Airframe

Rating:
Summary: ........
Review: The book is not bad, but I found really unbelievable the Marder-and-Richman plot... What were they thinking? What was the conspiracy about? Ok, they take the accident as something to ruin the China-business. But what if the accident didn't occurr? (Since at the end of the book we know it was not planned by anyone). Marder and Richman had been several times to Corea for TWO MONTHS before the accident... What for? Were they expecting the (unprobable) chance that the China-business didn't work? Or what? And, mostly, while the Chinese would have surely been convinced by the american press about the un-safety of that plane, the Corean wouldn't have cared about it at all... I don't call this a well-constructed plot.

Rating:
Summary: NOT AS GOOD AS HIS OTHER NOVELS !!!BUT WORTH READING!!!!!!
Review: Michael Crichton is my favorite author in the whole wide world but I was a bit disappointed with this book. It's language is too technical distracting the reader from the story. Although I liked the heroine in this book the bad guys, Marder and Richman were just too weak to be compelling. And the stakes in this book are too little. In his other novels like "Rising Sun" and "Disclosure" what was at stake really mattered but the fact that a airplane company would go bankrupt if it lost the sale and Casey would lose her job just didn't cut it this time. His other novels, like Sphere and Great Train Robbery and even Congo! were also a lot more exciting than this one. That said the book is not bad with an heroine you can really like and root for to upstage that stupid news producer jennifer Malone who really got on my nerves. You want to see the producer fail so much and the throwing up in the airplane was very satisfying indeed. The ending was a reeeeeaaaaaall surprise but left me unfullfilled. I would have liked to have known what happens to the people responsible for the accident. Did they get sued?!! And all the double plotting by Marder just to become president of the company seemed a bit unbelieveable to me. But even Michael Crichtons worst novel is still better than many other authors I can think of and even though I could see how easily it could be a movie,(even imagining all the technical jargon being cut from the movie!!) I don't think Crichton has sold out or anything like that. I really hope he never does!!!!That would be a tradegy!!!! So I would recomend it to anyone looking for a good book to read but don't expect another Crichton classic. I personally can't wait till his next book comes out!!! I wish he wrote more often!!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Is this the author of "Jurassic Park"?For once,the cover is better than the book. This is typical Arthur Hailey fare with the mandatory weak plot and lots of jargon.The only redeeming feature is the well-sketched characters who manage to live up to real personas.The climax is banal and disappointing, to say the least.Good for a relaxed read and a temporary memory.

Rating:
Summary: Not a nail-biter, but enjoyable nonetheless
Review: Following the lukewarm reception of "The Lost World," Crichton has penned a new offering in a different vein: aviation safety. Despite the potential that would seem to exist with such a topic, the book is rather mediocre. The biggest flaw in this work (and, I daresay, in the majority of Crichton's work) is that the characters are stereotyped to the nth degree. I think of myself as having an active imagination, yet none of the characters in this book stick in my mind. Come to think of it, almost none of the book does. The main thing I noticed, when I finished the book, was that IT HAD NO CLIMAX WHATSOEVER. It was altogether quite unexciting, so much so that I didn't even stay awake to ponder the novel, as I usually do when I finish a book. I climbed into bed, turned out the light, and went right to sleep. Attention to detail is an important tool for a writer. Attention to technical detail is quite something else, and Crichton lays it on with a trowel, especially in the early chapters. Crichton readers will know that this is one of his defining characteristics, and shows up in almost all his work, but I personally got tired after reading, for the third time: "She knew that a COW was a Completely Opened Window, and in most cases not utilized during high-altitude flight, but some manufacturers chose to employ it on shorter flights, because of the..." I strongly believe that entire paragraphs should not be devoted to technical details. All things considered, "Airframe" defines light reading. You'll read it, you'll think "oh, well that wasn't too bad," and then you'll move on and then you'll never think about it again. Unless, of course, you happen to write a review about it.

