The story was fun and intriguing, but I couldn’t quite get into the people. Most of them seemed a bit shallow, they had odd idiosynchrosies that didn’t seem to match the characters but were useful for the plot. For instance, the marine biologist was claustrophobic and couldn’t travel in a submarine. The theme reminded me strongly of the old movie, but if I name it, it’ll ruin the book. So there!
The ending seemed a bit contrived. I couldn’t see these people going to this conclusion. And some of the conclusions they jumped to seemed a bit far-fetched. But otherwise the book was enjoyable. The action and suspense is typical for Crichton.