Rating: 
Summary: The Swarm vs. The Flock
Review: Before I read the first page of the Prologue, I resigned myself to reading technical material on nanotechnology, willy-nilly, like it or not. Michael Crichton, along with Mary Poppins, is a firm believer that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. The "sugar" being the characters and story line.Actually, the disinterested wife fascinated me right up to the finish line. For this, I was pleased. The story is formulaic: doomed scientists frantically searching for the key to destroy the monster before the monster destroys them (and the world). This monster is only impressive in numbers, not size. Microscopic computer chips programmed to be an "eye in the sky" for defense purposes. Individually, they are dumb; put a few billion together and they evolve very quickly. Because these chips have been formulated in a hunter/prey mode, there are certain short-term defenses that can be taken. When a group of scientists is threatened, one smart fellow yells "Flock!" I confess I would have been struck dead right there, for I haven't the first notion of how one "flocks." It turns out they were to march in step together taking up the most amount of room possible making the swarm think they were facing a huge entity (until said swarm figured it all out, that is.) Mostly I enjoyed the book and had a small glow of self-satisfaction because I had plowed through the technical pages per Mr. Crichton's wishes. I can't help but think it will be a very silly movie, but I suppose a movie it will be, as I believe it is written into MC's contract before he even takes pen to paper. I suggest waiting for the paperback, unless you are a die hard Crichton fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Blah! Didn't Hold My Interest at All After First Section!
Review: The first section of this book was good, but after that it was downhill all the way!! I had to stop reading it after a certain point, (the first 160 pages or so), as it was so boring! Prey takes us into the story of a mechanical plaque, and the desparate efforts of scientists to stop it. It speaks a lot of nantechnology and artificial disturbed intelligence. The plot was weak and never really picked up again. I wouldn't waste my money on this book!
Rating:
Summary: short, but interesting plot
Review: Crichton used to be my favorite author before being replaced by Preston and Child. I like Crichton's books because they usually have an interesting premise and are enfused with technological information. Preston and Child are also able to create fascinating plots by blending historical events, biochemistry, and the supernatural. However, while Preston and Child's books seem polished with excellent character development and dialogue, Crichton's recent books have been short with thin character development and awkward dialogue. The pages are filled with blank space adding to the appearance that this is really a short story and not a novel. Crichton's books are most interesting when he describes what a character is thinking of doing and not when they are speaking. There just isn't enough of this material to justify a full length novel. The book kept my attention, but it is not Crichton's best work.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not Great
Review: Prey starts out slow with the domestic life of the main character. It is only about 100 pages into the book that the plot begins to get interesting. Be sure to stick with it even though the first few chapters are a bore. Once Prey starts going it is hard to put down, and many plot twists keep you on the edge of your seat. There are, however, some major flaws. The book's subject matter seems very far-fetched. It is hard to imagine that something similar to the events in the book could actually happen. Also, the science that lays the foundation for the book was very complex and hard for me to understand. Next, the ending is confusing and leaves a fair number of questions unanswered. Prey will be enjoyed by fans of Crichton, like me, but those not familiar with his work would be advised to pass Prey by. He has written better books, that are more interesting and easier to understand.
Rating:
Summary: The Prey, or the Thing?
Review: Crichton's latest novel is interesting, but as I read it I began to wonder. And then it struck me. Desert sand for desert snow. Helicopters. Isolated buildings in the Nevada desert v isolated buildings in the Antarctic. Shapeshifting aliens v shapeshifting aliens (nanomachines), which can take on human form. Blood in the perti dish test v an awful tasting virus drink test. Flamethrowers v thermite. The result was John Carpenter's "Thing", which was based upon the short story, "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell. In the Prey, the nanomachines were an original twist, in that they were man-made aliens, but not much else.
Crichton also dwells on the mundane, and often repeats the science, as if there were going to be an exam after completing the book. And do we really need lines of computer text in the story?
Finally, I did not care for the denoement. As a reader, I am smart enough to figure out how the pieces of a story come together in the climatic scene, if the author is clever enough to tell a good story. Most disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Spellbinding Futuristic Possibilities
Review: Crichton's latest, a combination of scientific technology with fictional futuristic possibilities, is a thrill ride from start to finish. Jack Forman, househusband, is looking for another job while taking care of his three children. Wife Julia is a vice president at Xymos, where they are using nanotechnology, manufacturing molecule-sized devices, such as cameras, that can be inserted into the bloodstream to view all areas of the body. Convinced Julia is having an affair, Jack notices her tremendous mood swings and late working hours. Hired as a consultant at Xymos to fix problems on a program that he designed, Jack travels to their manufacturing facility in the middle of the Nevada desert. Switching identities from the neglected suspicious househusband, Jack suddenly becomes immersed in technology gone awry. Lack of proper venting at the plant has caused particles to be released into the environment, where swarms are created and seem to be multiplying. The technological aspects of this novel become more complex, adding depth to this read which increases in pace, thereby immersing the reader in Jack's fight to destroy the predatory swarms before they destroy him and others. The plausibility of Crichton's nanotechnology transforms this brilliant novel from mere sci-fi into a frightening look at future technology.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Bad B-Movie Script
Review: That is all this book is. There are too many plot holes to even mention here. The dialouge is terrible and he sums up the plot lines after each interaction like a soap opera would. The book had a great idea and the book needed to be technical, which is great, but he dumbs everything down to a 5 year old reading level. Wait for the movie and you might be able to see some cool special effects, but don't expect anything you haven't seen before.
Rating:
Summary: Could Be Worse
Review: Since you can read about characters, themes and storylines elsewhere let me go right to the point: what kind of reading experience does this book provide? Crichton is always best read for the way he handles plot, he is a master of the cliff-hanger. At the end of chapters, and, in this novel, even in the small subsections of the chapters, Crichton manages some real zingers that propel the reader to turn page after page. However be cautioned, nearly a third of the novel is a waist of time. For example, the opening chapters while providing some set up, drag due to trite humor about the central character's life as a stay-at-home dad. But the real flaw is a final section that stretches credulity beyond the limits, falling to the level of C grade sci-fi horror. There's even goo involved! The other two thirds crackle along at a very entertaining pace, amusing the reader in the best Crichton fashion. Not a total loss, but not his best.
Rating:
Summary: A Nano Scale Version of Jursassic Park
Review: A nice travel book, nothing more, nothing less.
Having read all of Michael Chrichton's novels, I can say with high degree of certainty that he has become very predictable.
At times I wasn't sure whether I was reading Prey or Jursassic Park (or the Nano scale version of it).
Be that as it may, one simply cannot ignore Crichton's remarkable ability to introduce very complex subjects to the layperson without taking out the fun of reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: Another great read by the master! I have read everything mr. criegton has published and never been disapointed. This time the protagonists are man made microbes instead of man made Dino's. the suspense and horror will keep you on the edge of the seat and the science is fascinating.
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