Has anybody else read this yet? Since it’s so new, I’m not going to spoil anything unless it looks like a few others have read it besides me.
Technology? I think it was handled passably well, maybe possible in the next 5 to 10 years. A few things that were a bit off, but nothing that some minor suspension of disbelief can’t fix.
Writing? Well, here’s where my personal beef with Crichton comes in: He’s a good writer. He dreams up some great premises for a story, fleshes them out really well, makes them exciting, then…
Well, then the bottom drops out when it comes time for the story to end. Example: The Andromeda Strain. The story builds and builds, gets tense and exciting, then all of a sudden, Well, how about that? The disease just burned itself out and we’re all ok again! Gosh, wasn’t that lucky?
In PREY, though, I’m not bothered by the ending. It’s not all happy, but it’s a decent, maybe even a solid ending to a really enjoyable book.
Next - I’ve read Jurassic Park, Lost World, Andromeda Strain, Airframe, Terminal Man, Sphere, and (I forget the title) his autobiographical book talking about how he quit medical school, did this, did that, and basically lived a hell of a life. I’m really not what I’d call a fan (I only got this book because I saw it on a shelf and the premise grabbed me, not because the new book is out), but I do like his writing.
So any suggestions on what else of his is good and should be the next one I read?
Anyway, that’s sort of a hijack (in the OP, no less. that has to be a first). The real reason I posted this is to talk about Prey.
Your thoughts?