Late novelist Michael Crichton’s new book is set against the backdrop of an erupting Maunaloa

If you’re a fan of the late author Michael Crichton, you may be excited to hear his new novel, “Eruption,” was released Monday. Prior to his death in 2008, Crichton penned nearly 30 novels, four of which have been published posthumously.

He’s best known for writing “Jurassic Park,” the book that spawned the popular movie franchise of the same name. He also wrote and directed the 1970s classic “Westworld” and created the ’90s television series “ER.”

Crichton was a part-time Kauaʻi resident and spent years traveling to Hawaiʻi Island. His new novel is set on the Big Island, where a Maunaloa eruption threatens a secret weapons cache that could spell the end of the world.

The Conversation spoke with Crichton’s wife, Sherri, about his book — co-authored by James Patterson.

“When we announced the collaboration between James Patterson and Michael Crichton, within a few days, Maunaloa percolated and I was like, like, I’m actually scared because now I’m like, no, this is real, like, he was such a prolific thinker in the future that I think this was time for this to come out,” she said.

In the novel, Dr. John MacGregor, the scientist in charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, calls a press conference to announce that the largest active volcano on Earth is going to erupt.

“He always likes to remind all of us like the intensity of nature, and yet the fragility of nature. Human interference can be weaponized if it’s put into the wrong hands. And that’s what’s happened here,” she said. “The concern, obviously, is the volcano. But he has another ticking clock, which is one of those classic Crighton hooks where it’s the unexpected. He dives into well, what if this actually happened?”

When Maunaloa last erupted in 2022, it had not erupted since 1984. It is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island.

This interview aired on The Conversation on June 3, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.