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Summary: Can't wait for the movie to come out on this one!
Review: This was a good book... and I read it fast. It has some technical stuff but nothing the average reader can't get through. I'm wondering about the sequel??? Hope it comes out soon.
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Summary: Crichton teaches you & keeps you on the edge of your seat!
Review: Being an avid Michael Crichton fan, I must say I am quite pleased with his latest work, "Prey." Although it starts a little slow as Crichton lays the groundwork and explains the basics behind nanotechnology. After 100 pages though, it TAKES OFF! A very exciting read which teaches us a lot about animals & organisms: How they hunt, live, organize, adapt and SURVIVE. Mr. Crichton is always able to teach you something... all the while keeping you on the EDGE OF YOUR SEAT!
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Summary: Jurassic Revisited
Review: What you get with Mr. Crichton is fascinating science/ technology and a fast, thrilling pace. What you do not get is character development or pristine prose. Every year or so I willingly accept that trade off.
Prey deals with the cross section of biological evolution and the computer age. Crichton does a great job of feeding the reader hard to digest scientific/ technical facts in format that is easy to understand (I think?). As always, the plot is futuristic and told in a "this could happen " style. It is a page turner and a compelling read. There is a real JURASSIC PARK feel to the structure of the novel, the character quality and behavior. It's only missing the dinosaurs.
I do not rate this amoung Mr. Crichton's best but it was a good read for a cold winter's night.
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Summary: Prey Tell
Review: Another in the Jurassic line of pulp fiction. If you want very light (air headed) beach reading that has the potential to make you wonder where we may be headed this book is for you.
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Summary: Enjoyable and Interesting - but a rehashed plot device
Review: The story goes as follows: Jack, a computer programmer who worked on grouped processing is out of a job. His wife Julia has an executive position with a company that is using Jack's programs to develop nanotechnology spy tools for the government. The technology comes to life, goes berserk, and Jack is called in to figure it out because he understands the program. With a few interesting but highly implausible twists (as if the whole thing isn't somewhat implausible) Jack ends up saving the day, but in doing so kills his wife who has in part caused the mess.
I enjoy reading Michael Crichton novels because he usually teaches you something about science. What I find more interesting about Crichton is that he seems stuck on certain notions, namely Chaos Theory. Perhaps it is true that nature is uncontrollable (to a degree at least) and that, try as we might, we cannot predict what life will do, but how many times can you use this as a plot device? This was the entire story to Jurassic Park I, and II, and III. He does make an interesting point about psychology and how individuals may be very insightful of the problems facing other people but are usually pretty bad at understanding their own psychological problems. Overall the book was interesting to read but not my favorite Crichton novel.
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Summary: Same old stuff
Review: There's an element of Crichton's writing style I find incredibly annoying. It happens all the times in his book, and it gets overused to the point of making his book unbelievable\not credible. I find it so very aggrivating, and it makes me want to never read another one of his books. It's... **SUDDENLY THE PHONE RINGS**
Rating: 
Summary: LIKE PAINTING BY NUMBERS
Review: Crichton's premise of nanotechnology gone awry is interesting but not necessarily new and his characters are shallow and one dimensional. I found the first hundred pages tolerable but the remainder of the book to be formalistic.
The science of the "black cloud swarm" requires way too much information and takes away from what could have been a good sci fi horror story.
Much of the book reads as if it was originally written as a screenplay. Skip the book and wait for the movie that will, no doubt, be coming to a theatre near you in the future.
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Summary: Absorbing book
Review: The first book by Michael Crichton I watched adapted for television was the Andromeda Strain. His stories are filled with intriguing technological concepts that usually end up teaching a lesson of how manmade technology does not mix well with nature. There are parts to the book that left me wondering why certain things would happen. Crichton does an excellent job of explaining concepts, but still falls into that trap of a "bug" in the program to make explanations short. overall its a good read.
