Grave Descend

by John Lange, Michael Crichton, Christopher Lane (Narrator)

Diver James McGregor is used to exploring sunken ships. But there's something strange about the wreck of the Grave Descend. No one aboard tells quite the same story about what happened. Then there's the mysterious cargo they were carrying.…

In one of the most beautiful places on Earth, a sinister plot is about to unfold. And if McGregor's not careful, he may find himself in over his head.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Adventure, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published April 1, 1970

About the author

John Lange™ is a pseudonym of author Michael Crichton. His pen name was selected as reference to his above-average height of 6' 9"(2.06 meters). Lange means "tall one" in German, Danish and Dutch.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Ayz · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent little paperback adventure set in the jamaican seas by legendary author michael crichton, here writing under the pen-name ‘john lange.’ this is the first of the hard case crime / john lange reissues i’ve read but i’ve heard it’s the best of the 6 crichton books with HCC.

i can see why.

it reads like a brisk 007 story, and the main character of macgregor is a highly likeable raymond chandler type hero. he is what makes the book fun to hang out with.

*****spoilery paragraph ahead****

here’s a fun trick once you finish the book: just imagine a prologue chapter where M sends Bond on an undercover mission as a deep see diver, and you’ll suddenly see how this could’ve easily been a james bond spec screenplay that michael turned into a fun paper back by chopping off any debrief / spy sections. i’m not saying that’s what happened, but you can definitely spot the bond-movie structure that he’s borrowing here.

*****end of spoilery paragraph****

the beautiful jamaican locale is a real part of the atmosphere here, along with whip smart local characters who leave a charismatic impression on you.

crichton, who was known for his thriller chops, creates an intense sequence near the middle involving a nasty swamp and some hella hungry crocodiles. the scene is legit as harrowing as some of the raptor attacks in the jurassic park novels (where crichton later wrote under his own name and established his brand of “what if” style speculative thrillers)

from what i understand crichton was very hesitant to re-release any old “john lange” paperbacks he may have written a long time ago for money under a pen-name, but i think readers/fans of his work are smart enough to understand that these weren’t his best and most ambitious ideas, and that he was just grinding out fun stories for pay. we get that and we also know countless pulp-era writers who did the same. it’s no big.

what’s surprising with ‘grave descent’ however is how smoothly the story unfolds. for what was intended as a cheapo paperback release, it’s actually a startling pleasure how concise, sharp and funny the scenes are. really more of a novella than a novel, it tells a quick and easy to follow, but head-scratching mystery about a strange downed ship and all the shady characters surrounding its possible salvage.

if the other john lange paperbacks are half as good as this one, i’ll be reading them all.

anyone read the rest? sound off. :)

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audio version of John Lange's 1970 novel was a very entertaining listen. That's not really surprising as the author's real name is Michael Crichton.
The plot revolves around the sinking of a luxury yacht in Jamaican waters & the first half of the story piles mystery upon mystery, while the second half attempts (almost successfully) in resolving them.
A good, old fashioned adventure yarn. They don't write the like this these days.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is taut and sharp as a tack, but it gradually unravels and loses focus as the story progresses. By the end it reads like a James Bond movie -- a bad one. The cliches start to bloat and the bad guy is described as "chuckling" nearly every time he speaks. Too many characters crowd into the book and by the finale it's like watching mice in a cage. But it started out so well, and the Samuel Johnson references are fun.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

James McGregor gets hired to investigate a sunken yacht. Only he finds out that the yacht hasn't been sunken yet and everyone is lying to him. Throw in diamond smuggling and hammerhead sharks and that's pretty much it.

Grave Descend is a lighting quick read, full of action and intrigue, just what you'd expect from a Hard Case read. But it's a little too breezy. The print is larger than any Hard Case I've yet encountered and it was probably about 150 pages long when it was first published.

John Lange, aka Michael Crichton of Jurassic Park fame, writes a pretty passable detective story.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read this book because it was written by Michael Crichton under a n0m de plume but I am glad I did. I have to put a massive disclaimer this book is OLD it was set in the early 70s. So if you read it and apply your SJW sensitivities to it you will not be happy. But if you lived through the 70's you can probably handle it.

