is compelling, fast-moving, full of suspense and unique characters, which Crichton does well, and even at several several hundred pages, I could not put it down until I was finished!
Thrilled and intriguing at the same time, but the eco-political theme was not one of my favorites, and I will probably not recommend it as Crichton's greatest work.
State of Fear is about eco-terrorists, and the extent to which those who have nothing but their own interests at heart twist the truth about ideas that have no basis whatsoever, in the name of something great, such as "Save the environment, save our future, save the earth for our children....!"
The story is compelling, fast-moving, full of suspense and unique characters, which Crichton does well, and even at several several hundred pages, I could not put it down until I was finished!
Thrilled and intriguing at the same time, but the eco-political theme was not one of my favorites, and I will probably not recommend it as Crichton's greatest work.
Unlike the other books written by this author that seem to have one long winded character admist the bunch, this has 4 or 5 of them and not gonna lie, this book got so boring multiple times and it was a struggle to finish.
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love how Crichton turns environmental science into the most hilariously baffling government thriller I've ever read.
Easily the least favorite book I read in 2006. Maybe least favorite I'd ever completed.
I can't say enough bad things about this book. Even if all the politics and "science" were set aside, the story still commits just about every literary crime imaginable. (Most especially in the sense that probably 90% of the interactions between characters consist of "As you know, Bob" dialogue.) It's fine if a book does that for humor or irony's sake, but when it's so self important that it doesn't even realize that it's doing it, then it's just sad.
The science in so many of his other books is mostly dolled-up nonsense, too, but wow -- at least the writing and the plot was fairly good in those others. I'll never forget that Jurassic Park, Congo, and Terminal Man really got me into reading when I was younger. But State of Fear is a disaster on par with a trainwreck during a hurricane.
I can't say enough bad things about this book. Even if all the politics and "science" were set aside, the story still commits just about every literary crime imaginable. (Most especially in the sense that probably 90% of the interactions between characters consist of "As you know, Bob" dialogue.) It's fine if a book does that for humor or irony's sake, but when it's so self important that it doesn't even realize that it's doing it, then it's just sad.
The science in so many of his other books is mostly dolled-up nonsense, too, but wow -- at least the writing and the plot was fairly good in those others. I'll never forget that Jurassic Park, Congo, and Terminal Man really got me into reading when I was younger. But State of Fear is a disaster on par with a trainwreck during a hurricane.
Sounds like if you're going to read one Michael Crichton book, this shouldn't be the one. Oh, well. Side note: If you hate winter like I do, you should skip the whole entire section set in Antarctica. Definitely my worst nightmare come true.
Crichton is a global warming skeptic who uses hundreds of pages and dozens of character monologues to drive that point home. Book would have been superb with half the amount of pontificating.