Crichton disappoints big time in this fast paced thriller with awful plot and even worse characters like Connor who keeps justifying everything as Japanese way of life. It seems as the author was caught up in the 80s era, when Japanese was going great guns in all businesses, and bought in on the conspiracy theories. This was surely a failed attempt on getting back at them with sarcasm. This novel may safely be ignored as Crichton's worst by his fans.