State of Fear

State of Fear is a 2004 novel by Michael Crichton published by HarperCollins on December 7, 2004. Like most of his novels it is a techno-thriller, this time concerning eco-terrorists who threaten the Earth. Unusual for a novel but common among Crichton's work, the book contains many graphs and footnotes as well as two appendices and a twenty page bibliography.

Crichton included a statement of his own views on global climate change at the end of the book, affirming that the world is heating up, but arguing that the causes, consequences and benefits or harms of this change are unknown. He warns both sides of the global warming debate against the politicization of science, and endorses the preservation of wilderness and the continuation of research into all aspects of the Earth's environment.

The novel had an initial print run of 1.5 million copies and reached the #1 bestseller position at amazon.com.

Story

The protagonist is an environmentalist lawyer, Peter Evans. Throughout the novel, Evans' environmentalist views are frequently challenged by other characters as he falls into an environmentalist terrorist plot.

Locations

Many of the events in Crichton's earlier novels have stayed within fairly defined areas. Such locations have varied greatly: a deep-sea habitat (Sphere), a remote island off Costa Rica (Jurassic Park), an industrial complex in the Nevada desert (The Andromeda Strain), or 14th century France for instance (Timeline). In State of Fear the action is global in scope. The following are the book's settings, broken down by act, along with dates first introduced in the year 2004:

Akamai

Paris Nord, France (May 2nd)
Pahang, Malaysia (May 11th)
Shad Thames, London (May 21st)
Tokyo, Japan (June 1st)
Vancouver, BC, Canada (June 8th)
Stangfedlis, Iceland (August 23rd)
Los Angeles, CA (August 23rd)
Beverly Hills, CA (August 24th)
Century City, CA (August 24th)
Culver City, CA (August 24th)
San Francisco, CA (October 4th)
Point Moody, CA (October 5th)
West Los Angeles (October 5th)
Holmby Hills (October 5th)

Terror

Punta Arenas, Chile (October 5th)
Weddell Station, Antarctica (October 6th)
"The Shear Zone", Antarctica (October 6th)
Brewster Camp (October 6th)

Angel

(no new locations)

Los Angeles, CA
Century City, CA

Flash

City of Commerce, CA (October 9th)

Snake

Diablo Canyon, AZ (October 10th)
Flagstaff, AZ (October 10th)
McKinley State Park, AZ (October 11th)
Auroraville, AZ (October 11th)
Van Nuys, CA (October 11th)
Sequoia National Park (October 12th)
Oakland, CA (October 12th)

Blue

Brentwood, CA (October 13th)
Westwood, CA (October 13th)
Santa Monica, CA (October 13th)

Resolution

Gareda, Solomon Islands (October 14th)
Resolution Bay, Gareda (October 14th)
Pavutu, Gareda (October 14th)
Pacific Basin (October 15th)

Vanutu

Vanutu is a fictional island in the novel. The name bears a striking resemblance to Vanuatu.

Criticism

The novel received strong criticism from scientists ^*" target="_blank" >for alleged factual inaccuracy, pointing out errors in the factual basis of the book [http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/fcrichton.asp.

It is highly regarded by climate change skeptics. Despite being fiction, the novel received the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) 2006 Journalism Award. AAPG Communications director Larry Nation told the New York Times, "It is fiction, but it has the absolute ring of truth."The presentation of this award has been criticized as a promotion of the politics of the oil industry, and for blurring the lines between fiction and journalism. ^*

Fred Barnes, in Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush, states that George W. Bush "avidly read Michael Crichton's 2004 novel State of Fear, whose villain falsifies scientific studies to justify draconian steps to curb global warming....Early in 2005, political adviser Karl Rove arranged for Crichton to meet with Bush at the White House. They talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement. The visit was not made public for fear of outraging environmentalists all the more."

External links

State of Fear | State of Fear | Estado de Miedo | 恐惧状态

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