Zero Cool (Hard Case Crime) Paperback – November 19, 2013

John Lange wrote eight great novels in the 1960's then totally dropped out of sight. The reason is because John Lange was secretly Michael Crichton the best selling mainstream author of such blockbusters as Congo, Sphere and Jurassic Park.Zero Cool was released in 1969 the same year Crichton had The Andromeda Strain published his "first novel" under his own name.This like the other seven John Lange novels may not be a masterpiece but it an excellent fun romp of an action & mystery novel. Pretty woman and globe hopping adventure abound. It stars vacationing radiologist Peter Ross who gets sucked into this breakneck story.When Hard Case crime first brought this story back in print is 2008, Chricton wrote some new prose for the beginning and endings to make it seem more timely. Hard case is now reprinting this and all eight books in it's new over-sized editions from Titan books. Although the 2008 edition in the small size is still available I recommend buying the 2013 edition. It is much easier to read and the stunning cover art by Gregory Manchess deserves the large treatment.Highly Recommended

Quite a romp around Spain. Lots of action at every turn. Twists and turns around every corner. A fun read.

I enjoyed the adventure and the humor! It shows you how a vacation can go wrong. Michael Crichton is the best.

Excellence, an author earning, learning and entertaining us with his imagination of how to pay for university. Beyond an exceptional man, a hero to the writing community.A researcher, writer, humorous character himself leads the way to entertain me, and I hope to learn from his style and flow of writing.

Great writer with an interesting tale. Wish it were longer with greater details, but, alas, he’s beyond the revise option!

It's Michael Chrichton! Albeit, a younger, less sophisticated Michael Chrichton; nevertheless, even back then, his writing was well researched and medical terminology and activities are accurate (or at least, they seem accurate to me) and up to date for the era the work was written. I enjoy everything he writes, some more than others, but it's all worth reading.

Quick and east read, but poorly written, trite, boring, few redeeming factors. I regret the time I wasted reading this book.

For much of the first half of this book it read like the literary equivalent of one of those 60's swinging bachelor movies. The protagonist's smart aleck snappy comebacks seemed unrealistic in the situations he found himself in. However as the plot started to take shape it sparked interest rather than confusion. Quite an involved plot as expected from Michael Crichton but the book shows its age. Still an enjoyable read, in the end.

This was a holiday read for me. I've always been a huge fan of Michael Crichton. And, this kept me hooked, with lots of twists, turns and suspense. So I had it finished in a couple of days.

And then he saw one girl who was truly spectacular , black haired and long legged , wearing a shocking pink bikini."Are they so fascinating ??""What ??""My breasts . You're staring at them "In spite of the gorgeous girl (on the cover and in the story ) You'd give Zero Cool Zero out of Tenthe plot is so far fetched and ridiculous that's its laughable , the goons are unconvincing , there are too many bad guys, and the protagonist is a dope

This early Michael Crichton novel was originally published in 1969 but revised by the author and re-released in 2008 complete with a glossy retro crime book cover. The story itself is a about an American doctor on a working holiday in Spain who lands in serious trouble from the very outset. A fast paced 1960s crime caper full of ruthless villains and damsels in distress , "Zero Cool" is a complete departure from Crichton's later work though no less enjoyable for all that.

a book written some time ago not really the Michael Crichton, whose more recent works i enjoy!!!

Flawed but entertaining fast paced read from Michael Crichton's early writing career (1969). Pointless add-on bookend `interviews' to bring it up to date. Costa Brava and the Alhambra well realised.Plenty of one liners and betrayal and double cross. There's a unique method of killing featured, too.The painting by Gregory Manchess is excellent, even to featuring the bikini-clad girl reading another John Lange book, Grave Descend!