STATE OF FEAR
by Michael Crichton
2004
Science Fiction
Adult/Young Adult

State of Fear is the story of a young lawyer trying to win a large environmental lawsuit who suddenly finds himself searching for a lost millionaire. The young lawyer,  Peter Evans, teams up with John Kenner and Mr. Kenner’s secretive bodyguard, Sanjong Thapa, to find an eccentric millionaire called Morton who has mysteriously disappeared. The story takes place throughout the world: from the bustling streets of Hollywood, to the serene roads of the suburbs, to the seemingly deserted expanses of Antarctica. While Peter, John and Sanjong are searching for Morton, they find themselves in the midst of terrorists planning a massive attack on the United States; the implications of which could impact the entire world.

“There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact”   -- Mark Twain

Propaganda is a major theme in State of Fear. The book explores how the media takes information and twists it to fit its needs. In the book, John Kenner asks Peter Evans if he knows of any examples of how global warming is affecting our world. Peter says that he hears parts of Antarctica were breaking off the continent. Kenner replies that although this is true, it is only happening in one small peninsula of Antarctica. On the continent itself, the ice is actually getting thicker, not thinner. This is an example of how the media follows the age old assumption that ‘bad news is good news’.

State of Fear reminds me of the American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. One of the main characters, Atticus, takes upon himself perhaps one of the toughest challenges of his era: he defends a black person in a segregated town filled with bigotry. This is quite similar to the following theme in State of Fear.

 “Within any important issue, there are always aspects no one wishes to discuss”  -- George Orwell

An important aspect of this book is that no one wishes to take on the toughest challenges. The main characters decide that they must stand up and be the ones to take such a challenge. They believe that current environmental groups have outgrown their usefulness. The main characters devise a plan to create the next generation of environmental groups with radical new ideas. They would be more productive by using private funding instead of government funding, thus avoiding getting mixed up in politics. They also decide to give people the cold, hard truth by saying what is really happening to the environment. An example of how they would do this is by saying which new studies are accurate, and which aren’t. The main characters take it upon themselves to take up one of this world’s toughest problems: saving the environment.

State of Fear deserves a perfect three out of three due to its intricate plot, detailed characters, unique settings, and an edge-of-your-seat suspense. The book is best suited for older young adults and adults since it is violent and contains some sex scenes.

Alex    December 2005