An in-betweeney book

One more to review and then I am finally caught up.
Also 15 minutes to go until my program starts on BBC4 so best get on with it.... this one should not take long.
......
And if only my mum had not called I would have made it.

### SPOILER ALERT ####


The Terminal Man - Michael Crighton
This one was okay but not brilliant. It seems like it is missing something and I am not sure what? On the surface of it it should be an interesting story and intriguing story. However, it does not deliver. It seems to lack depth, substance and an interesting main character. 
Character wise, the one that seems to be most developed is Janet Ross. This is interesting as she is not even the most important character to the story... or at least, she shouldn't be. Janet Ross is supposed to take care of our main character's emotional welfare but at times the book seems to focus more on her emotional welfare and state of mind. Janet has issues with being a woman in a male dominated world, she feels that she has to defend herself all the time, that she is being treated differently than the male members of the team. There are several times that she has to "pull rank" on nursing staff as they think she is just a fellow nurse or some admin type person. She has to assert herself when she feels she shouldn't and it is like she feels she is not respected and her opinions do not matter. But not to worry our Janet has a therapist so I am sure in due course she will get rid of that chip of her shoulder. None of the other doctors in the story are interesting or worth mentioning. 
The person who should be the focus of the story is Harry Benson. He suffers from a condition which triggers violent rages in which he becomes nearly invincible and hurts those around him. He has now become the first human to receive an implant that will help control his emotions via electrical impulses and a little computer implanted inside his body. The fact that he feels machines are taking over the world and people are trying to turn him into a machine are briefly mentioned but otherwise sidelined. So, we meet him, he gets the operation, he escapes from the hospital and is caught again. Unfortunately for me I did not really care that much or our Mr Benson. Why?? Mainly because he is not treated as a main character. You only get the briefest of introductions to him (well, to what is wrong with him). He is just "the patient" and he is not made interesting or humanised. He is kept at a distance from the reader and consequently I am not that bothered when he escapes his hospital room and goes on the "rampage". What does not help things is that Harry's story is not told from his point of view but from that of Janet Ross. This means that Harry is sidelined in what should be his story. I think it would have been great if we had been given Harry's perspective about what was done to him but we don't and that is a big let down. Probably the biggest flaw in the whole thing.
To be honest, Crighton could have had just had two characters in total in this book: Ross and Benson. Shifting between their perspectives of what was happened before and after the operation and about and how it impacted both of them would have been a great book. Unfortunately Crighton gives us an underdeveloped story and a load of useless characters.
One example of where the book falls down is the introduction of the friendly neighbourhood copper, Captain Anders. He is introduced towards the end of the story almost as an an attempt to give the story a worthy opponent to Janet Ross. However, it does not work for me. Anders and Ross are thrown together to find Benson (Janet to save him, Anders to kill him) but by then our Janet seems to be more interested in staying awake than really engaging with our dashing captain. Oh... did I forget to mention this? Naturally our Janet is soooooo determined to do right by her charge that she does not even sleep during most of the book. Aww....bless her. But, not to worry, she has a strong policeman to lean on. He will make that everything will be fine or at least ensure that the right guy gets shot in the end. So, yes Harry ends up dead, Janet gets proven right and I am sure that she will have a long and lasting relationship with Mr Anders and that chip on her shoulder.
Last but not least, if someone can tell me what the whole computer programs turning on each other has to do with anything then please, please let me know. I don't see it (answers on a postcard).
Overall I have to say this one was a disappointment. Could have been good but fails to deliver.


Title: The Terminal Man
Author: Michael Crighton
261 pages
Ballantine Books
ISBN #0-345-35462-1

Books to be read: 148