Rating: 
Summary: Greg Bear, anyone?
Review: 'Michael Crichton is the science-fiction author that people read if they think they're too good for ``regular'' science fiction.' So said Roger Ebert in a movie review. But it's totally true: Greg Bear's books 'Queen of Angels', 'Moving Mars', and especially 'Blood Music', and Neal Stephenson's 'Diamond Age' were addressing the subject of nanotech over a decade ago, and now Micheal Crichton comes along, scoops up the science, throws in a Hollywood action/horror plot, and constructs a right-wing, cautionary, anti-science book the way he's done with everything else he's published. Sure, he explains his science like he knows what he's talking about, but in the end it's just "Westworld" or "Jurassic Park". Technology is bad! Scientists are evil megalomaniacs! Let's burn our computers and run for the hills! It's as if Frankenstein's monster has been reincarnated as a swarm of nanites...Sad.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, if predictable science fiction
Review: Author Michael Crichton's set-ups for his novels have always been inspired, if not fascinating. Anyone who has ever perused his novels "Sphere," "Timeline" and "Congo" can attest to the interesting plot devices that instantly hook the reader, making his quick reads difficult to put down. "Prey" certainly falls into this category. Unemployed computer scientist Jack Forman is struggling with being a stay-home dad while his wife works obsessively on a new project. Her mysterious project happens to involve work he has been involved with in the past. His wife is gone for days at a time and Jack suspects she's having an affair. He is soon brought in to the project when things spiral out of control. What Jack discovers at a remote laboratory in the desert is a swarm of micro computers, accidently released into the environment acting as a killing swarm. Needless-to-say, he has his work cut out for him in trying to destroy this rapidly growing menace. I enjoyed the idea of this new type of monster created by Crichton, and several of the situations when dealing with this insect-like swarm were inventive and suspenseful. The set-up, taking place at a lab in the desert, is perhaps a bit too reminiscent of one of Crichton's early novels "The Andromeda Strain," and the swarms replicating and eventually forming into people was a bit too "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" for my taste. The novel soon closes with movie-type situations in which men and women are running for their lives, climbing ladders and fighting desperately along precarious catwalks. Which is why I don't think "Prey" is an especially great science fiction novel. Like "Sphere," like "Congo" and like "Timeline," the set-up is fascinating, but then it regresses into predicatable plot devices and chase sequences. The colorful hodgepodge of scientists at the lab are fairly textbook, and one can practically predict who's dog meat and who will survive. Thus, the suspense is never very intense nor inspired. Been there, done that. "Prey" is half a very good novel. Crichton has brought a new monster to town, if only the story surrounding the monster was as inventive.
Rating: 
Summary: Hunt for this book
Review: Michael Crichton is great. Jurassic Park, now this. Excellent! Computer Programmer and whiz Jack Forman, househusband, is having marriage problems with his wife Julia, who he suspects is having an affair because of her long worknights at the Xymos lab. He finally gets to go there (he's unemployed) to check on some of their quiet 'project.' But when he discovers that a microscopic nano swarm has escaped, he has to play hero and stop it. Of course, like Jurassic Park, this was one of those survivor ones where people are killed off. Overall, this book was great. It barely surpasses Jurassic Park, and he twists the plot around many times. Buy it. Trust me, when I say "Things never turn out the way you think they will."
Rating: 
Summary: Michael Crichton does it again
Review: If you like to read a suspense book that makes you look at technology a different way, this is the book for you. I love how Michael Crichton can show how science can get out of hand. He just might be the George Orwell of his time.
Rating:
Summary: good not great
Review: Typical Michael Crighton book. He does a great job of making the unbelievable seem believeable. From Dinosaurs in Jurassic park to time travel in Timeline. But also typical of his novels the end peters out. The difference in Prey is the build up is not as interesting as some of his other novels.
Rating:
Summary: Crichton gets it right once again
Review: As an avid Michael Crichton fan, I have read every fictional work currently published, and Prey is definately one of the best. He holds the reader in suspense, combining the terror of microorganisms as in The Andromeda Strain and the entangled feeling of Sphere. I was able to finish this novel in three days, and was found arguing with myself at 3 in the morning whether to sleep or to continue reading. I give this novel my whole-hearted recommendation, and hope all Crichton fans enjoy it as much as I have.
Rating:
Summary: Blended Score
Review: If your going to try an read this book, I would give it a 2. But as a book on tape it's a 4. Why the difference, it's easy I would never read through ALL the explanations of the technilogy, but listening to it on tape requires no thought. It just sort of flows. Interesting story. Main character is a bit card board, but in all well worth the LISTENING to.
Rating:
Summary: Not great, but Pretty good
Review: I've read several of MC's books and enjoyed all of them to various degrees. Prey introduces us to a very likable main character and gives us another one of Crichton's famed runaway science experiments. As usual, the technogy described is cutting-edge and well explained. I was able to easily follow how it developed and evolved. Everything was great up until about page 300 (out of 360). It felt as the last part of the book was a Hollywood movie and the two hour flick was nearing its end. The book went from being intelligent and scary in a very real sense, to being an over-the-top popcorn movie with generic action. Maybe it would have been better if the ending came more as a surprise. I had pretty much figured out the twist ealier in the book, so the ending wasn't that exciting to me. My wife on the other hand was blown away by those events and enjoyed it more than I did. All in all, this is one of Mr. Crichton's better books but definitely not his best. I consider it a good read and look forward to the movie that I'm sure will follow.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it to learn, but don't expect to be entertained.
Review: I read this book in 2 days. I REALLY enjoy Michael Crichton's writing because you become so immersed in learning something new every time he writes a book... but this particular plot felt flatter than most. Maybe its because of the tired story of a couple coming apart at the seams, maybe its because of the very rough chapter endings ala "Goosebumps" style... Maybe he was writing in the style of a new movie script?? Seems a lot of authors are doing that these days, <sadly>. In any case, I LOVED learning about nanotechnology and artificial life... but that was about it. Yeah, I'd buy it - wait till the paperback comes out or buy a used one just to learn something new. Don't expect to be brought in with your mind in the plot though, the way previous Crichton novels have seduced you.
Rating:
Summary: Neutral
Review: A rather disappointing effort on the part of otherwise outstanding author. The topic has an enormous potential, which in this book didn't get the full measure of Mr. Crichton's talent. Good analogy would be a 007 movie, where you relish the realism until it occasionally devolves into ridiculous and unlikely spectacle.
The use of too many clichés and simplistic language along with inferior chracter development further diminishes reading experience. On a positive note, Mr. Crichton, as usual, delivers an exciting dose of engrossing technical detail and intellectual insight. Fast and exciting pace (after a slow beginning) keeps the reader glued. But don't put it down, as you may not be drawn to pick it back up. Verdict: An utterly interesting topic and accompanying insight, diminished by a disappointing treatment and execution.
| 
