Summary
Blockbuster writer Michael Crichton's eco-thriller is a dizzying, adventure-packed novel, embedded with a controversial message. A highly organized group of environmental extremists are linked to the bizarre deaths of a graduate student in wave mechanics and a man who leases submarines, as well as the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy donor to environmental causes. Their plan is to raise awareness of global warming by artificially precipitating natural disasters that will reap a high cost in human lives. Crichton uses his fiction to address some very real concerns of his, citing actual scientific research to contend that global warming is probably a nonexistent threat, and that no one is doing anything effective to determine and solve genuine environmental problems. He further suggests that most environmentalists ignore or twist the research of scientists whose evidence contradicts their agenda, that the people running environmental groups are motivated by greed, and that the activists supporting the groups are motivated by ignorance. Some may dismiss the novel as a right-wing polemic; others may find it a chillingly possible vision of things to come.
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Media Reviews
"If Crichton is right [about global warming and environmentalism]...then his extraordinary new thriller may in time be viewed as a landmark publication....[T]his take-no-prisoners consideration of environmentalism wrapped in extravagantly enjoyable pages is one of the most memorable novels of the year and is bound to be a #1 bestseller."
-- Publishers Weekly Annex
"[T]he book is half a rip-roaring roller coaster of a read...and half didactic tract. It is a testament to Crichton's skill as a novelist that he pulls it off....[The characters'] adventures unfold at a breakneck pace that keeps you turning the page....[E]xhilarating." -- Iain Murray
-- national review online
"Perhaps his most serious and important book yet." -- Kristine Huntley
-- Booklist
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Harpercollins
Published date: 2004
Size: 6.25 x 8.75 inches
Weight: 2.65 pounds
Pages: 897
Publisher's Notes
In Paris, a physicist dies after performing a laboratory experiment for a beautiful visitor. In the jungles of Malaysia, a mysterious buyer purchases deadly cavitation technology, built to his specifications. In Vancouver, a small research submarine is leased for use in the waters off New Guinea. And in Tokyo, an intelligence agent tries to understand what it all means. Thus begins Michael Crichton's exciting and provocative technothriller, State of Fear. Only Michael Crichton's unique ability to blend science fact and pulse-pounding fiction could bring such disparate elements to a heart-stopping conclusion. This is Michael Crichton's most wide-ranging thriller.State of Fear takes the reader from the glaciers of Iceland to the volcanoes of Antarctica, from the Arizona desert to the deadly jungles of the Solomon Islands, from the streets of Paris to the beaches of Los Angeles. The novel races forward, taking the reader on a rollercoaster thrill ride, all the while keeping the brain in high gear. Gripping and thought-provoking,State of Fear is Michael Crichton at his very best.
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