Michael Crichton's back and he's not happy. Not happy about criminals - there's savage scenes where victims of crime talk about killing their attackers and they do kill them (Crichton was robbed at gunpoint before he wrote this book). Not happy about academia, who he describes as mostly funding whores (which is true). Not happy about do-gooding Hollywood types, who he lampoons and makes look foolish (and gives a grisly end).
Most of all he's not happy about global warming, which he not only believes is false but the concept of which some people are so devoted to they are willing to set off a series of artificially-created environmental disasters to bring attention to the cause.
Crichton always writes a good techno thriller and I enjoyed a lot of it, the exotic locations, exciting actions sequences in Antarctica and the Solomons; I went with the science (he flings a lot of data and journal references at you) because I don't know enough not to. Didn't believe the environmental terrorists on that scale though - I'm sorry, even if they are misguided I can't see them as that ruthless. Or well organised. If they'd been terrorists or criminal masterminds, yes, but not environmentalists. I guess I'm just prejudiced. (NB I had the same problems with "tungsten" in Gilda.)
He also cheats by giving many environmental arguments to dopey/villainous characters such as the Martin Sheen-like actor Ted Bradley (who is actually likable in an appalling way). The superhero professor character is a bit irritating.
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