“Grave Descend” (1970), the seventh of Michael Crichton’s eight John Lange novels, is a tricky one to rate. I read it in two sittings, partly because it’s only 166 pages, partly because the end of every chapter made me want to read the next one.
Plot over characterization
Like the leads in other Lange books, James McGregor is a plot driver more than a character. We read about things happening to him more so than reading about him as a person.
This professional shipwreck diver is sort of an Everyman, but not really. He gets out of extreme scrapes then moves on to the next thing, unaffected as far as we can tell. After being bit by a gator, he calmly calls for a doctor to his hotel room.
“Grave Descend” (1970)
Author: Michael Crichton, writing as John Lange
Series: John Lange No. 7
Genre: Pulp mystery-thriller
Setting: Jamaica, 1970
He’s somewhere between being poorly written and being an admirable guy who goes with the flow.
McGregor is manipulated by the rich owner of the sunken Grave Descend, who hires him to dive to the ship’s wreck off Jamaica to retrieve a piece of artwork. He’s also being used by the local police, who make him solve the case for them, or else.
“Grave Descend” flirts with being in that “everyone inexplicably against the common man” genre, like the movie “Breakdown.” But McGregor is also a poor man’s James Bond. He conveniently has a friend who is good in fights, plus a casual girlfriend who lets him be his own man.
Bizarre mystery
The utterly bizarre nature of the mystery makes this a page-turner. In the end, it makes sense, more or less. And it has a good final twist. The revelation could’ve led to a juicy coda, but Crichton chooses to end the novel right there.
(My feeling of abruptness also comes from being faked out about “Descend’s” length. A 36-page excerpt from “The Venom Business,” the fourth Lange novel, closes the Hard Case edition.)
Crichton gives a hint of the engrossing science-homework passages that we love about his best novels. He describes how sharks are a perfect evolutionary creation. He doesn’t pay it off with as much shark action as you’d hope.
But McGregor’s final showdown at a Jamaican mansion is strong. Crichton writes him into corners and cleverly finds ways out. It reminds me of “Scratch One,” but this one is much leaner. It’s like the author challenged himself to write about the same situation in tighter fashion.
Even if it’s not the deep novel it could’ve been, “Grave Descend” isn’t all wet. For its surprisingly short page count, it’s a gripping pulp read.