Drug of Choice by Michael Crichton writing as "John Lange" (1970)
While studying at Harvard Medical School, Crichton began writing thrillers "for furniture and groceries. The first, Odds On, was published in 1965 under the pen name "John Lange." Crichton eventually wrote eight John Lange novels, Drug of Choice was the sixth of these. Although most of these novels had interesting concepts, they were written in a facile style, meant to be the equivalent of an in-flight movie -- something to pass a hew hours by. In addition, Many of them had the distinguishing marks of an early novel: rushed plotting, stereotype characterization (often a reliance on familiar brands to define a character), and wild (some might call it uncontrolled) leaps of the imagination. As a result the books were readable, fun, and slightly inconsequential.
Halfway through writing these early efforts, Crichton published two other books. A Case of Need, under the pen name "Jeffrey Hudson" won an Edgar Award for Best Novel. (Sometimes the Edgars gets it horribly wrong, as in this case, IMHO.) The Andromeda Strain, the first book published under Crichton's own name, was a best-seller, a major motion picture, and established Crichton as a major author.. The rest is history.
Drug of Choice has Roger Clark, a resident in internal medicine at Los Angeles Memorial Hospital, has a patient admitted in a coma after a motorcycle accident. Problem is, there are no symptoms of a coma, and the patient has no injuries that would be consistent with a motorcycle crash. Also, the patient's urine is a bright blue color -- something completely unexplainable. The patient eventually comes out of his "coma," completely healthy, unaware that he had been in an accident, and with his urine back to a normal color. A few weeks later, a young actress is admitted with a "coma," leaving bright blue stains on the hospital sheets. She, too revives, perfectly healthy and with no knowledge of what has happened. She, however, takes an interest in Roger, and they go out. He wakes up the next morning in her bed, unable to remember what had happened the night before.
Roger gets pulled into a web of intrigue. He is specifically targeted (for specious reasons that are never made clear) and is hired by a nefarious international corporation which is experimenting with a mind-altering drug that can control people's thought and reactions. Roger spends a month working against his will at a posh (and Secret) Caribbean island resort that turns out to be all smoke and mirrors. Through a number of pot twists and turns, he finds that he, too, is an experiment, and he becomes hunted and threatened with institutionalization (and eventually) murder. Outgunned and outfoxed at every turn, Roger must somehow single-handedly bring down the most powerful corporation in the world...
There is enough lack of internal logic here to satisfy the most blase of television scripts and the book reads like a Hollywood idea gone horribly wrong. Still, the action is interesting and the ideas behind the plot intriguing, Just about perfect for ion in-flight movie.
All of the Crichton's "John Lange" novels have been reprinted by Hard Case Crime. and are interesting for anyone who wishes to view the growth of Crichton as a writer.
I read the "John Lange" books before I learned that Michael Crichton had written them. As you say, these early books were "training wheels" for a writer who would publish a string of best selling novels.
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