Easy Go

Michael Crichton once described his early novels, before  The Andromeda Strain , as "competition for in-flight movies". With that in mind, I picked up the e-book version of "Easy Go", one of those early novels, to read on a flight from JFK to Atlanta this past weekend. The "in-flight movie" comparison is pretty apt.Although he wrote this in his mid-20s, and while it's quite different from the techno/science-thriller subgenre that he pioneered from 1971 through his untimely death in 2008, it's definitely got the cinematic punch that characterizes his later work. Lots of one-dimensional but vivid characters, a carefully-designed scheme that unravels in agonizing slow motion, and a ton of information and trivia that you probably didn't have before.Alan Barnaby is a prematurely aging assistant professor of Egyptology, looking to make his mark on the field before it's too late. Robert Pierce is a hard-drinking expatriate journalist, who's grown tired of living out of a suitcase in foreign hotels. When Barnaby learns of the existence of a previously-unknown Pharaoh's tomb, he and Pierce seek a way to find the tomb, and ransom the loot to the Egyptian government for $50 million. Pierce comes up with what he thinks is a foolproof scheme, and in short order assembles a team to make the plan work: an eccentric financial backer, a jewel thief who's also an archaeologist, and a career mercenary who speaks the local language. Now, they only have to survive the desert, find the lost tomb, and outwit the Antiquities police.Crichton, writing as John Lange back in those days, provides an incredible amount of historical and geographic detail. The book, written when Nasser ruled Egypt and styled the country the "United Arab Republic" (a union of just one country), has one scene set in Tahrir Square (which will have much more significance to the modern reader), and also briefly features several other international locations. Crichton writes in short chapters, with thrusts of international intrigue, conflict between the characters, and tense action or suspense sequences. As the cliche goes, you'll have a hard time putting this one down.A few things mark "Easy Go" as different from the longer, more science-oriented Crichton novels that you're probably more familiar with. It's not quite as violent as his later sci-fi works; one usually looks to Crichton for a substantial body count, and a sadistic, ironic ending for the bad guy. Also, the first loose thread that causes the whole scheme to unravel, came a lot later than I was expecting. Standard potboilers usually set that scene at the halfway point of the book, but with Crichton spending much time assembling the cast, explaining the scheme, and getting out to the desert, he takes his time before kicking over the house of cards.This is a cut about your typical pulp novel. It's an early work from an author who later went on to unimaginable heights, but just about most of the elements that turned his later books into big-budget movies, are present here. Not only are the characters amusing and the plot fairly riveting, but it's also fun to compare the book to Crichton's later works and watch how his style evolved over his 40+ years as a published author.One last warning to the casual reader; this was written in the '60s, and there's a lot of taken-for-granted casual racism and sexism. Not all of the Egyptian characters are buffoonish clods, and not all the women exist solely to be conquered by the male characters, but that's not saying much.

An archaeologist finds a coded message in some ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that points to the existence of the tomb of an unknown pharaoh and a lost treasure. Soon he partners with four other men with a plan to pose as a legitimate archaeology expedition, but their secret mission is to find the last tomb of the pharaohs and steal the loot.The most interesting member of this crew is Lord Grover, who is already rich and is only investing in the mission as a lark. He occupies his time by bringing an assortment of women into the camp and throwing lavish drinking parties.Easy Go is much better than Hard Case Crime's other treasure hunting themed offering - Thieves Fall Out by Gore Vidal.In fact, this is my favorite of the John Lange novels that Michael Crichton wrote while in med school. This one is slower than the others and grounded in Egyptian history and lore. The author allows the suspense to build naturally during the search for the tomb, the puzzle of how to gain entrance, and finally the inventive plan to fence its contents and evade detection.The only flaw is a rushed and somewhat muddled ending. In fact, I googled the book and saw several posts asking for the final three chapters to be explained. So here it is…(Spoiler alert) Varese, the Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Department, suspects the expedition of criminal mischief after he finds an authentic scarab beetle made of lapis lazuli, which one member of the crew lost. Varese disguises himself as a beggar on two occasions in order to sneak into their work camp, but he is unable to find any concrete evidence of their real mission. However, after he receives a ransom note demanding fifty million dollars in exchange for the location of the tomb, he figures it out.Here’s the rub: Varese needs the crew in order to find the location of the tomb. He arranges for them to be detained, so they will think they have been caught. Then he offers a fair trade. He will pretend they are innocent if they will lead him to the tomb. They will not get rich, but they will be compensated for their expenses and they will become famous for their discovery.This plan is essentially what Lord Grover had wanted to do in a previous chapter. The book implies Grover left hints for Varese in the ransom note he wrote, but the extent to which Grover affected Varese’s actions remains unexplained. In any event, Grover would rather have the fame than the money, so he is happy to go along with the arrangement and make the others believe it is their only choice to avoid arrest.(end spoilers)

Great fun! Super early Micheal Creighton!

Good plot however unlikely but a treasure hunt is always a good read

Great book with a nice twist for the surprise ending. Let's keep all the wannabe criminals honest. I enjoy his writing style and am glad I purchased this book.

Nice read. But don't be fooled by the cover. There are no protagonists unearthing mummies in the sand while dodging camel-riding, knife-wielding antagonists.

good