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Summary: Son Of Your Gardner
Review: Prey is such an oustanding book. It's told in first person which is really cool. It's about a guy who finds out that the program he designed went into the making of a nanoswarm which is self productive and self reproducing. There were a lot of plot twists and the characters were really well thought out.
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Summary: ...if biotech can be Gothic...
Review: In Michael Crighton's "Prey", we may have a new genre that could be called "Gothic Biotech." Using his masterful skills, honed over thirty years of writing best selling suspense novels, Crighton presents us with a riveting tale of a bio-engineered organism that rises up with a will and a vengeance, aiming to control its creators. From the labs of the Silicon Valley, scientists pressured by ever-increasing market competitions enter a dangerous realm. A secret facility "outside Reno", Crighton tells us, is the scene for the nonstop plot. (As a northern Nevada, I must object that Crighton seems to have confused our climate with that of southern Nevada outside Vegas. Our "high-mountain" desert just isn't as fierce as the one he describes!) Crighton does the domestic scenes well, as "house-husband" Jack Forman, between jobs as a hightech computer programmer, struggles with family routines and unruly children in his new role. He writes in the voice of one who has been there, and women will appreciate the authenticity. The pace is trademark-fast, the suspense is intriguing, and there are surprises throughout. "Prey" is another good one from
Crighton's ever-fertile imagination. Recommended.
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Summary: I suppose it could have been worse
Review: I was extemely impressed with Michael Chriton when I read this novel. Not at the quality of the writing, the plot, or the science though; rather I was impressed that he could make nanobots act just like dinosaurs. The writing is still just as gripping as in his other books, and the inconsistencies in the plot aren't too obvious, but none of the characters are really well developed, and they often act in ways that add drama to the story, rather than as a consiquece of their personalities or logic. The science is perhaps the worst thing about the book. In Jurassic Park the only strange thing seemed to be Chriton's belief that Zoos couldn't possbily work. In Prey, though, we see numerous examples of confusion about the sizes of things, over and misuse of buzzwords, and downright magical evolution. The creatures in Prey seem to evolve new abilities in just one or two generations, evolve without selective pressure, and evolve as a group rather than as individuals-all without exchanging genes. If you want something fun to read, adn don't have too much background in science, this book could be quite fun. Just don't believe the science.
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Summary: Not One of Crichton's Best
Review: I have been an avid fan of Michael Crichton since reading The Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man as a teenager. Indeed, except for Rising Sun (which was a good read ruined by shrill polemics) and Disclosure (where the ax he had to grind was way too apparent), I have pretty much nothing but high praise for all of Mr. Crichton's novels. I loved Sphere and I think Jurassic Park was one of my favorite reads of all time, a true page-turner. Airframe and Timeline were excellent, too. That is why I was so disappointed in this book. Don't get me wrong, it is still better than ninety percent of the average run-of-the-grist-mill stuff out there. But it was weak and underdeveloped, and, as one reviewer here has already pointed out, it was not really suspenseful. Character development was so poor that I don't think I ever really cared much about any of the main characters in the book, except for maybe the Asian scientist, May. And as they began to die, I thought of Alien 3, where characters were introduced so sketchily that you did not care if they eventually became dogfood. If you want a mildly-diverting summer read, to half glance at while you are watching humanity pass by on the beach, then by all means, pick up this book. Better yet, wait until it comes out in paperback or borrow it from the library. But if you have never read Michael Crichton before and are curious about his writing, please try another of his books, perhaps one of the ones I named above. Better luck next time, Mike.
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Summary: Read this book!!
Review: Crichton's new book is exciting in many fashions. First, it deals with a emerging new field - nanotechnology. Second, I liked the book because Crichton drew me in more by making the book read almost as a diary of the main character, Jack. The whole book is in first person and starts off kind of slow. However, the reason for this is to build upon Jack and show us his transformation throughout the book. The excitement grows page by page and will definitely keep you up all night reading.
I would recommend this book to any armchair adventurer. It is a book that will stay with you long after reading it, both for the story but also for the implications it makes on the future of technology and mankind's ability to control it.
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Summary: If you must have it, find it at a yard sale.
Review: This is a good story idea poorly written. At times, I was convinced that Crichton's twelve-year-old (if he has a 12-yr-old) wrote it. It was just that bad. The dialogue is often comical and should be embarrassing for a writer of Crichton's credentials. Crichton's insistence on using sentence fragments masquerading as complete thoughts was annoying. Literary license is one thing if it adds to the story. But sloppy sentence structure that leads you off in the wrong direction, or leaves you wondering what is being said, is inexcusable. If this story makes it to the big screen, it will need a major rewrite, hopefully by someone other than Michael Crichton.
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Summary: Interesting Subject Matter
Review: While not his best novel, Crichton does a competent job of weaving a tale of suspense around some interesting emerging technologies. The first part of the novel had me hooked, but by the time he shifts locations, Crichton started to lose me. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, there is the mystery around what is happening to his wife. I found this pretty transparent, and so found myself having to wait far too long for it to be revealed. Second - and this is my own fault - I found the capabilities of the technology in the story pretty tough to swallow. I work in software, and have used some of the techniques discussed, so it was hard for me to suspend my disbelief sufficiently. Still, I thought the idea behind the story was interesting, and the beginning and end of the novel were pretty engaging. If you don't mind a little technology mixed in with your fiction, you might like this. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but I wouldn't try to dissuade you from reading it, either.
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Summary: Great intro to nano tech possibilities
Review: Looking at the reviews of this book, people with technical background have enjoyed the book far more than others. The reason being the need to appreciate the synergy between distributed intelligence programming, evolutionary behaviour and nanotechnology. Crichton gives lot of profound insights which keep you thinking, while building up the story. One example is when the swarm grows up to form a human shape, he reminds us of the similarity with the human body. Another one is when the milder swarm prevails over the virulent mutant of the swarm, equating it with the cholera strain.
I read the book when the SARS scare was rampant around the world. Couldnt help noting many similarities with the story. Mysterious outbreak from south china, its rapid spread thoughout the world and ofcourse it being a respiratory disease.
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Summary: NanoThriller With An 'Alien' Like Claustophobia and Fear....
Review: ...or, Crichton's 'Desert Storm'. Lately whenever I write book reviews I have been overall been attempting to resummarise the plot for the readers. I am not gonna do it in this case. You've no doubt read the others already. I'll not burden you with mine. Get this and enjoy it! It is a fast-paced, good-time rollercoaster. If you loved the classic movies "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and the original "Alien", you are gonna love Crichton's super-entertaining thriller. Don't let the techno stuff bother ya. The author has put that in for us molecular biology, evolution and programming buffs, anyhoo. Getting the glazed eye when he talks of stuff like pack or swarm behavior and particle properties will not hinder the layperson's enjoyment of Prey. And the ending will knock your socks off. Read it before the movie gets here!
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Summary: And I worry about SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
Review: What I find to be extremely interesting science is presented in Michael Crichton's "PREY". Biological science coupled with computer software science and nanotechnology are engaged in a project that involves evolution and adaption, among other things. "PREY" is really an exciting and frightening novel, partly because the events in the story could probably really happen. An unemployed computer programmer/manager, has become a job searching stay-at-home dad. He is eventually asked by his former employer, who had fired him, to return and help with a computer program. For obvious reasons he is reluctant to do this. In this book, evolution takes on a new meaning. If we only learn one thing from "PREY" it would be responsibility. "...jerry-built, half-baked, concocted in a hurry to solve present problems and never a thought to the future." (p.362 of "PREY") Sound familiar? After you read the book, go back and reread the Introduction.
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