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Airframe  By  cover art

Airframe

By: Michael Crichton
Narrated by: Frances Cassidy
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Publisher's summary

Three passengers are dead. Fifty-six are injured. The interior cabin virtually destroyed. But the pilot manages to land the plane...


At a moment when the issue of safety and death in the skies in paramount in the public mind, a lethal mid-air disaster aboard a commercial twinjet airliner bound from Hong Kong to Denver triggers a pressured and frantic investigation.


Airframe is nonstop Crichton: the extraordinary mixture of super suspense and authentic information on a subject of compelling interest that has been a Crichton hallmark since The Andromeda Strain.

©1996 by Michael Crichton (P)1996 by Random House, Inc.

What listeners say about Airframe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,437
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    78
  • 1 Stars
    45
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,150
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Good Listen & a Solid Story

I listened to this book right after listening to Timeline. At first I thought that the pace of this book might be a disappointment, but as the characters developed I became more involved and eventually found myself really wanting to know what was going to happen next.

The story is very believable with lots of relevant historical references to air transportation events. The protagonist, a women, faces not only the challenges of finding the cause of a mysterious air disaster, dealing with an unrelenting press, and avoiding being set up as a fall guy, but also the stigma of being a women in a male dominated engineering environment.

The ending is clever and will catch you by surprise if you do not listen carefully. There are lots of insights into air travel safety. If you like your pace more like that of a mystery novel, with lots of technical background, you will like this book.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Try it, you'll like it.

This book is worth listening to even if you didn't like the author's earlier books. If you are like me, and you're interested in believable behind the scenes analysis of an airline crash, this is definitely worth your time. There is a significant subplot regarding TV news magazines like 60 Minutes which adds to the enjoyment of this book.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Airframe Won't Disappoint...

If you like aircraft and drama, then you'll like this book. It combines technical information along with a well laid out plot of "Why?" which drives the investigation. Michael Crichton does it again in this "page turner" (if there were pages!). Enjoy!

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Crichton at his best

I confess to being a Micahel Crichton fan so I was pre-disposed to liking this, and it definitely lives up to expectations. I like the female reader, Frances Cassidy, - her voice could have been made for the lead character. I enjoyed Crichton's portrayal of television news media and their need to sensationalize and, as ever, Crichton is able to wrap up a good deal of technical detail in a compelling, can't stop listening plot.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A must listen!

This book is fantastic, Crichton at his best! I was hooked from the start, the intricate plot is just full of fine details that makes it very believable. The story twists and turns and is thrilling from start to finish, a great listen!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining story

I really enjoyed the book. I couldn't quite understand the reasoning behind some of the physical threats to the main character. I don't think this added anything to the story. However, the corporate intrigue with its international implications really is a nice setting for the action. The way Crichton uses the media has a very satisfying feel about it. I thought the book started a bit slow but finished up very nicely.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Kept me listening!

This book was much different than Timeline, more along the lines of Disclosure. The book centers on one character who I found very engaging. I was rooting for her to overcome the conspiracy against her and solve the problem facing her!

Crichton again includes lots of background info--scientific in nature--and he explains it in terms I was able to understand. For Crichton fans this is a must-read!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Huge Disappointment

Expecting an effort similar to Timeline, I was greatly disappointed by Airframe. Timeline was one of the best audio books I have listened to and I had strong expections for Airframe. Long, boring with only a few moments of interest.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

I enjoyed this, and learned a great deal about the airplane industry, too. The characters were great. I was a little disappointed in the anticlimatic ending; however I guess this was based on a true story, so that's life!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Michael Crichton = Boring. Is that possible ?

Would you try another book from Michael Crichton and/or Frances Cassidy?

I love Michael Crichton, have read his books and enjoyed his imagination very much! Highly recommend him. Frances Cassidy is not my taste.

Has Airframe turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What didn’t you like about Frances Cassidy’s performance?

I find her voice grating and annoying.

What character would you cut from Airframe?

All of them just give me a box of rocks, (which would be more interesting than this book).

Any additional comments?

I am a Crichton fan. This is not even a story. I didn't even finish it because I don't care what happens in the end. No depth to the book at all. Very disappointed!

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5 people found this helpful