Prey

Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: Prey is another well-written novel by Michael Crichton to add to the shelves of any avid reader. This book is written in a simpler language than many of Crichton¡¦s earlier science fiction novels, and it doesn¡¦t have the popular tedious scientific explanations for every event. In Prey, the theories and ideas behind the development of the microscopic robots, the book¡¦s antagonist, is explained briefly and in simpler words, which is a pleasant adjustment from his other novels that lecture for half the book before moving on to the exciting parts.
The protagonist of the book is Jack Forman, a manager of a team of computer programmers, was recently fired by his boss in a setup, and was forced to take on the role of a stereotypical mother and work around the house. His wife, Julia, is a workaholic at a nanotechnology laboratory that focuses on making a unique camera for the government. The camera is composed of tiny robots programmed to behave like a swarm. When a cloud of these particles escaped from the laboratory, Jack Forman, who programmed the behavior program that was used in the particles, is called upon to help solve fix the problem.
The plot of the book revolves around Jack¡¦s effort to stop the swarm of particles in Nevada¡¦s deserts and the theory of evolution and behavior. One of the main themes in the book is not technology, but a comparison between evolution of the robots and evolution in nature. The nanoparticles, which start off loosely organized according to the programming, later evolve to very organized groups capable of reproducing and causing devastation among the characters. The blend of technology and evolution makes for an exciting read, but a surprisingly simple plot. The author keeps ideas to the point and the explanations are concise, which makes for a fast-paced book that reads smoothly and is easier to understand.
This book was very enjoyable to read because it moves along at a rapid pace and has many original ideas in mixing technology with evolution. The book is action packed with suspenseful encounters between the characters and the swarms, but the last action sequence ends up being a typical thriller. Nonetheless, the book doesn¡¦t bore the reader, especially with the descriptions of the deaths of some of the characters. Again, Michael Crichton does his research in order to provide us with a book that is both entertaining and informative.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Crichton has done it again!
Review: I read this book in a single afternoon, which I don't usually do unless the book is really good, and I must say the story and characters were very strong and the science...nano-bots...was most intriguing. Making this book a Science-Fiction/High-Tech book like others I've bought and read, such as "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Neuromancer", and "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter". All damn good books and worthy to be added to anyone's Science-Fiction/High-Tech library.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing but Profanity-laced
Review: This book had a great story and played up the intensity well, but what's up with all the heavy swearing, especially the f-bomb? As they say, profanity is used by those with a limited vocabulary. Truly great authors can come up with other words of expression to convey the emotion - e.g. Terry Brooks, Frederick Forsyth, Stephen Ambrose and others. Timeline had this same problem. Instead of adding to the story, the profanity detracts from it. Also, Crichton's conclusions are always too quick and don't explain enough, like when certain pivotal events happened.

Rating:
Summary: Page-turning fun!!
Review: Michael Crichton has produced another high-tech page-turner that will hold your interest to the very end. You might call it Andromeda Strain meets Jurassic Park since the human-engineered malevolence is at the microscopic level in the form of nanoparticle-sized machines that have escaped from their laboratory and begun reproducing at an alarming rate.

The narrator of this adventure, Jack Forman is an expert in distributed programming. Only now his career has been interrupted by some Silicon Valley backstabbing and innuendo, shifting him into a Mr. Mom role that's no all to all unpleasant save for the suspicion that his newly workaholic wife might be having an affair. Her job involves a secret Defense project that is trying to create molecule-sized machines for intelligence gathering. The trouble is, something has gone wrong with the project and Jack's been enlisted to help fix it. That might sound simple but the tiny nano-machines have evolved into an independent form of life that seems ill-disposed to share space with mammals like rabbits, coyotes... and humans.

