Eruption: Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 19,063 ratings

Price: 15.99

Last update: 08-22-2024


About this item

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! 

The biggest thriller of the year: A history-making eruption is about to destroy the Big Island of Hawaii. But a secret held for decades by the US military is far more terrifying than any volcano.

“The book is a classic summer beach read...Eruption will revive the art of speed-reading...told with a singular voice that is a compelling amalgam of the two writers.”—USA Today

“Eruption is an epic thriller…fast-paced and deeply considered…a cinematic story rooted in science and infused with plenty of heart, tackling big themes like love and loss.”
–Time
 
The master of the techno-blockbuster joins forces with the master of the modern thriller to create the most anticipated mega bestseller in years. 

Michael Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park, ER, Twister, and Westworld, had a passion project he’d been pursuing for years, ahead of his untimely passing in 2008. Knowing how special it was, his wife, Sherri Crichton, held back his notes and the partial manuscript until she found the right author to complete it: James Patterson, the world’s most popular storyteller.

“Explosive…the summer’s ultimate literary mashup.” —Washington Post

"Takes readers on a thrilling journey." —BBC

"Beachbag-ready." —Boston Globe

“A seismic publishing event…all the elements of a summer blockbuster…it’s a thrill and the pages practically turn themselves.” —Associated Press

“Eruption is this summer’s literary version of a blockbuster action movie.” –Los Angeles Times

"Breakneck and plausible." —Publishers Weekly
 

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Top reviews from the United States

Ed Sharrow
5.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced story about a terrifying disaster, the largest Hawaiian volcanic eruption in history.
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024
Eruption published on June 3, 2024 continues Crichton’s tradition of blending reality with fantasy in a unique blend of science, science fiction and suspense. Each character grabs one’s attention with simple descriptors including “As young as Rachel was – and looked – she was very good at what she did” or “Mac was thirty-six years old and an accomplished surfer”. Short but enough to create an image in the reader’s mind based upon their own experience.
The chapters are short, most just three pages long, with dialogue that moves the story forward. From my writer’s perspective, I find the simplicity interesting. Most books I read offer more depth into character motivations and more details about both characters and settings. However, I enjoyed Eruption because it provided me with an escape from more serious thought and kept me engaged by constantly increasing the stakes and perceived danger.
In the days since Eruption was released to immediate best-seller status, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai have been attached to direct a feature film adaptation. Considering the on-going Hollywood infatuation with other Crichton stories such as Jurassic Park and Twister, I look forward to seeing the adaptation of Eruption on the big screen.
Patricia S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and fast-paced
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
Just finished reading this Michael Crichton/James Patterson book. I remember reading that James Patterson's goal was for readers being unable to tell where Crichton's writing ends and his (Patterson's) begins. I chuckled at that because it was pretty easy to determine. At one point Patterson begins using very current expressions and refers to electronic devices that have only recently been made available.
The story itself is fun, moves quickly, and does have a lot of interesting information about volcanoes. I also enjoyed the insights about Hawaiian culture. I think many of us don't have a lot of knowledge about the history of Hawaii and just picture hula dancers and surfers, but there is so much more.
Overall, I enjoyed this, but not in the same way I enjoyed Michael Crichton's books. It definitely has James Patterson's stamp on it. I will say that many of the characters are well-developed and believable. After reading this book, I can imagine what it would be like to be near an eruption of this magnitude.
I would classify it as a fun "beach read". I enjoyed it and I think most other readers will too.
Gloria T August
5.0 out of 5 stars The Sinews of Catastrophe
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2024
Excellent book! Brilliant to incorporate Michael Crichton and James Patterson. I do have a bone to pick, however! I have a huge amount of work to get done but I abandoned it all to read Eruption cover to cover. A fabulous book! The use of the short paragraphs is excellent but very few can carry it off. But the divisions into short paragraphs is essential in heightening the tension of which Patterson is an absolutely master of. Ot course, the clarity of the characters--we all know individuals like those portrayed by Patterson in this book puts us in the middle of the great disaster. Yes, that is how people would respond, we're sure of it, because we have met such people in similar circumstances. It points to the brilliance of the fiction writer but few can carry it off with such panache as Patterson can. The suspense was mind-blowing. The authors are familiar with the Big Island of which I, too, have familiarity. The book was not separated from reality. My brother who lived in Haiku, near the volcano, spoke of the park rangers and others who easily filled the boots of the Crichton-Patterson characters. When a fiction writer can so beautifully cross the divide, taking the reader with him into neo-reality, he is a first amongst the world's writers. He is, simply, finally, a great writer. It was not fiction, this book, it was real enough.
The Hobbit's Wife
3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to Crichton’s standards. (Spoilers)
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2024
This story was so full of potential … I wish just about anyone except Patterson, master of formulaic writing, had finished it. The characters felt flat. Mac was impossible to figure out. Did he still love Linda? Or was he starting something with Jenny? Why did he drop Jenny like a hot potato the minute Rebecca came on the scene? His attention was all over. He wasn’t much of a hero. Why did people keep giving Jake helicopters? He had to have had some liability for his negligence but he just kept narrowly escaping, getting another aircraft and falling into the same bucket of magma all over again. Don’t the police question chopper pilots when they dump passengers into a lake of bubbling lava? Not Jake, apparently. I wanted to be sad when the rowing team was boiled alive but they just tossed them into the story. We didn’t even know them. Sure, one was Tako’s son but Tako is a PITA and you don’t even know he’s a dad until his son is in the soup. The character development is poor. The whole thing feels rushed but also redundant. I read it in a day, not because I couldn’t put it down but because I wanted it to be over. It could have been so much better.
Athena
5.0 out of 5 stars This was really good!
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2024
I've never read any books by either author but was intrigued by the idea that one author completed what the other offer couldn't finish due to untimely death. The format was different from any other author I've read but I have to say that it was difficult to put the book down. I liked the idea that the chapters were short and thus allowed easy break points. Of course I almost always read several chapters at a time because it was so well written. Good story and fast reading if you have the time. I think I'd like to read other books by each author.
Vicki C.
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent read
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2024
Great mix of science and thriller topics. Fast paced, concise, nothing spared, nothing overdone. Interesting characters, if not a little predictable. Still entertaining as the devil and a great read.
Honshin
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but poorly edited
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2024
First, I am a huge fan of the late Michael Crichton. I enjoyed the read, but my issue was with internal inconsistencies. Certain characters were kept in the dark for security reasons and then suddenly they seem to know the secret without being read in. Obstacles were inserted at key plot points without having a proper foundation laid. I still give it 4 stars but most Crichton novels would easily have 5 stars.

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