State of Fear

For the 2005 documentary film, see State of Fear: The Truth about Terrorism. For the nonfiction book about Argentina, see Andrew Graham-Yooll.
State of Fear
First edition cover
AuthorMichael Crichton
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction,
Techno-thriller,
Dystopian novel
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
December 7, 2004
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages641 (798 in special paperback ed.)
ISBN0-00-718159-0
OCLC56759026
Preceded byPrey 
Followed byNext 

State of Fear is a 2004 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton, his fourteenth under his own name and twenty-fourth overall, in which eco-terrorists plot mass murder to publicize the danger of global warming.

Despite being a work of fiction, the book contains many graphs and footnotes, two appendices, and a 20-page bibliography; all combining to give an actual or fictional impression of scientific authority; in support of Crichton's beliefs which are critical of the scientific consensus on climate change. Climate scientists, science journalists, environmental groups, science advocacy organizations and the scientific community at large have criticized and disputed the presented views as being inaccurate, misleading and distorted. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The novel had an initial print run of 1.5 million copies and reached the #1 bestseller position at Amazon and #2 on The New York Times Best Seller list for one week in January 2005. The novel garnered mixed reviews, with some reviewers stating that the book's misrepresentation of scientific facts and global warming denial distracts from the story. The book is thought to have popularized climate change denial and Antarctica cooling controversy.

  1. ^ "IPCC Fourth Asessment Report Climate Change 2007".
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DoranNYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ConcernedScientists was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BorensteinTST was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference MylesAllen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference wunderground.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hansen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "NATURE| VOL 433 |20 JANUARY 2005" (PDF).