It is said that barriers are in the mind...and what better place to unleash the mind than in a book! State of Fear is, in my opinion, an over indulgence. The core issue addressed (or attempted to) is of global warming - is it really happening or is common understanding inaccurate?
The author has provided many references to the extent of dragging the point against...it is almost as if repeating the stuff over and over will make it sound true...and maybe that is actually the intent!! When you say that generally it is observed that temperatures in most places are dropping, we are interested. Cite examples and we are getting convinced. Cite 20 examples and we start wondering what you are getting at.
Global warming perhaps is one of the lesser understood theories. In fact, there are many theories on Global Warming, as also pointed out by the author. Does it require the support of fiction to communicate a point - what is the point really? Whoever reads this book is swinging wildly between the plot that just appears to be getting somewhere when there is this longdrawn lecture by some character or the other arguing about global warming (and sometimes for and against!).
Overall perhaps a decent idea for a book but not a very good job done at it, in my opinion. If you are capable and adept at multithreading, this might be just the book for you!