Prey

Rating:
Summary: Crichton Does His Homework
Review: I really enjoyed this novel, and especially liked how Michael explained various technical concepts through the course of the book. There were no boring parts in the whole book - something was always afoot, from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: When's the movie coming out?
Review: The book presentsan interesting concept about artificial intelligence but while reading Prey I couldn't help wondering when the movie would be coming out. Many of Crichton's books, such as Jurassic Park, have been made into successful movies and I kept feeling that this book was written with a future film adaptation in mind, which is not, in my mind,a good thing. I was mentally casting the characters in my mind and this ultimately proved to be quite a distraction. This is obviously fiction for the masses. It makes you think a little but ultimately it feels like cotton candy which quickly dissolves in your mouth, It just doesn't linger in the mind for long...it's just empty calories; It's not bad but could have, should have been much better.

Rating:
Summary: Fun -- but been there, done that
Review: Add one or more of the following into a word processor:

1. A wonderful new world-changing discovery, of which some element usually runs amok and kills people before being destroyed or contained. (For examples, see "The Andromeda Strain," "Jurassic Park," "The Lost World," "The Terminal Man," "Sphere," "Congo" and "Timeline.")

2. Backstabbing corporate intrigue, putting getting ahead over everything else, including ethical/moral scruples and other people's lives. (See "Rising Sun," "Jurassic Park," "Disclosure," "Airframe," "Congo" and "Timeline.")

3. Family problems, ranging from squabbling siblings to broken marriages. (See "Jurassic Park," "Disclosure" and "Airframe.")

4. Sexual tension or the outright dirty deed. (See "Sphere," "Disclosure," "Airframe" and "Rising Sun.")

5. Plenty of danger to protagonists, with lots of gory descriptions if applicable. (See all of the above.)

Mix well. Label with "Michael Crichton" in large letters. Serve half-baked and see who comes in for dinner.

That's really the best way to describe "Prey," Michael Crichton's latest techno-thriller bestseller. As in many of his earlier novels, a new technology goes haywire -- in this case, nanotechnology at an isolated production facility in the Nevada desert. The narrator, a former Silicon Valley hotshot who is now a househusband thanks to being the victim of a corporate frame-up (an element which feels like it never quite fits into the rest of the story), is asked by his former company to go to the Nevada facility (which is conveniently run by his partially estranged wife) and do some consulting. Of course, once he arrives he finds that the nanotechnology has spiraled out of control, creating a horrible threat to humanity that has been covered up by the company.

"Prey" is definitely an exciting read, with lots of people in distress from the rogue technology, but with its nests and blood and gore and sex, I had the distinct feeling I'd seen it all before. I felt like I could actually name which of Crichton's previous novels on which particular elements were based. (Or someone else's novels -- one specific bit sounded like it was lifted right out of Stephen King's "The Green Mile.")

None of the characters have any real depth, apparently having been turned out by the hundreds at some bizarre Character Factory somewhere. You have your social-misfit scientists, super-driven 28-hour-a-day corporate fanatics, angst-ridden teenagers, and others, none of them any more than cookie-cutter products. (Most of Crichton's novels are like that nowadays. Only his earlier books feature characters with any real depth or personality.)

But perhaps I'm being too harsh. After all, if you pick up a book for summer reading (which, let's face it, "Prey" is), you don't expect Shakespeare. And this is what people have come to expect from Crichton's novels. So after considerable thought, I give it three stars -- kinda good on its own, but when you compare it to his other work, we've been on this monster ride before.

