I chose this book for my August reading challenge (criterion: must be a book I've never read) only to discover after reading it that I have read this book, and it was utterly forgettable. Though at least now I know why the central mystery seemed so obvious a solution.

No es de las novelas que más me han gustado de Crichton, pero la investigación sobre el accidente aéreo sí me tuvo pegado a sus páginas con ganas de conocer el desenlace. Le doy tres estrellas y media que redondearé para arriba hasta cuatro. ¡Seamos generosos!

This is the epitome of a three star read. I liked it overall, but it was very dated, and has that signature Crichton lack of character development in favor of extreme technical detail. About 200 pages from the end, though, the tension really picked up, and I did end up enjoying it.

This is essentially a book about the aftermath of an airplane disaster in which there are fifty-six casualties, and three deaths. The incident comes at a very bad time for Norton Aircraft, who are in the process of finalizing a huge sale to China of fifty planes that would secure the company's financial future. Our main character, who is essentially an avatar for the investigation and not so much a three dimensional human, is Casey Singleton, the vice-president of Quality Control for Norton, and it's her job to figure out what actually happened on the airplane. Was it mechanical failure? Pilot error?

There is A LOT of information about how airplanes are built, how they work, and what happens behind the scenes when something goes wrong on a plane. Especially in the middle, it was overwhelming. I skipped a lot of the technical stuff. Also, Michael Crichton must have really had it out for the press, because there's a plot in here all about how journalists (on TV mostly) don't care about details or facts, and actively misrepresent things in ways that harm people (and companies - boo hoo). This was simultaneously prescient given the existence of fake news (which could be read as an evolution of this), and also had the feeling of an old man yelling at clouds. Crichton got his kicks out by torturing the hell out of the (young and female!) reporter on a plane during a test flight. At one point during the flight, vomit literally runs out between her fingers. Lesson learned, young female journalist!

I don't feel like getting into the background casual sexism and racism, but they were unfortunately par for the course for a 1996 novel. Anyway, not mad I read this, but definitely not a favorite.

It is a silly book, honestly. But it's eminently readable (I don't quite get the complaints about acronyms). The characters are stereotypes, you don't really care about anyone -- not even the protagonist, really. I knocked it out in two evenings recently, and this might have been the third time I've read it -- I have no idea why.

I guess I could call it a guilty pleasure but I don't feel that guilty about it, nor was it that pleasurable. I read it again this time because the e-book I was trying to read was glitchy (skipping pages) and I opened this instead and it worked.

It's the kind of book you'd buy at an airport newsstand to read during a flight (subject matter notwithstanding), and then leave in the seat pocket for the clean-up crew or the next batch of passengers.

Also I only now got the pun in the title. Well not really a 'pun', just some wordplay.

There's also a very rough similarity between the incident in this book and the crash of Air France 447. Very rough.

I can't stop shaking my head at the silliness. The characters are painted with such broad strokes you might as well be painting a porcelain figurine with a broom.

4* At first, I had a little difficulty becoming engaged. I liked the idea and felt there was a good story coming. But I have become used to the seamless writing of many great authors and am spoiled. When I am not quickly engaged and hauled along flawlessly, I feel like I get tripped up, though it’s not always that strong. Such was the case here. Things just didn’t seem as solid as they might have and I was a bit wary. Luckily, soon I was hooked and it was a wild ride from there on. I really enjoyed the story and all the action, and it gave me a number of things to think about. Good one!

Good book, lots of information about planes and a sort of not very good ending.

Learnt a few things

1. Disasters are often caused by a sequence of unfortunate incidents.
2. Record keeping is a good thing.
3. Humans ARE the weakest link.
4. Don't let your kid fly your plane.
5. Wear seatbelts, just in case.

I try to read many different kinds of books, written in many different styles. Some click for me and some don't. That's just the way it is. And unfortunately, this was the latter kind.

But I can see from the range of reviews, that other people loved it. So take my analysis with a pinch of salt and make your own mind up.

This is sold as a thriller. It does the high-octane thriller thing of quick switching from scene to scene. It is stripped back. Each new section has a time and place stamp.

The story follows a rapidly unfolding investigation in the wake of an air accident. But whereas the descriptive writing and characterization have been cut back to the bone for faster pace, the delivery of technical details has not. We get a lot of those.

Normally with this kind of book, I would expect some set piece scene sequences of out-and-out thriller. "Help, the dinosaurs have escaped!" That kind of thing. But this is very much a slow-burner. Unfortunately, it does not have the richer characterization and brooding atmosphere that builds through most successful slow-burn thrillers.

As a result, I did not find myself savouring a rich sense of place. Nor did I find myself knowing the characters on any kind of deep level. But the real problem was, I didn't particularly care for any of them.

I was interested to read it precisely because it has elements of different sub-genres. I wanted to understand how such an excellent and accomplished author as Crichton would make them work together. And cleary he has for some people. But this isn't one for me.

I love these books. They might be a little predictable, but I stay up late reading them.

4.5 stars probably

I don't think I loved this one as much as Jurassic Park, but it was still very entertaining and had me hooked. (Hard to beat the nostalgia that comes along with having watched the movies so much growing up).
I find Crichton's writing style so easy to read even with all of the technical jargon thrown in. He does a compelling job of telling a story and keeps me interested the entire time. It was all fascinating and was a fun mystery to follow along with.
I'm not sure I entirely loved the resolution, but ultimately I'm not mad at it, so that's enough of a win in my books.

I used to really love Crichton. But the glow has faded. Is it the misogyny? Or the increasingly reactionary, wingnutty plots? Or the poor grasp of how science works? Hard to say.

1997 Dec 31

През цялото време, докато четях "Въздушна клопка" имах усещането, че съм попаднал на роман на Артър Хейли. И го казвам като комплимент - абсолютно теоретично подковаване на Майкъл Крайтън - личи си, че е прекарал часове в проучвания. Похвално! Детайлно представи всичко - от ролята на най-дребното "чаркче" в конструкцията на самолета до нормативната база и всичката бюрократична бумащина, свързана с контрола върху въздухоплаването. Може би на моменти се позагубих в терминологията, може би някои от подробностите можеха да бъдат спестени и това нямаше да повлияе на четивото... но - доволен съм. Много добър 4!!!