Grave Descend – Michael Crichton, writing as John
Lange
Semi-broken
down Marine combat veteran is hired to dive and salvage a sunken luxury yacht
in waters off Jamaica. The yacht reportedly went down the day before due to
unknown causes. The employer seems cagey about what exactly will be found on
the yacht.
But ominous
signs – like seeing the yacht deliberately blown up in front of his eyes – make
our hero smell a rat. He realizes that he is being played for a fool, fall guy,
or murder victim by very rich, very cunning villains.
All in all,
this is an ordinary pulp thriller with rapid-fire action and violence. Plus, we
have characters with bounteous curves, one of whom keeps two ocelots, named
Fiona and Fido. Fido provides the only comic relief in the book, while they
both feature in the climax.
The prose
reminded me of Erle Stanley Gardner, since description and characterization
were kept to a bare minimum.
In the distance, he could see blue
water, with waves breaking across the inner reefs, and hotels lining the
beachfront.
What more could a fan of bare-bone punch ask? Putting vapid characters
through lots of twists and turns does have entertainment value, especially when
we don’t feel up to reading something more challenging but perhaps less
entertaining. Back in 1970, this novel was nominated for an Edgar Award, which must have tickled
then-med student Crichton.
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