Rating:
Summary: Not Crichton's Best... but Compelling at Times...
Review: There IS an important message to the reader in PREY - to be aware, and BEware, of boundless technological progress. The enemy in PREY is not the nanotechnology that has gotten out of hand and started killing humans in the Nevada desert, but the humans who created it. Sound familar? Right - we already read JURASSIC PARK, and of course it's easier to fear dinosaurs than particles. Crichton has always given readers plenty of pure fact and science in his fiction novels, but in PREY, at times, Crichton blinds the reader at time with scientific information more appropriate in a PhD dissertation than an action/sci-fi novel. Usually when you finish a Crichton novel, you have learned a lot (and been entertained) without realizing how much you had learned. CONGO and RISING SUN are good examples - total page turners with plenty of suspense, but a lot of underlying FACT. When PREY gets rolling in the main story - panicked scientists trying to control swarms of nanoparticles that are evolving and becoming more intelligent with each passing hour - Crichton bombs the reader with pages of hardcore scientific fact and theory that, for many, may defy comprehension. So it is difficult to feel the urgency and suspense over the plot line when you can't quite interpret the underlying point. My favorite part of the book was the first half - before there was much science to it - when Crichton sets the table with the unemployed house-husband narrator observing his wife's strange behavior (suggestive of an affair) and his children's mysterious illnesses and broken appliances - all to be explained later. Crichton writes so well about relationships and misery in them (as featured in DISCLOSURE as a couple deals with infidelity) to the point that the reader really sympathizes with the narrator well BEFORE he gets caught up in the scientific hysteria. As for the action sequences, we follow the narrator and a team of scientists as they chase after, and are then chased by, these nanoswarms. Some of the confrontations seems almost like schlock-sci-fi (with one mechanism stolen right from THE GREEN MILE) and I cannot see this book becoming a movie. I enjoyed TIMELINE and AIRFRAME much more than this book, yet I know Crichton feels the message in PREY is much more important for all of us to grasp. If only he had packaged it in his usual manner, maybe more readers would be able to grasp it. Despite my mostly negative review, this IS a Crichton book, which, at its worst, is still heads above most fiction. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Great story, inspiring technology and Human Nature
Review: Chrichton's prose gets better with every new book: the story is gripping, the prose is "no nonsense" and the atmosphere is superb.

I read a review of "Prey" on powells.com. The reviewer objected some sentence in a book and failed to recognize why Chrichton wrote this story: no matter how great the technology is, the issues of ethical behavior, greed, lack of foresight and "Human Nature" will remain in the forefront, with a great potential for disasters.

I enjoyed the story, the research behind it and great prose.

Rating:
Summary: Totally Implausible Drivel
Review: This plot was so far off the beaten path that not even the writing skills of Michael Crichton could make it work for me. As a follow-on to novels like Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain this book was a huge disappointment with a plot as elusive as the nanobot cloud it attempts to captivate the reader with. I would recommend waiting until it is available at the library; don't waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: awesome awesome awesome
Review: great read, could not put the book down. Crichton writes in down to earth, everyday speek. like talking to a pal or normal dude. When reading preview that this was about nanotech I was sceptical. He mixes hitech, everyday erands of a stay @ home dad and some crazy scifi sh!% with perfect balance the end was alittle bananas but kept you on the edge of the couch. I will read more of his books. Crichton does his homework, read the foot notes.

Rating:
Summary: Where is the Mitral valve??
Review: Great book from Creighton again. From the very first page you are bound to continue to the next page. I listen to it while running, and at the end of my run I want to go another mile to keep listening. But, where is the Mitral valve, Michael?? In the Right Heart?? Page 27, the first day, "We're coming to the right atrium, and we should see the mitral valve...." Its the Tricuspid valve buddy!! Still a great book, thanks Michael.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Bad
Review: Michael Crichton does the "Mr. Mom" thing. Honestly, this book is interminable. I'm listening to the audio version and I wish they had clearly labeled when the family nonsense ends and the real story begins.

What was Crichton thinking? I guess it's true, that success is a writer's biggest enemy. "Timeline" was horrible. "Airframe" was worse. This one is unbearable. I think I'll go back and read some of his older books, like "Andromeda Strain" and "Terminal Man".

Rating:
Summary: Crichton Refreshed
Review: Flavored of The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Congo, and Jurassic Park, Prey is a choice morsel for Crichton fans who appreciate his realistic use of dialogue, the eerie not-quite-right feel he carefully cultivates even as things seem to be going the hero's way, and the swiftness of his storytelling overall. I found Prey extremely hard to set down, though it was plain to see where some of the intricacies were heading...some of them. The book starts off a little bland, like the hero himself, but once it gets moving the action is fast and nerve-wrackingly fun. The most refreshing thing about this particular piece is that Crichton doesn't eat up pages explaining technicalities to death or filling good story-space with graphics and such which are kind of neat, but not integral for the reader to have to take time to study. This tale is told simply, quickly, and honestly, and should sit proudly on the shelf where his other works are stored in your home. Nice job, Michael.