1980
Michael Crichton – creator of “Jurassic Park” and a lifelong Hawaii enthusiast – begins work on a manuscript that will become the novel Eruption
1984
Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, erupts on Hawaii’s main island in 1984.
1990
Michael Crichton publishes Jurassic Park set on a volcanic island in the Pacific.
Michael Crichton visits Hawaii any times over the years for further on-site research. Crichton will leave interviews hours of video footage including interviews with a volcanologist.
Sherri Crichton begins looking for the right partner to finish the project. Hawaii was always special to her and Michael, so she proceeds cautiously.
The Search will take years.
2021
Sherri Crichton brings the unfinished work to James Patterson, the most successful thriller writer in the world. Patterson agrees to complete the novel, especially as he says, “I wanted to know the ending!”
Working with Michael Crichton’s unfinished manuscript and extensive background materials, James Patterson creates an extended outline of the book, which he and Sherri Crichton begin to revise together.2022
Mauna Loa erupts again
2023
Sherri Crichton announces the project and shares a letter about how it came together and how important it was to her late husband, Michael.June 3, 2024
Michael Crichton and James Patterson’s Eruption – a genius collaboration more than 40 years in the making – is released everywhere around the world.
