Eruption by Michael Crichton & James Patterson — Book Review

CJ Franklin
Jul 20
4 min read

Let’s talk about it.

Eruption released June 3rd, 2024 to rave reviews, a number one spot on the NYT Bestseller list, a top ten Amazon debut and sales that would make your mother blush.

A co-written novel by James Patterson and the deceased Michael Crichton was guaranteed to do well. But is it any good?

Yes and no.

Let’s start with the spoiler-free section of this review.

The story takes place on the Big Island of Hawaii, near Hilo. Our main character, Mac, is the lead volcanologist for the research facility on the island. The science is pointing to a big explosion coming. We see the preparation that they are taking for it.

Then the military joins in and adds some extra pressure after revealing a secret about the island. The mission then becomes about how to control where the lava goes.

It’s a neat premise. Very Crichton.

Michael Crichton is one of my all-time favourite authors. He had this amazing ability to combine interesting science with a fast-paced thriller. I haven’t found anyone who can quite nail it like he did. He unfortunately passed in 2008. And I’ve read every book he wrote.

So I was excited to read this one.

And, spoiler-free, it’s okay.

When reading about the book Michael’s wife Sherri said that Crichton had done a ton of research about this topic and he had most of the plot points down. She says James was the perfect person to collaborate with to get it into a finished story.

This book did feel like an almost Michael-Crichton book. It had 85% of his magic but was missing a few touches here and there. At the same time, it was missing a lot of James Patterson. It feels like he was trying to stay true to Crichton’s style as opposed to his own.

The book is fast-paced. It’s done in quick chapters and the plot is moving. Even with the quick pace, it feels like there’s some sag in the middle before we get the explosion. And there are more than a few characters that felt like they were thrown in only to have some consequences.

To end the spoiler-free section; if you like Michael Crichton, get the book. If you don’t but like an action thriller; grab it on sale.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Characters + Setting

In most Crichton books, characters are a bit of an afterthought. They are much more focused on the science, technology, setting and plot. And this one was no different. I finished reading it two days ago and I had to look up the name of the main character.

Our main character is a bit of a Robert Langdon do-no-wrong type. They tried to spice him up with some divorce interest but it fell a little flat.

The military characters were military stereotypes to a T.

Most of the other characters in the book felt like dominoes they were setting up to kill, or prove wrong. (In a lot of cases, they did both.)

There was some intriguing Hawaiian characters who had the local lingo and beliefs about preservation and the volcano. But they were not a large part of the story by any stretch.

Speaking of Hawaii… whenever I see it in books it feels like it’s only there because the author wanted to expense a vacation.

Not as much here.

Hawaii felt like an authentic place for this story to occur. The ridiculousness of the American military leads nicely into the added stakes that they give to a volcano exploding.

The scenery, the local details, the language, the beauty. These two authors captured it nicely. These two American dudes probably visited once or twice to get those details right. (You have to put in the work.)

Plot

The plot is quick and slow at the same time.

The book starts with a group of trees at a local botanical garden turning black and dying from a mysterious illness. It seems like this would lead into more but it doesn’t. The character it happens to comes back for a single-chapter cameo before disappearing again.

From there, we get into some local politics with our main characters. They meander around the days before an eruption. We see how they prepare for a volcano and some of the science. At this point, it’s going to be a big eruption but manageable.

Then the military comes in for the twist. They’ve stored a deadly chemical in tanks near the volcano. (Dumb, but okay.)

It adds stakes for sure. And the science around the chemical is neat. A lot of it went over my head. But it was cool. (I love a good chemical agent.) ((In literature!)) It also leads to the most interesting part of the book for me;

How do you contain a volcano?

Part of me thought it would be easy. Dig trenches maybe? The science and technology part came through very well here. We get a few different experts and characters explaining different strategies for how to deal with this volcano and ways to direct lava flow.

From here the book loses a bit of steam for me. (That’s a solid volcano joke.)

There are more than a few characters that die. And a lot of them felt like they were put in the book, and made deliberately shitty, just to die.

There are a few that are sad. And surprising.

But overall, the explosion and the events around it felt sort of mediocre for me. Our main character is doing hero things bouncing back and forth and it felt like we lost momentum.

And then it was over.

Feels

It was okay. I keep saying it because it’s the exact word I felt.

Parts I liked, and parts I didn’t. It’s been a little over 2 weeks since I finished reading it and I’ve only thought about it for this review.

The characters are forgettable. The setting is Hawaii. The plot was fast and good enough. The one big plus was the interesting science and technology.

And that sort of makes it feel like a Michael Crichton novel. I don’t remember most of the characters from his books. But I do remember the science and plot.