Though I'm generally a fan of Michael Crichton...

...I thought Airframe was pretty lame. 2 stars are for two afternoon's pleasant and quick read through of the first 250 or so pages, and for learning some interesting details about the aircraft industry and airplanes themselves. Minus 3 stars are for the totally contrived and uncompelling "twist" that brings this novel to an abrupt halt 100 pages later. On the plus side: 1) Airframe is a very fast read; 2) for a few hours a reader can at least entertain the hope that something dramatic will eventually happen; 3) the novel cost me 50 cents at a used bookstore. On the downside: 1) the novel hashes out a lot of the same details again and again; 2) the basic story is beyond skeletal; 3) the conclusion (and its exciting-lead-in) are lame lame lame. A penny more than 50 cents and I'd be pretty ticked.

Suspenseful storytelling. A fine technological mystery

"Airframe" is a typical Michael Crichton work in which the author thoroughly masters the subject matter of the novel, and goes on to tell an enthralling and plausible story. This is the story of modern aviation, and the intrigue within one aircraft manufacturing company. Plot and counterplot abound, to determine who, if anyone, is selling out American technological superiority for twenty pieces of silver, figuratively speaking. Along the way Crichton acquaints the reader with the brilliance, discipline, and high standards that characterize the American aviation industry, and which have made this industry one of the marvels of the world. How Crichton manages to learn so much about each topic of his various novels is the real question; the man is what the British used to call a "polymath"--a person who can quickly and thoroughly master a plethora of disciplines.

This story moves at a breakneck pace and never loses the reader's interest. There are heros and villains within this novel, and sometimes the reader knows who is which and sometimes not. Plenty of suspense here, and this is a fascinating read to which many readers will return multiple times.

Beware of bad language, from a school media specialist

Three passengers are dead. 56 are injured. The interior cabin of the airplane is virtually destroyed, but the pilot manages to land the plane. Casey Singleton is in charge of not only finding out what really happened to cause so muich damage, but also to deal with the media despite the people who are working against her and trying to publicize lies.
This book is for mature readers only, as it has quite a bit of language which may be offensive. 41 different pages contain offensive language, not including the ones that contain "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ".