Prey

Rating:
Summary: Quick and fun read.
Review: As usual, Crichton goes over the top a bit, but that being expected, I wasn't disappointed with this story, it was a quick read and a page turner and basically a good story. The ending had enough of a twist that it wasn't entirely predictable and the characters were interesting enough. It won't come as a surprise to any that read Crichton that the story involves a situation that could never really happen, but is grounded in enough science and theory to challenge the readers imagination.
This story will undoubtedly be turned into a movie, there is an element of horror possible here and if the movie is done right, it could be pretty scary. I recommend this to any that enjoy science fiction/fantasy type quick reading novels that haven't yet tried out the authors work. If you already like his work, this book is not the mistake that the novel Jurassic Park The Lost World is and is not quite as fantastic as the novel Timeline, if you have any interest in the world of nanotechnology it will be thought provoking at the least.

Rating:
Summary: wee bit over the top, but a good movie script nevertheless
Review: Imagine in one week how planet earth could fall victim to swarms of self-reproducing nanorobots. These micro-flying machines are individually dumb, but making use of the "predator prey" algorithms, form highly intelligent swarms that can attack the existance of the human race. The drama is gripping in a classic "who do you trust" scenario. Can Jack trust his wife Julia? Is she having an affair? Is she even his wife anymore? Can Jack trust the other workers at the plant? Can Jack save his family? You sort of know the end from Crichton's introduction, but you don't really know it, which makes for a very interesting book. The last day stretches out and you feel like you are reading the dramatic events in the time it took for them to occur.

This book is an easy read, but filled with unnecessary profanity. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Good Idea for a Short Story
Review: This would have been a nice idea for a short story but there wasn't enough rising action for a 500-page paperback novel. The first 140 pages had good intrigue with the mysterious behavior of the protagonist's wife toward him and their family, but the middle part of the story was stretched way too thin. It became a formula man-versus-monster sci-fi tale with the nano-particles playing the part of the monster created by the evil government defense contractor. The story picks up speed again in the last 100 pages as if Crichton realized that he had enough filler for the 500 pages needed by the publisher and he could get on with completing the story.

Crichton is good with biological and medical details and he's done his homework on cutting edge computer technology, but some of his technical explanations in the fields of electricity, magnetism and physics fall flat for the reader who truly understands these sciences. The literary quality of this novel is standard for modern fiction: one-dimensional characters who get angry and curse each other a lot in the most common type of profanity; this is how the author shows drama. Good drama and intrigue require more complicated character development. If only Michael had used that 360 pages in the middle for something more constructive.

Michael Crichton has paid his dues as a sci-fi writer. He's written many novels, none of them very good except "Jurassic Park" which made him a star. He can now rest on his laurels knowing that anything he grinds out will be a hit and will probably be turned into a screenplay. If you like shallow sci-fi thrillers that you can speed-read any time and anywhere, you will be well-served by this book.

Rating:
Summary: Did Crichton Even Write This Junk?
Review: Like the others who hated this book, I'll be brief. I consider myself a fan of Crichton and I've read many of his books. Airframe was one of the first books I literally couldn't put down until I'd finished it. But this junker Prey is not worthy of the author and makes me question whether he even wrote it, or just signed off on a ghost writer's lame attempt to follow the Crichton formula.

In one word, this book is AWFUL!

Rating:
Summary: Decent read, with some logic errors
Review: A scary premise and okay story telling, but some parts didn't make sense, logically. Also, some of the science was just not plausible and there was no effort by Crichton to make it so. Another thing that bugged me was that the main character was shown to be sort of an idiot at one moment, and then brilliant in the next. I felt this story could have been outstanding and 5 stars with not much more effort from the writer.

Rating:
Summary: Good warning -- not very good writing
Review: Michael Crichton's a better author than Robin Cook, although that isn't saying much. But he wouldn't stack up against sci-fi genius Charles Sheffield and certainly not against Ursula le Guin, and that's because he's invariably lousy at characterization, almost as if he's lived a too-sheltered or too-solitary life. Other reviewers have complained of the lack of emotional "affect" in the marital relationship between Jack and Julia, so I won't, but it comes across as a really awful marriage -- which I doubt Crichton intended.

In many aspects, including the desert lab and the thoughtless military-oriented technology, the book seemed like an update of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN. Because of that, there are some genuinely positive values here. It's always good to be reminded of the essential brutality of the military-industrial complex and rampant capitalism. And a nanotechnology plague seems scarier than anything Crichton's done to date -- more likely to happen in the near future.

The best part of the tale, which seemed deliberate on Crichton's part, was how the author stood ANDROMEDA STRAIN on its head! In the older novel, written in far better times than these, the government supplied its citizens with the most up-to-date protection possible against technological terror, and the scientists (though cardboard characters) were said to be the best in their fields.

In PREY, private industry, serving DOD, works out of a sordid and botchy lab in a low-bid competitive race, the ultimate guarantee of trashy and dangerous results. In case the failures of the space shuttles haven't been enough, this is a good lesson for us all.

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst Crichton's I've read
Review: The Premise of this book is very tempting, When we move into new technology (Nanotechnology) we believe that we are in total control of these developing technologies and that nothing can go wrong. Yet many times some thing does, some time with a disastrous outcome.

With this book how ever Mr. Crichton goes to great pains to make sure that even the simplest reader will easily be able to predict the ending. He does this so often that it becomes obvious that there is a suprise ending comming straight out of left field.

It seams that Mr. Crichton was rushed on this book and just wanted to get it done.

Rating:
Summary: Average at Best
Review: I think over the years I've probably read 3/4 of Michael Crichton's books...and have liked most of them alot. This book is fast paced and entertaining but I didn't feel that it stacked up well next to a number of his other works. I had the feeling that it was rushed to meet a deadline and ,as a result, lacked a certain originality. The Nano-technology as villian concept is great and seemed to be a natural for Crichton but so much of the book was outright derivative of other stories or films. There are scenes in this book that are right out of "Aliens" and John Carpenter's "The Thing". Maybe the biggest problem for me was the relationship between Jack and Julia. After 2 whole weeks of tension in the marriage and 48 hours of suspicion of infidelity Jack's ready to toss the 14 year relationship away without a single conversation with Julia nor even a question as to why she's behaving oddly? This is the Mother of his 3 kids, including an 8 month old infant. I have a deeper relationship with my Mailman! As we get closer to the end, and it appears that Julia may be the story's central villian it appears that Jack could care less. Talk about marriages made a few feet lower than Heaven! I kept asking myself...who's less human here? The characters or the Nano particles?

Rating:
Summary: Simple Review
Review: I'll keep this simple: The journey is much more interesting then the destination. This book has a facinating premise, more character development then the average Crichton novel, and is facinating for the first 400 pages. However, the climax of the novel, is a letdown. Chichton seems so intent on "blowing us away" that he opts for a silly, cheap plot twist that is telegraphed in the first 50 pages (I kept hoping Crichton was teasing and had something more interesting planned). I like the book; I just wish that it had lived up to the promise of the first half of the novel.

Rating:
Summary: Improbable Science
Review: A really good novel illustrating the potential danger of nanotechnology would be a welcome addition. Prey is not that novel.

Here's the plot: Somewhere in the Nevada desert, a hi-tech corporation has been experimenting with nanotechnology swarms. Of course, the little critters get loose and begin evolving into fierce predators. Jack Foreman, an expert in designing computer programs that mimic the behavior of swarming animals, is called in to deal with the swarm.  Jack's wife is a Vice-President at the firm, but she hasn't clued Jack into the big picture.

I won't give it away, but the swarm evolves so rapidly - and unbelievably - it's difficult to sustain belief in the storyline. Actually, it's impossible. Adding to the disappointment are B-movie characters that blur into the background, their tracks sinking out of sight in the sand of a sluggish plot.