Yesterday I posted the comments on Michael Crichton’s latest novel of my friend, George Savage, who argued that since in his previous novels Crichton sounded like a liberal, trying to scare us all to death about new technologies, Crichton’s new stance, as a debunker of liberal pseudo-science, was suspect. Within an hour I’d received a couple of dozen emails from Crichton fans, all of which I forwarded to George. And? And a day after I nailed George’s theses to the church door, George would now like me to take them down. As George explains:
Crichton’s 2003 Commonwealth Club speech [to which several Corner readers directed me] is news to me. I’m persuaded that I got something important wrong. I assumed that the shift in focus apparent in State of Fear (which I haven’t yet read) was aimed primarily at selling more books. However, this change may well be a result of all of the books Crichton has already sold. By this reading, the author is successful enough to feel comfortable departing from his tried-and-true techno-thriller formula to deliver a serious and heartfelt message. Pretty much the opposite of hypocrisy.
And after that glowing review of the Crichton novel in today’s l Street JournalGeorge and I will both be reading State of Fear over the holidays.