Michael Crichton's Zero Cool

Zero Cool is one of the early thrillers written by Michael Crichton under the name John Lange. It was published in 1969, the same year in which Crichton hit the big time with The Andromeda Strain (his first novel published under his own name).

Crichton qualified as a medical doctor in 1969. He never practised but his time at medical school was certainly not wasted. His enthusiasm for medicine, science and technology is obvious in all his books.

The hero of Zero Cool, Dr Peter Ross, is a young American radiologist. He has just qualified as has rewarded himself with a month-long vacation in Spain. He has been told that the beaches in Spain are knee-deep in very attractive very friendly girls. This should be a very pleasant holiday.

He meets a very nice girl indeed almost straight away. Angela is an English stewardess.

Then Peter is accosted by a very agitated Spaniard who warns him not to perform the autopsy. Peter has no idea what the guy is talking about.

And then he is approached by the Carrinis. They tell him a sad story that their eldest brother has been shot and killed and his dying wish is to be buried in the United States (the country from which he was deported some years earlier). But an autopsy must be carried out and they want Peter to perform it. Coming on top of the warning of the day before the mention of an autopsy makes Peter very nervous. He refuses. He is also puzzled. He is a radiologist. He is not even qualified to perform autopsies.

He performs the autopsy, more or less at gunpoint. The autopsy includes one very unusual feature.

Karin, the nurse who assisted at the autopsy, claims to have something to tell him that he needs to know.

Then he is set up and to avoid arrest takes refuge in the first hotel room he comes to where he is helped out by an almost naked blonde. She wants him to sell her information that he doesn’t have.

Things slowly get weirder. He meets the Professor, a very crazy guy. The tall American, Tex, is a bit crazy as well. And he hasn’t met the count yet. There are at least three separate groups and they all want something but Peter has no idea what it is. Karin did offer him a clue. It involves Mexico, and Cortes. The more Peter figures out the stranger it seems.

There’s plenty of action along the way and Peter gets beaten up, kidnapped, tortured, brainwashed and arrested. The plot has lots of twists and double-crosses and Peter realises he can’t trust any of these crazies. There are some fine imaginative action set-pieces and then there are the birds and they’re a very clever touch.

One of this book’s major strengths is that it features an assortment of colourful villains with mysterious motivations. There’s also an assortment of beautiful girls but whether they’re nice girls or evil girls is impossible to say.

Peter isn’t way out of his depth when it comes to dealing with these bizarre situations but he does have a well-developed instinct for self-preservation and a good deal of curiosity.

Exotic settings, fast pacing, solid plotting, hair’s-breadth escapes, crazed criminal masterminds and beautiful dangerous women - if these are the things you look for in a thriller you’ll find a great deal to enjoy in Zero Cool. Highly recommended.

I’ve reviewed lots of Michael Crichton’s books - Scratch One, Congo, The Terminal Man and The Andromeda Strain. I’m a major Crichton fan.