Posthumously published novel by Crichton which apparently he started in the 70s - it's in the vein of The Great Train Robbery or Eaters of the Dead, a historical romp. It's set during the bone wars, a period of time about which I knew little but sounds fascinating - the late 19th century when American paleontologists competed against each other on digs in the American west.
The first section of this I found stiff - the paleontologist characters weren't that interesting, neither was the hero. But it got better once the hero went out on a dig and got cut off, and gets great when he's stranded in Deadwood. The main baddy isn't that memorable, nor is the girl (Crichton was never that good on creating memorable characters) but Wyatt Earp pops up at the end and livens up everything. He's done of Crichton's most effective characterisations. There's lots of spooky tension in the second half and effective double crosses as the hero tries to salvage the bones. This is first rate stuff.
Crichton's writing most comes alive when he's done his research - say, on shoot outs in the main street of town, the law and economy of Deadwood, digging, the technology of early photography. This is when the book is at its best, that and tension/suspense. Curiously, he's not that good describing action.
But a book I'm glad I read which really picked up in the second half.
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