Set in Ocho Rio Jamaica this book feels like it was a collaboration of Ian Fleming, Clive Cussler and Nelson DeMille, we have lots of action, a mystery, and lots of underwater sequences. This isn't a character study this is an action adventure story, characters only exist to drive the plot. Parts are improbable and others are edge of you chair exciting.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grave Descend is a fast, easygoing read that delivers a decent amount of fun without asking too much in return. John Lange (which at this point everyone knows was an early pseudonym for Michael Crichton as he was writing pulp to pay his way through med school) clearly knows how to move a story along, and he wastes no time dropping the reader into a breezy tropical setting full of shady characters, suspicious motives, and underwater mysteries. The initial setup which involves investigating a recently sunken yacht under suspicious circumstances, is engaging and full of promise.

The writing style is straightforward and punchy, which makes it really easy to fly through in just a few sittings. It’s sardonic and to the point as Lange has a knack for keeping the action clear and the stakes understandable without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. There’s also a nice sense of atmosphere throughout; the Caribbean backdrop feels real enough to picture without ever slowing the pace, but doesn’t get too weighted down with over-complicated descriptions.

However, despite the strong start, the story starts to lose some of its spark around the three-quarters mark. What initially feels like a slightly offbeat and clever mystery ends up turning into a very by-the-numbers pulp adventure. Plot developments become predictable, characters flatten out a bit, and it starts feeling like the story is just ticking off familiar genre boxes rather than building to something genuinely surprising or satisfying. Even the big reveal of the antagonist is more like a rip-off James Bond villain, though not quite as complex or interesting.

And speaking of characters, our main protagonist, McGregor, is likable enough, but doesn’t have much depth, and most of the supporting cast falls into fairly standard archetypes — the femme fatale, the shady employer, the tough-talking locals. There’s a feeling that the book could have done a little more with its premise if it had taken a few more risks, but then again, this wasn’t meant to be a novel that set the world on fire, and as one of Lange’s first novels, it’s to be expected.

Grave Descend is a solid choice. It’s a fun snapshot of early Crichton experimenting with pulp storytelling, even if it doesn’t fully capitalize on the potential it sets up. Just go in expecting a quick ride rather than something truly memorable.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Midway through this book, I thought I would give it four stars. The first act is top-notch. A professional diver named McGregor is hired to investigate a recently sunken ship, the Grave Descend, but the more McGregor learns, the clearer it becomes that he is being manipulated in some kind of convoluted scam.

As I finished the book, my rating was down to three stars. As crime novels often do, this book demonstrates that it is easier to tie a knot than to untie one; indeed, in the final analysis, author Michael Crichton (a.k.a. John Lange) does not even attempt to make sense of all the plot's twists and turns. It seems that so many perplexing things happen in the first 150 pages simply because perplexing things can be entertaining.

And now, as I write this review, I am down to two stars, because I have been thinking about the fact that the characters in this novel are unusually vapid, even for a lightweight read like this one. McGregor, the book's hero, is about as memorable as a stick of margarine.

Ask me tomorrow, and I may be down to one star. . . .

[Maria Kaikiewa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Не ми хареса как са изградени героите и диалозите. Прекалено рано според мен се разбра какво означава заглавието и не усетих тръпка в нито един момент.

[Girish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Crichton's John Lange books are supposed to be his way to quick money to survive Harvard. I think he must have made just enough of it before he wrote with his own name - since this is not even close to his potential.

John McGregor is recruited to do a dive and salvage something from the wreck onboard a luxury yacht - Grave Descend. But everything seems off and he seems to be a cog in an elaborate setup. You don't get to know what the scheme is as you get as confused as the character himself to guess what is happening.

As a high-octane thriller it is fine. But one cannot accept Crichton would have written a story that worked out ok through luck. It's the kind of story one tells as a school kid - where the hero beats up everyone, escapes death through a daring yet silly ruse.

It was unputdownable alright - just not the right kind.Michael Crichton's John Lange books are supposed to be his way to quick money to survive Harvard. I think he must have made just enough of it before he wrote with his own name - since this is not even close to his potential.

John McGregor is recruited to do a dive and salvage something from the wreck onboard a luxury yatch - Grave Descend. But everything seems off and he seems to be a cog in an elaborate setup. You don't get to know what the scheme is as you get as confused as the character himself to guess what is happening.

