State of Fear

I just finished reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton (2004) for my Book Group. We don't usually read pop fiction, but, hey, variety is good. So, I have listed six ways this book could be read, some of which overlap: (1) action thriller with no significance beyone idle entertainment, (2) anti-environmentalist propaganda in fictional form, (3) post-modern philosophy dramatized in pop fiction, (4) a fraudulent fictional representation of global warming science, (5) a legitimate fictional challenge to global warming science, and (6) a satire on post-modern philosophy ("Everyone has an agenda except me."--Crichton, the author, says this in the appendix to the book and it could apply to Kenner, the authoritative character of the book.).

I haven't read any other Crichton novels but saw the movie Jurassic Park. So, while State of Fear is more science fiction than gothic, I think it can be traced back through the gothic tradition that exploits popular fears of science and "knowlege experts." All the way to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Unleash those power-hungry scientists and all hell will break loose. Ironically, Crichton uses science and "knowledge experts" (uncritically) to undermine faith in science and "knowledge experts."

So, is the novel deliberate irony (satire) or the usual self-refuting post-modernist critique? Whatever level or angle you read it at, remember it's fiction, not reliable global warming science.
Kind of like Da Vinci Code on the Catholic Church. You may like the bias, but that doesn't make it credible.