Book info

• Title Grave Descend
• Author Michael Crichton
• Year 1970
• Genre Thriller

Leagues below the sparkling blue water of the Caribbean Sea lies the mysterious wreckage of the Grave Descend. Protected by a wall of coral reef and blood-thirsty sharks, the corpse of the sunken yacht has been deemed unrecoverable by every diver in the world. Until James McGregor is offered a shot at it. For McGregor, a thirty-nine-year-old diver with a long history of unsavory salvage jobs, it’s his last chance at a big payday. But the more he learns about the wreck, the more questions he uncovers—because none of the survivors are telling the same story. How did the ship really sink? What was its cargo? And why is this whole project starting to feel like a suicide mission?

Thoughts

The intro to this by Crichton’s widow says she is glad that these books are now available to read widely under his original name, as they put Michael through medical school and set him on the path to the accomplished thriller writer that we know and love. That’s not to say he was proud of these books necessarily, they’re self-confessed pulp fiction, airport adventure books, but I loved this one. It’s just straight to the action, no real character development, but even with that you somehow love all the good guys regardless. A quick, fun read!

Rating: 4 / 5