Rating: 
Summary: Starts better than it finishes
Review: When I first started reading this, I thought it was going to be very good. The set-up was very interesting, getting to know the protagonist, and his situation and background. There was enough science to make it seem believable, but not so much to make it slow down the story.However, when the story got going, I thought it fell apart somewhat. There were many times when the characters did things that just didn't seem to make much sense based on the situation. And the main conflict just didn't keep me as interested as I had been leading up to it. Also, I'm not a big fan of illogical coincidences that play a crucial role in the plot. Like Jack having written the code that his wife's company was using, it was a little too convenient. I think the story would have worked much better if that had been presented differently. Finally, the end seemed to drag on quite a bit. I felt like I knew pretty much what would happen, but it took too long getting there. Overall, I thought the premise was very interesting and the characters were good, but the ending seemed a little predictable and it was too slow. I enjoyed reading it, but the beginning made me expect more from the end than I got.
Rating: 
Summary: not crichton-like
Review: I read nearly all of michael's novels. This is my least favourite. The topic nanotechnology is exciting and Michael, as usual, does do his homework on it but the story and the characters he built around it somehow do not fit in it. An out of work team leader who does household duties, a handful of programmers becoming biologists and a working mom/full time scientist all handling the 21st century nanotechnology: it just does not match. With this topic at hand, the particles able to resemble a human form, I was more thinking of the liquid robot from the Terminator 2 and with that given you can create a much more juicy story.
Rating: 
Summary: What Can I Say, Crichton Has Done It Again
Review: This book was simply amazing. As always, Crichton has combined his amazing imagination with mind-blowing technology and created another great thriller. This book ranks up there with his masterpiece "Jurrasic Park". Any fan of his work, or readers looking for a in depth, great novel should read "Prey". It builds on suspense and never dissapoints. I loved every page of it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Suspense!
Review: For two days, I could barely put this book down. This time Crichton's plot revolves around nano computers and an unemployed father of three, Jack, who believes his wife is having an affair. Jack's real problems begin the instant his infant daughter wakes up screaming in the night from a mysterious rash but in short order he's called upon to save the world from uncontrollable swarms of deadly nano computers. (Luckily Jack's an unemployed computer code writer, and it's his code on predator and prey behavior that the tiny computers are running on.)
Prey reminds me both of The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, with a great balance of story and science. The concepts in Prey are quite realistic and terrifying and the suspense in the last half of the book is incredible. (Plus, Michael Crichton was years ahead of his time with the misuse of cloning theme used in Jurassic Park, so I think that adds an element of credibility to his ideas.) I admit that there are a couple of too convenient contrivances, and the ultimate outcome is somewhat sudden and movie-ish (Without a doubt there will be a movie version) but Prey remains a great story. I enjoyed it immensely and can't wait for Crichton's next!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Not Great Crichton Novel
Review: This novel was not up to normal Crichton standards. The last 150 pages were exciting and made it hard to put down, but the first 150 pages were boring and almost caused me to quit reading it. I was expecting a story like Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Congo, or Timeline that got you into the action fast as well as taught you about the science and technology Crichton is covering in the story.
He did cover how the emerging nanotechnology of molecular robots combined with biotechnology and computer technology could get out of control on its own. These molecular robots swarmed together and developed emergent behavior (learning new responses to new stimuli) based on a predator model which becomes life-threatening to those who created them.
The book is worth reading, but not one that enthralls the reader from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: Crichton can certainly frighten
Review: This is Michael Crichton style science fiction adventure at its best. I picked this book up Saturday morning and did not put it down until I finished reading it that evening. He combines well-researched ideas from nanotechnolgy, biotechnology, and computer technology with his vivid imagination and novelist license to create this fast paced story. Predator behavior emerges as swarms of agents evolve to form a network optimized to thrive and prey on their creators. The science behind this story is so well researched the book contains a three page long bibliography of scientific papers on artificial life, evolutionary design, self-organization in biological systems, competition and predation, and swarm intelligence.
Rating:
Summary: It was difficult to understand
Review: The book went into a lot of detailled descriptions about nanotechnology that a lot of people wouldnt understand which makes the book boring
Rating:
Summary: Nano-bore
Review: I read one review that PREY should have been longer. I wanted it to be shorter. About 200 pages shorter. The "NEST" chapter would have made an excellent short story. In PREY, what precedes the "NEST" is dull, and what follows is ridiculous. Crichtons evolutionary factoids are as welcome as always. However, the idea that nano-particles will actually be visible to the human eye ("black cloud") or can be simply blown off with up/down bursts of air severely stretches his scientific credibility, and hampers the already-flawed plot. PREY could have been a taught, logical thriller like Crichtons previous works, but ended up reminding me of those silly radiation-monster movies of the 50s.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the Movie
Review: I have read two reviews of this novel. Apart from some mild criticism, both were favorable. These reviewers have been too kind. Prey is one of the most poorly written novels I've ever read. The only reason I gave it two stars is because it offers some interesting ideas as well as some fascinating information about the burgeoning new science of nanotechnology. Michael Crichton didn't try to write a readable, engaging novel here. All the characters are one-dimensional with virtually no character development, and much of the dialogue is inane--in one chapter, two of the main characters spend a half a page discussing the virtues of various disposable diapers! Prey isn't a novel--it's just a sloppy treatment of the film (complete with some interesting ideas for cool special effects courtesy of the author) that will undoubtedly be forthcoming in the next year or so. In this case, the movie is sure to be better than the book.
Rating:
Summary: I could hardly put it down
Review: My review title says it all -- I could hardly put it down. Rarely do I read a book that so intrigues me, so captures my imagination that my life is literally put on hold until I've finished it. That is exactly what happened with Prey. I knew nothing about nanotechnology going in, and although I still doubt the feasbility of many of Crichton's assertions in the story, I was fascinated nevertheless.
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