As a high-octane thriller it is fine. But one cannot accept Crichton would have written a story that worked out ok through luck. It's the kind of story one tells as a school kid - where the hero beats up everyone, escapes death through a daring yet silly ruse.

It was unputdownable alright - just not the right kind.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, etc., Michael Crichton wrote several novels using various pseudonyms. Most of these were thriller novels for the paperback market. GRAVE DESCEND is his tenth published novel, and the seventh using the pseudonym, John Lange. It was originally published in 1970, and later released in 2006 as part of the Hard Case Crime series. Crichton did an overall revision of the text for this release.

The protagonist of the novel is James McGregor, a diver working out of Jamaica who is used to exploring sunken ships. One night, he is called by an insurance adjuster named Arthur Wayne to dive to a sunken yacht named the Grave Descend to see if it can be raised and salvaged. The yacht mysteriously sunk after an explosion off the Jamaican coast. But is this what really happened? After talking to Wayne, the ship's captain, and a beautiful survivor, McGregor feels that there is more to the story based on some conflicting statements by the witnesses. He gets drawn into the mystery which is really not what was originally reported.

This novel reminded me somewhat of Peter Benchley's novels such as JAWS and THE DEEP. With McGregor diving to the wreck amidst hammerhead sharks and moray eels, he faces many hazards but why? I thought the story kind of devolved in the second half of the novel into a convoluted thriller involving the mafia and missing treasure. This was definitely not up to Crichton's best work but it was sorta fun for what it is.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Michael Crichton and am excited to be able to read all the books he wrote as John Lange. Don’t expect anything like his later books, however. They are short pulp novels but if you go into them with that expectation, you wont be disappointed. They are fun, simple action and adventure tales. They do have a somewhat sexist view of women and that’s the only big negative I can see. The endings do feel a bit rushed as well.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

as always with books about the ocean…needed a giant squid

[Randell Carlton Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, short read. Love knowing this was Crichton’s early work.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

James McGregor is a professional diver hired to recover some important items aboard a sunken yacht off the coast of Kingston by the wealthy and secretive Arthur Wayne. The job looks to be an easy pay off until McGregor discovers the yacht he’s to investigate hasn’t sunk yet.

GRAVE DESCEND is a solid, ever-twisting detective tale reminiscent of the dime-store pulps. The plot is engaging and accommodates the ever changing face of evil perfectly. With McGregor knowing full well the dive may be his last, the battle for survival is rife with bloodshed, double crosses and hidden agendas.

GRAVE DESCEND works well by virtue of its place setting accompanied by interesting twists and turns which separates it from the more traditional formulaic detective stories. Lange writes in an easy free flowing manner which allows the story to proceed at a quick pace which compliments McGregor’s predicament.

The only real gripe I have with GRAVE DESCEND is the open ended conclusion - all the puzzle pieces don’t quite fit into place. I’m not sure if there are more books featuring McGregor, but GRAVE DESCEND certainly left the impression that this protagonist was designed to be a series character.

GRAVE DESCEND is an enjoyable Bond-like story that provides a nice form of escapism.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few books by John Lange. I bought them knowing it was Michael Chrichton writing as a pseudonym, as he wrote earlier works as John and as Jeffrey Hudson.
Whats really interesting is that I believe he wrote some of these crime and spy novels under John Lange as a college student!!

So yes, it's not his best work and not the eventual style you come to know MC as however, it's fun, it's entertaining and it keeps you turning pages. Very possible to finish in one sitting

REREAD9.17.25- this was a very fun and fast read. Coming in at around 163 pages it was full of mystery and adventure. MacGregor is a great lead character and you can see a 007 / Pulp hero aspect in him. He is a professional diver and he is hired by people who arent who they said they are to bring up a yacht that sunk but not really sunk and we can also throw in ocelots, mafia, spear guns, sharks, diamonds, double crossing women in bikinis.....just a fun pulpy ride.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grave Descend is one of eight books Michael Crichton wrote under the pseudonym of John Lange. (The things one does to put oneself through college.) A little research has revealed to me that there is still more fiction by Crichton out there that I haven't read, which makes me happy as I honestly thought Grave Descend was the last of his novels I had to track down. As for the book itself: Grave Descend is short convoluted and fast moving thriller that was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

[itchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

that was quick

and i was thinking insurance fraud

p67: burnham paused, and came tack.

