Book Review: The Great Train Robbery (Michael Crichton)

"Edward Pierce, on the other hand, was positively exuberant in his approach to crime.  Whatever his sources of income, whatever the truth of his background, one thing is certain:  he was a master cracksman, or burglar, who over the years had accumulated sufficient capital to finance large-scale criminal operations, thus becoming what he called a 'putter-up.' And toward the middle of 1854, he was already well into an elaborate plan to pull the greatest theft of his career, The Great Train Robbery." - Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors, for the man knew how to make really entertaining and well-researched thrill rides.  Even though his third novel, The Great Train Robbery, doesn't deal with his usual fields of science and medicine, it is still every bit as thrilling and well-researched as his other works.

The whole book plays out as a heist story, focusing on how the characters methodically set up everything to pull off the great gold robbery of 1855.  This is an actual historic event, but Crichton uses different character names and takes a few small liberties, to free himself from the constraint of making everything perfectly accurate.  I don't even know how close to real events this book is.  He makes up for it, however, by often diverging into some incredible detail concerning the settings, the history, and the customs of Victorian England.  His research covers everything from the far-reaching stretch of the British Empire to the dirty underworld of London and all its nuances.  What makes the book so gripping is that the author manages to juggle everything in a well-structured manner, using the data first to support and give greater meaning to the action that unfolds.  The book is a fast and easy read, with enough good suspense, action, and thrills to keep it engaging.

The actual story is fun, showcasing an ambitious gold heist and all the detail behind its planning and execution.  Characters have their moments, but aren't really all that deep.  The main character is a cool, suave, high-class dude we love to root for, and his motivations are interesting, but there could have been more to the character.  Nearly everybody else is pretty one-dimensional.

Because of the way the book juggles fact and fiction, Crichton does have a penchant for lengthy essay-style scripts that explains a ton about Victorian England, often at the risk of cutting into the actual story and halting the action.  The funny thing is, the academic-style writing never really stalls the action, and it never feels as dry as it should.  I think, at its worse, it takes away from the narrative, diverting attention from the plot and characters for the sake of presentation.  Because of that, I'm inclined to say that the book is a bit half-and-half, for better or for worse.  Its prose is still pretty decent, especially in the way it masterfully wields the style, language, and mannerisms of old-fashioned Victorian English.

This book is a fun heist story, but so full of detail that it's hard not to appreciate it, even when Crichton breaks out with a full-blown essay on seemingly-random things.  It is the thing he does best though:  the fine blending of fact and fiction for entertaining effect.  And the book is certainly entertaining.

4/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Pretty Good | Book:  Good)