Author James Patterson has signed on to complete one of the books left unfinished by the late Michael Crichton.
The prolific author behind the Alex Cross series, the Women’s Murder Club series and the Private series is expected to finish the manuscript in time for Little, Brown & Co, an imprint of Lagardère SCA’s Hatchette Book Group, to publish in 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Crichton, the author behind the “Jurassic Park” franchise and the creator of the groundbreaking “ER” for TV, died of cancer in 2008 at age 66.
The Journal’s report did not reveal how much Patterson would receive for penning the rest of the tale.
The Journal noted that Patterson and Crichton are among the country’s most successful authors, with more than 675 million books sold between them worldwide.
The report said the publisher is keeping the plot under wraps for now, but that it is about a pending eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, which could endanger a secret cache of chemical weapons and “can destroy not just the island, but the entire world.”
The unfinished manuscript is more that 100 pages long, the Journal said, and accompanied by additional material on hard drives.
“Michael had been working on this book for years, it was his passion project and centered in the place that inspired him the most, Hawaii,” his widow, Sherri Chrichton told the Journal. “He had extensive volumes of scientific research, comprehensive notes, outlines with detailed character bios and back stories, even video footage of himself on locations featured throughout the novel, as well as interviews with volcanologists.”
It’s not the first time Crichton’s estate, which is administered by Sherri under the name CrichtonSun, has enlisted other writers to complete a project left unfinished at his death. Author Richard Preston completed “Micro,” in 2011. A sequel to Crichton’s first hit, 1969’s “The Andromeda Strain,” written by author Daniel H. Wilson in collaboration with the estate, was then published as “The Andromeda Evolution,” in 2019.
HBO is also adapting Crichton’s “Sphere,” with “Westworld” creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan.
It’s not clear how many other unfinished or complete projects remain unpublished. A few months after the HBO project was announced, the estate and Range Media Partners announced a deal to develop TV series and a film adaptation of Crichton’s unpublished works, but a representative for CrichtonSun said that pact never went forward and the companies are no longer associated.
Patterson in the past collaborated with former President Bill Clinton on a novel called “The President is Missing,” published in 2018, and with music icon Dolly Parton on “Run, Rose, Run,” which debuted in March. Sony Pictures acquired the rights for the latter, for a film to feature the country music legend produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.
CrichtonSun was represented by Shane Salerno of The Story Factory, and Patterson was represented by Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell of Williams & Connolly.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the deal with Range Media Partners was still in place.