Richter 10 is actually written by Mike McQuay and as such the charactershave a different, more fleshed out, feel than a typical Arthur C Clarke story. Clarke wrote a 3 page synopsis then handed it over to McQuay to write giving him free reign.

It's a pretty gripping story that draws in you and has several waves of peaks which events in the story build to then cascade from which keep you turning the pages to see where things are heading.

Unlike some books based on absurd scientific fallacies the geology use in the book is mostly spot on. ( )

OK so Clarke only provided an 850 page movie outline (which you can read at the end of the book) and the co-author MQuay died just after the book was complete, but it wasnt that bad.
The first part of the book introduces the characters-Lewis Crane, the emotionally scarred and partially disabled seismologist who survives an Earthquake attack aged 7 in 1997, his asistant Dan Newcombe who is working on his own project, and Lanie King, the love interest with a brain equal to that of Newcombe's and Crane's. We also meet Islamic fundamentalists and Chinese enterpeneurs and the middle section gets a bit bogged down with politicing-I was beginning to get bored with it all-but then it picks up as more Earthquakes were predicted;Crane's staus beoming ever more elevated as the book enters the mid 21st century. Things get heated up quickly until we reach the strangely uplifting conclusion. It seems all is lost but there's a strange surprise in the Epilogue! (I felt Clarke's presence there!) Not a bad read-certainly better than I was expecting! ( )

Arthur C. Clarke and his co-authour did not set out to create a straight-forward book about a massive earthquake. The result here, is a complex futuristic book, conceived from many cultural and political strands, resulting in a thriller rather than an action novel. The characters are well created, and their subsequent relationships draw you in to the story and keep you turning the pages. The irony is, unfortunately, the earthquakes are a device to move the characters forwards. However, as damning as that sounds, the book contains well designed concepts, emotional impact and should keep you going through the half-century of time the novel follows. Just don't expect a major motion picture type book. ( )

Supposedly this book is a collaboration between McQuay and Clarke. At the end, Clarke reveals he only wrote an 800-word synopsis intended for a screenplay and farmed it out to McQuay.

I can honestly say I don't think I've ever read a book that was so dated. Published in 1996, it was inspired by the Northridge Quake of 1994. The Million Man March is the clear reason for the book's preoccupation with the Nation of Islam. The Rodney King Riots are likely one cause for the preoccupation with racism and with "camheads." Clinton's renting out the Lincoln Bedroom to Chinese is no doubt the reason why Chinese control the government in the book.

What's worse, the science is obviously bogus. I can see why Clarke might have come up with Crane's driving passion on the spur of the moment, but anyone who knows anything about the nature of plate tectonics -- and the fact that the plates move not just because there are faults, but because new crust is constantly being created -- would not write this book.

And of course the characters are two dimensional. Crane is the hard-working, hard-drinking, hard-headed scientist who doesn't realize he has a heart until he meets that firey woman who will teach him. Newcombe is the stereotypical angry black man. People don't interact realistically. The next to last scene is perhaps the stupidest piece of writing I've ever read. Poorly handled and inexpertly conceived.

In short, I don't recommend the book, which is a shame, because I really wanted to like it. ( )

Another "potboiler" from Clarke and an unknown collaborator, who no doubt provided the romantic interest. This one is about the effort to learn from and predict earthquakes, with an eye toward the "big one" and perhaps even attempting to stop it. A fun and interesting minor Clarke novel. ( )