I have concluded that I don’t like Michael Crichton’s posthumously published works. He just had a different tone to his writing that ghostwriters haven’t been able to match. In this case, James Patterson finished Eruption using Michael Crichton’s manuscript.
Overview
The Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii is revving up to a significant eruption. The threat is compounded when it’s discovered that the eruption will release a toxic chemical that has the potential to destroy all of the natural world in the fallout.
The main character, John “Mac” MacGregor, is a scientist recruited by General Mark Rivers to find a way to redirect the lava to protect the world. Mac & Rivers teams are some of the best, and everyone thinks they’re right. This clash of egos causes issues in their already complicated task.
Trigger Warning: There are a lot of graphic deaths in this story. I was about 90% of the book and asked myself, “Is anyone going to be left alive at the end of this book?”
Negatives
As I stated, the tone is different. In the books that Michael Crichton wrote alone, the tone is scientific and calculated. Eruption feels dramatized for Hollywood success. It isn’t very reassuring.
From the beginning to the end of the main plot (this excludes the Prologue and epilogue) is at most a few weeks. At the beginning, you can feel the romantic attraction between Mac and Jenny, the lab director at the same observatory as Mac. But by the end of the book (remember, at most a few weeks later), his love interest is Rebecca, a demolition expert. Yo=lu can use the excuse about love developing in high-stress events, but I just feel like Mac’s love is superficial.
Positives
Mac’s superficial love is particularly annoying to me because both Jenny and Rebecca are strong and driven women. A trademark of Michael Crichton’s works is his successful and tough female characters. I’m glad James Patterson kept that.
Recommendations
The pace is fast and action-packed. There aren’t any dull moments in this book. If you enjoy James Patterson and Michael Crichton, you’ll enjoy this. Since I was disappointed by a few things, I gave it a three. If you go into understanding that it is written in Patterson’s style, at Crichton’s guide, you also might enjoy it.
Leave a Reply