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.
drrob1
"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.
"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The story is very believable with lots of relevant historical references to air transportation events.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.
"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!
"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!
"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.
"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!
"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.
"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!
Uplinktruck
"Perfect blend of tech and drama"
Airframe is a marvelous novel. With this book you will learn things about the aircraft manufacturing industry that most people never think of. Technically Crichton is dead on with his aviation research. His portrayal of the television news show, "Newsline" was slightly far fetched, but well within the realm possibility. Worse things then were portrayed occur in broadcast news.
This one is well worth the listen.
"Kept me interested... though somewhat unbelievable"
I have mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, I found it very interesting (being an engineer, I enjoyed the technical details). Much of the book seemed very factual, including a behind the scenes look at the making of weekly "news shows".
On the other hand, I guessed at the ending early on... this didn't bother me too much since I had to keep listening to see if I was right. What I most disliked was the unbelievable (at least to me)underlying conspiracy story (including murder attempts).