RISING SUN (Michael Crichton) - August 6/11

As expected, Crichton offers up a blisteringly-paced premise that is inevitably bogged down by relentless speechifying (this time around it's the Japanese and how they're taking over). Crichton goes overboard in forcing the various characters to debate the issue in a way that no real person ever would, yet the author does a nice job of sustaining the reader's interest by offering up a consistently interesting (and deepening) mystery. The inclusion of a few unexpectedly engrossing interludes doesn't hurt either, especially the scene in which the protagonist's house is surrounded by Japanese thugs. A solid if overlong read. (I'm also wondering why Crichton never did a sequel with Connor, as the character is certainly quite fascinating.) *** out of ****