State of Fear by Michael Crichton is a scientifically based novel on the theory of global warming. The book is exquistically written with scientific detail and on the edge of your seat suspense wrapped together in an informative and entertaining package.

In State of Fear Crichton, well known for his fast-moving prose combined with well researched data and his occasional controversial plot concepts, reverses field using the incorrectly perceived threats of environmental disaster as the underlying impetus against the hysteria surrounding global warming. In this book, Crichton weaves a story around the real-life manipulation of scientific data that is designed to force a political agenda and develops his story line around the ability of humans to influence the environment and the concept that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. So if you enjoy an avalanche of scientific data on how giant ice bergs, tsunamis and flash floods can be created, this is your book.

The story centers around Peter Evans (an environmental lawyer) in charge of handling negotiations between George Morton (a billionaire philanthropist) and the National Environmental Resource Fund (NERF), to which Morton is about to bequeath $10 million. Morton and his co-horts take Evans for a dizzying adventure that zips them to places as far-flung as Antarctica. At first, Peter refuses to accept the idea that things may not be as they seem but after a couple of attempts on his life, he wakes up to the fact that NERF is actually involved in a planned, as well as dangerous, and well-funded, terrorist attack.

I found myself drawn to both the overall theory that things (such as global warming) are not always as they are related to us via the media and the fact that our government has its own agenda and will feed us tainted information so that they can manipulate us into a state of fear. In Addition, I also enjoyed the subplots that Crichton wrote into the story that kept it moving along at an acceptable pace. Despite my pleasure in the book, however, I wouldn’t recommend it to the traditional adrenaline fiction junkie, but if you are looking for a book that has a little substance to it as well as being entertaining this book is a must read.

Overall, State Of Fear is a nice combination for the reader who likes a little substance along with their thrillers.

Tags: book review, michael crichton, state of fear, global warming, suspense, terrorist attacks