*

this could be the last crichton book i read;
i don't think i'd be lucky enough to acquire a copy of jasper johns nor electronic life

i've read 10,176 pages of his books thus far;
happy trails, mc

[Kyriakos Sorokkou]

«I began writing as a medical student, and felt that I would continue as a doctor and ought to protect my patients from the fear that they might pop up in the pages of a thriller. The best protection would not be to disguise them, but to disguise me. Once I decided not to practice medicine, I dropped the pseudonyms expect for convenience. I wrote too much, so I decided to publish some books under false names, and in that way, could publish more books.»

And that's how Michael Crichton began his writing career. One of my favourite and most read authors. The creator of Jurassic Park, Westworld and ER, among many others.

From the summer of 2011 until November 2018, I read 19 of the 32 books he published. November 2018 was the 10th anniversary of his death. That's when I decided to do a project dedicated to Crichton. One book per month for the next 32 months.


The thrillers he wrote as a medical student between 1966 and 1972 under the pseudonym John Lange were eight, and with the exception of the last one he wrote in 1972 (the year he decided to publish under his own name something that lasted until his death,) were a large part of his bibliography that I had not read. So I ordered them all in one go.

Every time I need to review one of these I'll repeat this general introduction about his early writings rather than extensive reviews on each individual book.

Because beyond the interest of reading early works of your favourite author, reading what he wrote and seeing his writing slowly evolving, they are not masterpieces and you cannot dedicate more than five lines for their sake. It's like Schwarzenegger movies. You are having a good time and that's it. And I also didn't want to confuse you every second day with a new book by Crichton.

They were written quickly and, as he said, he wrote them to gain money to pay for utilities and groceries while he was a student.

They are not masterpieces as I mentioned above, but their writing was something like writing exercises, a writing with which in the medical thriller A Case of Need (that he wrote in 1968 under another pseudonym (Jeffery Hudson)) gained the Edgar Award in 1969.

A year in which he published for the first time under his own name one of his best novels, the science fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain, which was made into a film in 1971.
In 1970 he and his brother Douglas Crichton co-wrote another hippie thriller under a common pseudonym Michael Douglas (Dealing, or The Berkeley-To-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues). This would be his third and final nickname.
In 1972, with The Terminal Man under his own name, he realised that his career was now a writer, not a doctor, so he put the pseudonym in the bottom drawer.

The eight books he wrote as John Lange remained out of stock since the late 1970s until the publishing house Hard Case Crime began publishing out of stock and hard-to-find books in the noir, thriller, detective, and generally pulp fiction categories.

Among them are books published for the first time such as Joyland and The Colorado Kid by Stephen King.

While Crichton was still alive, two of his books, Grave Descend and Zero Cool, were edited by him.
In November 2008, unfortunately, Crichton passed away, so in 2013 the remaining 6 books were released.

Because I don't want to tire you out anymore and give you acute Crichtoniasis, I'll talk briefly about this one.

Grave Descent 1970: read it in August 2019
While in Jamaica, a professional diver and shipwreck expert is involved in a scam, with a fake shipwreck and the cargo it was carrying.

More in Greek at βιβλιοαλχημείες

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this book was a Michael Crichton, I figured there would be some sort of underwater creature attacking people. I was wrong, but it did turn out to be a pretty good underwater adventure involving theft and corruption. I enjoyed it pretty well. Published in 1970 under a pen name, I found that I really wouldn’t have known it was as old as it actually was. It felt like a Jason Statham movie, and that’s who I pictured while I was reading. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up more of these older books for a quick read.

[Christopher Badcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing premise, but after 100 pages it loses its way and reaches a boring conclusion.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few of these early Crichton thrillers and this may be my favorite one.

Premise: A diver in Jamaica is hired to salvage a rich guys yacht that went down off shore. All is not as it seems and danger and sexiness lurks around every corner.

I literally read this in one sitting (which I never do!). I'll keep working my way through these. What a fun treasure to discover.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are into Ian Fleming and James Bond, you’ll enjoy this Lange/Crichton hard case book.

