State of Fear, Michael Crichton

Without Michael Crichton, it's likely we wouldn't have the word technothriller. And in an earlier era, his ripping yarns of science gone wrong like Jurassic Park and Congo dominated the departure lounge — as well as the beach, pool, commuter train and bedside table. As it is, one of Crichton's last books, 2004's State of Fear and its cast of villainous eco-terrorists out to save the world by destroying it, has enough staying power to round out the bottom of this list. Though the author died in 2008, his final finished novel, Pirate Latitudes, will be released in late November.

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