State of Fear

by Michael Crichton, Harper Collins. 602 pages.

Is it possible that Michael Crichton, of all people, is this generation's George Bernard Shaw? It's not the most common comparison, but hear me out. Shaw was a social critic whose plays were written to discuss a particular social ill: prostitution (Mrs. Warren's Profession) or the exploitation of the underprivileged (Widower's House). At the same time, he wrote entertainments (he called them "Pleasent Plays"), some of which proved to be his most enduring work (see Pygmalion, the basis for My Fair Lady). Cut to Mr. Crichton who, like Shaw, isn't afraid to put his opinion in a preface or afterword. His canon is also a mixture of popular entertainments (Jurassic Park, The Great Train Robbery) mixed with books which have a more political purpose - abortion (A Case of Need), genetic engineering (Next) and, as is the case with State of Fear, global warming. To Mr. Crichton, global warming is a social ill that needs to be addressed: he is, at best, skeptical of the science behind climate change, a fact which made this book controversial after it's release in 2004 and continues to be touted by those who believe climate change to be a hoax.



As with many of Mr. Shaw's plays, the plot of State of Fear is secondary to the politics: from a literary standpoint, State of Fear is your typical action-packed, globetrotting thriller that takes us from Antarctica to New Guinea in the blink of an eye. It's written in simple, almost clinical prose and has an enormous cast of characters that are sometimes hard to keep straight. The story follows the clever scientist as he goes up against the mysterious corporate conspiracy and the innocent heroes who, in just over six hundred pages, fall through an Antarctic crevasse, are paralyzed by venomous octopi, get struck by lightning numerous times, come back from the dead, escape a flash flood in Arizona and are nearly eaten by a cannibalistic tribe - and that's in addition to the numerous chases and gun fights that make up most of their day. It would all be neatly ready for a Hollywood adaptation if not for the fact that the corporate conspiracy comes courtesy of an environmental group intent on creating catastrophes that prove global warming is real - which it isn't, at least according to our heroes.

This in itself was a gutsy decision, since usually Mr. Crichton's heroes are the noble scientists caught in the middle of corporate malfeasance (see Jurassic Park, Congo etc.). Here his scientists aren't all that noble: John Kenner (probably the author's mouthpiece) is something of a secret agent who blithely removes those who are in his way, all the while dragging corporate lawyer Evan Peters (the innocent hero) across the globe. Meanwhile, it's a crooked environmental group which is planning ecological terrorism in order to accomplish its aims (namely creating the very disasters it says global warming has already caused). In State of Fear, everything is reversed. The usual heroes are the villains while the usual bad-guys are the ones out to save the day. It may make some readers wonder who exactly they should root for and may even lead to speculation that State of Fear is just fiction-as-propaganda, sort of like Atlas Shrugged. 

Fortunately, Mr. Crichton has filled the book with footnotes and an annotated bibliography - like John Kenner, he is rabid about references and wants us to go out and check out the information for ourselves. This goes one step further then George Bernard Shaw ever did - Mr. Crichton wanted climate change to be a conversation rather then a fait accompli. State of Fear has numerous speeches, many of which are tangential to the story but not to the author's political purpose. If you have no interest in the climate change debate, then this isn't a book to read (and if you have no interest in whether or not there really is a climate change debate, then this really isn't the book for you).

Like many, I generally fall on the side of environmentalists, but Mr. Crichton definitely did his job in proving that I am wildly ill-equipped to defend the reason for my position. The Internet is filled with those who have taken issue with Mr. Crichton's interpretation of the evidence, but at least he took the time to learn enough to form an argument. Which makes me want to go out and do the same.

Related Books:
Next by Michael Crichton

For more of my thoughts on George Bernard Shaw click here