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Summary: SCARY BOOK WITH A NEW LOOK AT A NEW TECH
Review: THIS TIME Mr. CRICHTON HAS DECIDED TO TELL THE STORY FROM A FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE. IT IS THROUGH THE ACCOUNTS OF THE PROTAGONIST THAT WE COME TO KNOW ABOUT THE SEEMINGLY COMMON-ENOUGH THIRD PERSON ANGLE IN A HUSBAND AND WIFE RELATIONSHIP HAS A MUCH DIFFERENT AND FRANKLY,SCARY INTERPRETATION. IMAGINE LOSING YOUR JOB FOR BEING HONEST, IMAGINE BEING STRANDED IN HOME WHILE YOUR WIFE IS WORKING AND BEHAVING WEIRDLY, IMAGINE SUSPECTING HER ABOUT HAVING AN AFFAIR AND THEN IMAGINE HER ACCUSING YOU OF CREATING A RIFT BETWEEN YOU AND THE CHILDREN AND SUITABLY PLOTTING TO GET A DIVORCE! WONDERING WHERE DOES MICHAEL JURASSIC CRICHTON COME IN ALL THIS ? AS WE KNOW SCIENCE FICTON IS Mr.CRICHTON'S FORTE. BUT ALL THESE ARE TRUE FOR THE PROTAGONIST OF 'PREY'.HE EVENTUALLY HAS TO GO TO THE TOP-0SECRET INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH FACILITY WHERE HIS WIFE WORKS UNDER A NEW JOB CONTRACT(AFTER SOME PRETTY WEIRD INCIDENTS AT HOME),PARTLY DUE TO THE REASON OF HOPING TO UNCOVER HIS WIFE'S INFIDELITY.
ENTER TECHNOLOGY. AT THE RESEARCH FACILITY NANOPARTICLES ARE BEING CREATED BY A NEVER-SEEN-BEFORE TECH UNDER A DEFENCE CONTRACT. THESE PARTICLES HAVE AMAZING SELF-SUSTAINIG CAPABILITIES,INTELLIGENCE,SPEED,ENERGY AND THEY AR'NT SHY TO LEARN A TRICK OR TWO EITHER. WORST OF ALL IS THAT THEY ARE SOMEHOW RELEASED IN THE SURROUNDING DESERT AND WHLIE WRECKING HAVOK THE PRODIGAL SONS WANT TO INFILTRATE THE FACILITY. SOON THE HERO REALISES THAT SOMETHING FISHY IS GOING ON AND NOBODY IS WHAT HE/SHE MAY SEEM.
THE BOOK PRODS THE MOST RELEVANT QUESTION OF TODAY - ARE WE SURE WHAT WE ARE DOING? AND ALSO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REALISE THAT YOUR MOST LOVED ONE IS'NT THE PERSON HE/SHE USED TO BE(LITERALLY)? HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THIS BOOK WILL SCARE YOU STIFF AND WILL PROVOKE THOUGHT IN THE MOST UNIMAGINATIVE OF MINDS.
THE BOOK AT TIMES SEEMS SLOW AS ITS PACE IS IMPEDED BY THE LECTURE SESSIONS IN TECHNO-SCIENCE TO ELUCIDATE THE PROCEEDINGS AND MAY EVEN SEEM DULL.ALSO SPEAKING IN THE FIRST PERSON IS'NT SRTICTLY Mr.CRICHTON'S STYLE.ALSO AS WE ARE USED TO EXPECT HEROS AND VILLAINS IN HIS THRILLERS AS HIGH PROFILE SCIENTISTS,THE CHOICE OF A HOME-STRANDED MAN IN THIS ROLE SHOCKS.
THIS AND THE HOME SCENARIO GIVES A DIFFERENT FEEL TO THE BOOK WHICH MAY BE LIKED OR DISLIKED ACCORDING TO THE INDIVIDUAL READER'S TASTE.
BUT READ THIS BOOK - IT WILL GIVE YOU THE CHILLS.
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Summary: "Prey" That Your Intelligence Is Not Insulted
Review: I am a big Crichton fan, but this book ended by insulting my intelligence. It started out wonderfully. I couldn't get enough of the enlightening techno discussions and explanations, reminding me of the way Sphere started and progressed. Now the honesty--unlike some other reviews I have seen on this book. I couldn't believe the dialog exchange in several parts of the novel. How much did Crichton and his publisher get for the deplorably obvious ... commercial. This is the first book that I ever considered putting down. The ending is awful! I can't believe that as intelligent as Crichton is, he could actually agree to not only write, but also agree to publish such an ending. It is inconsistent, ridiculous, obviously forced and unbelievable. Crichton goes through over two thirds of the novel developing a somewhat consistent and complex story. Then he ends the novel with pathetic inconsistencies that seem to be forced so that we have a happy ending. I was anxiously awaiting the final third because I thought there would be a cerebral, complicated twist, but I was disappointed with a through-out-your-brain, amateurish, accomodating ending. Give me a break. I "prey" that hope your intelligence will not be insulted as mine was.
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