Binary is a quick, adventurous read. The characters are not well-developed but they are quirky. I has a good [for government business] outcome. ( )

“BINARY: any system composed of two interacting elements.”

“He said that binary would go off today. In San Diego.”
“And what is binary?”
“I don’t know.”

Seven men rob a train, stealing “…one half-ton of the most potent nerve gas in the world.” Set off, it could kill nearly a million people in the San Diego area. And the attendees of the Republican National Convention, including Richard Nixon. Hmm, maybe that would be worth letting in go off…

“TIME FROM INTRODUCTION OF BINARY GAS TO DEATH: 1.7 MINUTES.”

John Graves, of the U.S. State Department Intelligence, is investigating John Wright, a political ‘radical’ and activist with the organization he formed: Americans for a Better Nation. Wright also has been seen with “known underworld figures”. Could they have something to do with the robbery?

Good, fast paced read, though the science and tech information was way over my head. (The epilogue is a good example of that kind of writing.) I'm definitely inclined to read another 'John Lange' novel! ( )

A rich political radical John Wright is plotting a terrorist event and federal agent John Graves is charged with trying to find out what it is and to put a top to it. This book was a pretty by the numbers thriller and nothing more in my opinion. The characters are not very well developed but as the book reaches it's conclusion it does get pretty exciting. John Lange is a pseudonym for Michael Crichton and it's clear that this was one of his early books. ( )

A fast-paced thriller that barrels right on from the start without any extra stuff. I don't usually like novels that could easily be made into movies, I prefer more depth and development, but Crichton keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to see what will happen next, how the detective will solve the puzzle. ( )

John Lange was one of the early pen names of Michael Crichton, best known for The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park. While enrolled at Harvard Medical School, Crichton began publishing a number of novels. This is one of a number of Crichton's early novels that have recently been re-released by Hard Case Crime. The others are Scratch One, Zero Cool, Easy Go, The Venom Business, Odds On, Grave Descend, and Dealing. I have read a number of these already and, while not perfect, they are fun, light, fast reading that I have found worthwhile. I haven't read any of Crichton's more famous works, but I will note that these early novels compare favorably to many of the bookstand pulp/adventure/crime novels that could be found in the late sixties and early seventies and these books should be read in that context.

The title of Binary refers to the fact that the evil genius in the book (Wright) has stolen two one-ton tanks of chemicals that, when combined, produce a devastating nerve gas. The plot involves Wright arranging the theft of the nerve gas from the US Army and his counterpart in the US Intelligence field (Graves) tracking him down to San Diego, where the Republican Convention is underway and the President is about to speak. The book is filled with plotting and counter-manuevers between these two geniuses, Wright and Graves, and how Graves uncovers the plot and deals with the fact that within an hour a million people including the President could perish from nerve gas. It is fast-reading and compelling plot-wise, but it is all too obviously an early work by Crichton and the characters are a bit on the cardboard side. Often, it is difficult to really distinguish one character from another. The story in places feels stiff. All in all, however, if one keeps in mind, that it is an early work by Crichton, it is not bad reading. ( )