Rating:
Summary: COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!
Review: I was at a friend's house and glanced through the book he was currently reading. It happened to be Airframe, and I casually read the first page, then the second, then the third...Soon I couldn't put it down and had to take it home with me. My friend would just have to wait and finish it himself later! What really caught my interest in Airframe was how Crichton's language was so easy to understand. I knew nothing about airplanes, yet was able to comprehend the technical language, which definitely increased my appreciation for the story's suspenseful nature. I would recommend this for anyone who likes a realistic suspenseful book, but beware of friends who pick it up to read "JUST ONE PAGE!"

Rating:
Summary: Good story ends with more characters
Review: Crichton being Crichton has added aviation to his list of techno-conquests. Surely he will come full circle and do one set in outer and maybe inner space as it remains to be seen. However...please make sure a character that is dead, stays dead. On page 15 Casey's mom died when she was an infant, so Casey was raised by a household of men. Unless daddy lied, about her mother, she's back! On page 248 (first paragraph) Casey tells herself she'd better get some sleep. She didn't want her mother to call afterward (afterlife?) saying, "Dear, you looked so tired..." Casey..."What about you mom?" Or...Casey faints dead away. Still a good story but leave mom in the movie, she can take care of the daughter.

Rating:
Summary: Crichton on autopilot
Review: OK, I've got this book figured out. It's about an airliner that suddenly goes into a steep climb, then a dive, another climb, another dive, etc. This is a metaphor for the book!! For a few pages you can't wait to turn the next one, then the book goes into a sudden stall. Wait, the plot is moving again! Nope, false alarm, turn out the light and go to sleep.

The main character is Casey Singleton, a modern super-businesswoman and super-divorced-mom. Luckily for her, though, she never has to worry about any work-family conflicts, because Crichton makes sure Casey's daughter is shipped off to stay with her scummy father for the whole book. Once in a while, Casey will gaze at her daughter's picture for a sec just to make sure the reader doesn't forget Casey still has a child. It might have been interesting to keep the kid at home and have Casey deal with problems faced by real moms (kids barfing down the hallway at 2 AM, for instance), but no, this would mean Casey would have to choose between work and family.

Casey, like all characters in the book, are worn cliches you've met a thousand times - the flaky sound engineer, the cheating ex-husband, the sneaky double agent, the violent and stupid union employees, the macho test pilot, the greedy boss, the slimy TV producer. Few of them are developed enough to care about. At one point Casey is pushed out of an airplane (sitting in a hanger, unfortunately) and it looked like things would get interesting, but I'd forgotten about that darn safety net under the plane.

There's a lot of technical info and jargon in the book that I, as something as a techno-nerd myself, found sort of interesting. Still, one gets sick of reading for the thousandth time how Casey turns to the newbie next to her and explains "You see, Bobby, a BOE refers to a Big Old Engine, etc, etc". It's kind of like watching Mr. Wizard (Ms. Wizard?).

The book sputters and starts along, with only Mr. Crichton's storytelling ability keeping you going, until the end, which is anticlimactic and unexciting. You feel like flipping back through the pages and asking "Did I miss something? That was it?"

Check out his book from the library, if you like Crichton. Otherwise steer clear - you'll probably see it real soon a a mini-series

Rating:
Summary: For those who LOVE airplanes and technical details
Review: The book is well written but readers should be aware that a general knowledge how a plane is made, why it flyes, what is avionic is NECESSARY ! I understood what happened after the first 100 pages but I liked it nevertheless. Worth buying if you really like Chrichton

Rating:
Summary: Strange Crichton Book
Review: I liked the beginning and body of the book, but it was not what you would expect of Michael Crichton. It was interesting, but strange coming from Michael Crichton

Rating:
Summary: This book was surprisingly gripping.
Review: I thought I was going to read just another catastrophy book. However, Airframe surprised me. After reading it I feel safer flying. This book delved into the background of an airport few people know or even think about. The characters and the plot were very realistic. I found myself wondering and worrying about the people in the book like they were people I really knew. It deals with the crash of an airplane, and how the company scrambles to place the blame somewhere. The outcome will surprise you though. It's no wonder this book is a best seller