[Brian Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite by him but still an entertaining and quick read. I never knew he went to Med school and was 6'9''

[Judy Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An early Michael Crichton novel. Dry, concise and to the point. Entertaining.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 213 (of 250)
I almost gave up on these early Michael Chrichton books: would they improve?
HOOK - 1 stars: >>>"Starting in the early dawn light, he had driven up into the mountains...then don through lush valleys...damp in the misty morning wetness...up once more to the cold air of the peaks..."<<< opens this novel.
Minus one star for the cliched opening weather report, which goes on and on then minus another star as the narrator talks about how much Ocho Rios looks 'no different' than Miami Beach (in 1970?). No, not in 1970, 1980, or in 2017, when I last was in Ocho Rios and Miami Beach. I doubt Crichton had ever visited either in 1970.
PACE - 3: After the first few pages, this one picks up for a fast read.
PLOT - 2: Standard diamond heist, jewels hidden in imported statue and brought to Jamaica via a private yacht. If it weren't for a twist, I'd go with one star: this plot has been done and done.
CAST - 3: MacGregor as the narrator/diver is an ex-Marine and good with spears to fend away hammerhead sharks. Standard villains...but most really aren't who you think they are: Crichton does a nice job with a "whose good/whose bad" element. And the best cast member of all is the eerily named yacht, "Grave Descend," which has surprises of its own.
ATMOSPHERE - 3: Obviously, Crichton knows enough about ocean diving and private yachts to spin this tale. He knows enough about international mobs and "how the very rich" live to convince us of this okay tale. John D. MacDonald tells this type of story often: Travis McGhee goes searching for someone's lost treasure, and in general MacDonald does it better than early Crichton.
SUMMARY: Overall, 2.4, as Crichton is indeed headed for better things. On the cover of the paperback are the words "Nominated for the Edgar Award", so I'll assume that was for a later work and not this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

James McGregor is a diver. He is the best at what he does. This is why when a multimillon dollar ship sinks, James is the go to man. The mission is simple...dive down to the site of the sunken ship and figure out why it sunk. However nothing is as simple as it seems at first glance. What is the ship owner hiding?James will have to hope that he gets out alive and not be turned into shark bait.

I flew through this book. It reminded me of the old, classic mystery stories that I grew up reading that made me fall in love with this genre. While the mystery is there, there are no real surprises to the storyline. However for me it was not so much about the story or who the famous author was but it was the characters. Instantly I connected with James. He is a quick thinker. He is like MacGyver.

Also I have to take a moment to comment on the book cover. I don't usually talk about book covers as they are not really what is important to me when it comes to choosing a book. It is all about the content. However the artwork for this book is like a piece of art. Looking at it online does not do it justice. You have to pick up a copy of this book to see it up close and personal. Grave Descend is a deep sea adventure of a read.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The feminist take: Three women. One is deceitful, one is a whore, and the third is a hot-tempered Latina.

The Jamaican perspective: White mon too good, da black mon do all the killing.

The male Anglo view: Good, fast-paced crime thriller.

Well, reasonably good. It's about a diver who is hired to salvage a ship which, he discovers, hasn't sunk yet. It was nominated for an Edgar Award in the Paperback Original category, and it delivers on that level. Before it's all over John Lange (i.e., Michael Crichton) has mixed in money laundering, the Mafia, and missing World War II treasure. And a couple of vicious ocelots.

Our hero doesn't say much, but that's probably because the plot is so breathless.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 ½ ⭐️ rounded up.

This story was a quick one-hour read beside the campfire. It read like an early Sean Connery James Bond story.

It’s interesting to read through Michael Crichton’s repertoire and see how his writing style evolves through the eras.

Nothing over-complicated about the story, just an overall quick, enjoyable read.

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Excitement/suspense: ⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐ ½, rounded up

[Θανάσης]

Ωραίο αστυνομικό σφηνάκι, γραμμένο από τον Michael Crichton με το ψευδώνυμο John Lange. Στα Ελληνικά έχει κυκλοφορήσει με τον τίτλο "Πλωτό φέρετρο", από τις εκδόσεις Άγκυρα το...1972! Το βρήκα(μου το βρήκαν η αλήθεια είναι) στο Μοναστηράκι με 1 ευρώ και το τσίμπησα. Τα αξίζει τα λεφτά του( :P ) και με το παραπάνω.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is quite short and is more of a novella. As is often the case with Crichton novels, the writing is smooth and flows.