Airframe

[rating:72/100]
Awards:
Author: Michael Crichton.
Narrator: Blair Brown
Category: Fiction.
Publisher: Random House AudioBooks.
Release Date: 2001.
Length: 4 hrs.
Abridged.

An Overview:
Airframe: An airplane in a large airline begins to fly sporadically, diving down and then veering up again several times, leaving four dead and more than fifty passengers wounded. Michael Crichton delivers the entire incident and its aftermath in his trademark meticulous detail in Airframe.

Main Body:
Casey Singleton is sent to investigate the cause of a freak mid-air accident for Norton Aircraft. For no apparent reason the plane began to fly in dangerous dives and leaps, causing havoc on board; if Norton’s airframe design turns out to be at fault in this accident, the aircraft company may lose a key deal with China along with billions of dollars. Casey is charged with an objective investigation into the crash, but that investigation soon turns potentially deadly as someone makes it clear that they do not want her continuing her investigation.

By now, any fan of Michael Crichton is familiar with his detailed, technology-oriented writing that worked so well for his renowned bestseller Jurassic Park and continued to be of use in his other novels. That style is unchanged in Airframe as Crichton describes the workings of the airplane in question and all the ways it could have malfunctioned.

Unfortunately, too much of Crichton’s writing goes unchanged for this story as several plot devices are lifted from his other novels and brought back together in this story. Despite the recycling, Airframe is still every bit a Crichton novel and a nice additional reading for Crichton fans. I did find that the plot and narrative style dragged more than usual and caught myself becoming bored in several parts of the story. Overall it ended up being interesting, worth the read, but just not the same kind of snap many have come to expect from Crichton.

If you are a fan of technological thrillers you will probably still like this book, just bear in mind that it is far from Crichton’s best work

The Narration:
I have to say I was not overly impressed with reader Blair Brown for this story as her voice just didn’t seem to inspire any kind of excitement or instill a feeling of growing suspense…but then again, that could be more the fault of a lackluster book than the reader.

Audiobook reviewed by Georgia Sparling

Listen to Audiobook Sample Available: Yes

Resources:
wikipedia: Airframe (novel)