The book's actually a pretty fun and easy read. It's also an interesting example showing how Michael Crichton was perfectly capable of writing a story that wasn't centered around technical or scientific topics.

I seem to recall that the book did a better job of detailing how the Arabic character was assessing the "Northerners" through a lens and perspective very much based on his religious and cultural background. He was also clearly a former person of status, so that also factored into his character's portrayal.