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Eruption: Following Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton Started Another Masterpiece―James Patterson Just Finished It Spiral-bound – June 3, 2024
- Print length432 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGeneric
- Publication dateJune 3, 2024
- Reading age16 years and up
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Get to know this book
Popular highlight
Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, and Mauna Kea, which hadn’t erupted in more than four thousand years.250 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Jenny was thirty-two, the scientist in charge of the lab. She was a Honolulu native with a PhD in earth and planetary sciences from Yale, well-spoken, very attractive.142 Kindle readers highlighted this
Product details
- ASIN : B0D7N4X3L6
- Publisher : Generic (June 3, 2024)
- Language : English
- Spiral-bound : 432 pages
- Reading age : 16 years and up
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster “Eruption.” He has told the story of his own life in “James Patterson by James Patterson” and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
MICHAEL CRICHTON the author of the groundbreaking novels Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Disclosure, Prey, State of Fear, Sphere, Congo, Next and Micro among many others. His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and have provided the basis for fifteen feature films, most notably Jurassic Park. He directed Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery and Looker, and also created the hit television series ER. Crichton remains the only writer to have a number one book, movie, and TV show in the same year.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the writing style very well written and exciting. They also find the plot interesting and contrived. Readers disagree on the characters, pacing, and content. Some find the characters compelling and interesting, while others say they're foreseeable and boring. They say the paciing is fast-paced and picks up towards the end. Customers also disagree on content, with some finding it well researched and easy to understand, while other find the geology more fantasy than factual.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers are mixed about the plot. Some find it interesting, thrilling, and page-turning. They also appreciate the unusually short chapters. However, some readers feel the ending is contrived and the story is hard to follow at times. They mention that obstacles are inserted at key plot points without a proper foundation.
"...The plot was interesting, but the story telling took a lot of time...." Read more
"...The unusually short chapters also kept me reading. I was hoping for an unexpected twist at the end, but didn't get it. The ending was good...." Read more
"...Obstacles were inserted at key plot points without having a proper foundation laid...." Read more
"...The suspense was mind-blowing. The authors are familiar with the Big Island of which I, too, have familiarity...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style. Some find the book very well written with decent dialogue and healthy suspense. However, others say the language is too technical, formulaic, and repetitive. They also mention the dialogue is horrible and repetitive, with sloppy details and technological jargon that takes some getting used to.
"...but it lurks just below the surface and is believable enough for the pedestrian reader to easily suspend disbelief, but the science elements are..." Read more
"...This was but one mere example of the horrible writing and poor science that exist throughout this book...." Read more
"...The book is well researched as are all Crichton books and the writing is very good...." Read more
"Excellent book! Brilliant to incorporate Michael Crichton and James Patterson. I do have a bone to pick, however!..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the content. Some find the knowledge and research brilliant, the technical aspects of the story very well done, and the volcano information good. They appreciate the attention to details and accuracy. However, some find the book predictable, anticlimactic, and contrived. They also say the story line is completely unbelievable.
"...Eruption flips the script on that style. The science is plentiful, but it lurks just below the surface and is believable enough for the pedestrian..." Read more
"...well, there are too many glaring misstatements of basic science...." Read more
"...The book is well researched as are all Crichton books and the writing is very good...." Read more
"...I enjoyed the read, but my issue was with internal inconsistencies...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book. Some find them compelling and inspiring, while others find them unengaging.
"...Relationships are sketched in, barely enough to stir empathy...." Read more
"...Ot course, the clarity of the characters--we all know individuals like those portrayed by Patterson in this book puts us in the middle of the great..." Read more
"...IMO, hard to put down. The character development could be better, but the story is king and keeps you gong...." Read more
"...The characters are developed well enough without having to make the book too long and, after all, the main character could be argued to be the..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the pacing. Some find the book fast paced, while others say it's a little slow in the beginning. They also say it lingers too quick on major events and feels like a second draft.
"...may look a little intimidating but the chapters are small, and the pace is quick so it's hard to put down...." Read more
"...The story itself is fun, moves quickly, and does have a lot of interesting information about volcanoes...." Read more
"...The plot was interesting, but the story telling took a lot of time...." Read more
"The story was interesting and fast paced...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the engagingness of the book. Some mention it's hard to put down, while others say it has them on the edge of their seat page by page.
"...Once I started reading, it was easy to understand. IMO, hard to put down...." Read more
"It was very difficult to put this book down. It had you on the edge of your seat page by page! I think I finished the book in a matter of days...." Read more
"This is an exciting book that is very difficult to put down. Patterson seamlessly finishes the story. A great collaboration...." Read more
"...A real page turner; kept my interest, hard to put down. Also, I found it very informative. I learned a lot about volcanoes and earthquakes...." Read more
Customers find the book too long. They also say the ending is disappointing and the book has little depth.
"Exciting read, but little depth. Short chapters, some only 2 or 3 pages, make reading a bit choppy but translate easily to scenes in a movie...." Read more
"...Needed to be a bit longer." Read more
"An interesting story with well defined characters just waaaay too long!" Read more
"...Even Micro was better than this. Patterson’s quick short chapters were not a good fit for a Crichton book…those short chapters made the book feel..." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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I remember reading Jurassic Park many years ago, and I found the science parts to be dense. The plot was interesting, but the story telling took a lot of time. I haven't re-read it in my adult years, but in my teenage years Crichton's sciencey nerddom really seemed to slow the pace of an otherwise thrilling plot. This is not to say I didn't appreciate his scientific insights or research, but it wasn't the star of the show to me.
Eruption flips the script on that style. The science is plentiful, but it lurks just below the surface and is believable enough for the pedestrian reader to easily suspend disbelief, but the science elements are never belabored to the point of detracting from the plot.
Of course, this is not a pure Crichton novel, so the difference in style may reflect Patterson's storytelling style. Nonetheless, the plot elements, the brainy research, even some of the tropes are pure Crichton. I am normally skeptical of a posthumous work being published, but Patterson really dug into this one and did his best to do justice to his predecessor and posthumous collaborator. The only places where the melding of styles felt a bit awkward to me were parts that had been obviously updated since Crichton's death in 2008 - references to social media influencer-types, billionaires with space exploration companies, the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, and so forth. These were clearly necessary efforts by Patterson to modernize the plot, but they too often leaned into simplistic tropes. I suppose they were only distracting to me because I knew Crichton passed away in 2008, and wouldn't have had a hand in crafting those parts of the story.
In interviews, both James Patterson and Sherri Crichton were coy about what portion of the book was due credit to Patterson vs. Crichton. I would guess at 60/40, with the larger share being Patterson, but whatever that percentage, it was an enjoyable read.
The only reason I would ding this book at all was a pair of comments my wife made a few chapters into her reading. She has a PhD in biology and environmental sciences and I trust her insights on these things. A very minor spoiler alert is required before I share these two comments, though I'm keeping the details general and not spelling out how these two details influence the overall plot. Her first comment was that the mechanism of transmission of an herbicide via a virus, which features prominently in the plot, makes no sense from a biological perspective. Her second comment was that while the military or government could screw up a lot of things, there is no way they would store hazardous material near an active volcano.
That said, if you can suspend disbelief on those two points, you will have a very enjoyable read. I finished the entire book in less than a week, which is unheard of given my usual schedule.
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