Crichton's appeal has always been his ability to build an exciting plot around a basic theme of technology exceeding the control of it's inventors. This is vintage Crichton, not one of his best, but far from his lesser efforts. He does a better job than usual though, in controlling his urge to educate the scientifically illiterate, limiting his dissertations on next-generation programming and molecular science to only a few paragraphs at a time, rather than going on for pages at a time. He has also developed more of a flair for characterization, creating a cast that with more emotional and relational range than in many of his previous books.

Maybe he does telescope the ending just a bit, but by the time you've confirmed your suspicions as to where the story is heading, you've still had a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

Rating:
Summary: I disagree
Review: I actually enjoyed this book. Sure, it may not be up there with some of Chichton's other works but it's still worth the money I paid for it. I found the premise fascinating and the execution was too bad either.

Also recommended: McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood, The da Vinci Code

Rating:
Summary: 'Pray' for this book to end!
Review: Mr. Crichton may have just shortened the cycle time of book-to-big-screen adaptation while reaching new heights (or lows?) in disappointing readers. Predictable and mundane plot, boring character development (i.e., none), and disjointed forays into explaining nanotechnology, its pros and cons -- all reasons for potential readers to bypass this experience. I won't be going to the movies should this content ever make the big screen. "TWO THUMBS DOWN!"

Rating:
Summary: Don't feel threatened.
Review: Horror and suspense authors can relax; this book just did not instill fear the way one would expect from author Michael Crichton. It is difficult to feel the sense of reality that is so necessary for a good suspense novel, as tiny nanoparticles of some experiment escape from a quiet lab in the Nevada Desert. These nanoparticles take on life like qualities and chase people around sucking the life out of them. Continually evolving, they change both shape and Modus Operandi with every turn of the page, leaving the reader not quite willing to submit to the usual spine tingler. I read this book in 2 days and could have read it in one if I had pushed it, but it just bored me. I also had the "twist" figured out long before the ending.

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL!
Review: Very little narrative flow (long and constant digressions on nanotechnology and its evolution/ problems-- more than the story required), cardboard characters (was anyone surprised at who the evil ones turned out to be?), silly plot holes.

To bad- I usually like Crichton.

Rating:
Summary: Disapointment
Review: Being a big fan of Crichton (Jurassic Park, TimeLine, Andromeda Strain), I was excited when this book first came out. Having just read it, I'm now glad that I didn't rush out and buy it as I almost did. There are so many things wrong with this book! My number one complaint with the book, and the only one that I will mention here, is the liberal use of the F word throughout the book. The Charlie character, who uses the F word in practically every sentence, is particularly annoying. Bottom line: dont bother with this book!

Rating:
Summary: Notes about the audio presentation ...
Review: I am an audio book "reader". I have a 35-minute ride to work each day and love using my time productively by listening to books on CD. Since most reviewers read books the traditional way -- which supposedly explains why I have to pay extra for audio books :) -- reviews are almost always for the printed version. Thus, I'm left to cross my fingers and hope for a good reader. I always find myself wishing for information on the quality of the reader's presentation. So, for this review, I'm focusing on the audio presentation, since the various other reviewers have covered the content of the book in great depth. My dream scenario is when the author reads the book. Somehow I equate this with being as close as possible to being inside their head. Alas, not all writers are good readers, so thank God there are excellent readers like Leonard Robert Sean. I really enjoyed his presentation. His vocal inflection was great, and his voice is very pleasant. He did a great job with the various characters in the story. So, fear not, my fellow audio format enthusiast, the presentation is extremely well done for Prey. As for the story, I liked it a lot. I couldn't wait to go to (and leave) work each day so I could hear what would happen next in the story. The whole premise is especially worrisome since nanotechnology is real and nanoparticles already exist in our world today. Hopefully our government has responsible people involved. Or maybe we are all already infected :) Bottom line: The audio presentation rates "5" stars and the story rates "4" stars. Average them up, and you get 4.5 stars. Since Amazon doesn't offer me that choice, it seems fairest to let my ranking reflect the "4" stars for the story itself. Enjoy!!!