Prey

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.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Book ever!
Review: My grandma gave this to me Thanksgiving 2003, and I was skeptical because I had never read a Chrichton book before. Well, I started reading it and I was quickly lured in this thrilling story of a Tech firm gone mad. The character of Jack is easily appealing and his suspicions of his wife makes a great double-plot story. And remember: things never turn out the way you think they will...

Rating:
Summary: "Prey" this never becomes a movie...
Review: Prey is your typical Crichton novel High on the scale of tension. And as with most of his books, it'll probably give me some frightening (or at least incredibly creepy) nightmares for a few nights. If you liked Sphere (the novel- no one liked the movie) this one will meet or surpass your expectations.
Unfortunately, it is slightly crippled by the first person perspective. In hindsight I can see why this approach was taken, but...
My other minor qualm, it seemed too easy to figure out what was going on. Now, I don't pride my logistic skills. My problem-solving abilities leave something to be desired. However, I was a step ahead of the main character almost the entire book. But maybe I'm just starting to know Crichton's writing style a little too well.
As with Timeline, the ending makes you look back and notice more than a few plot holes as well as raise nagging questions, in a story that had, until that point, been airtight. The unneccessary commentary on the last paragraph gives you that queasy Outer Limits/Twilight Zone kinda feeling.
I enjoyed the book and think every Crichton fan should give it a try. Just don't expect too much.

Rating:
Summary: If a 10 part recipe, this was 9 parts research and......
Review: ......1 part writing. Crichton has been my favorite author ever since Andromeda. Sphere, Rising Sun, Disclosure - all brilliant. He started losing me with Lost World, which was Disney-kid fluff. In this one, his science extrapolation is excellent and classic Crichton. However, the writing was dreadful. "I did this, then I did that." Some authors use first person as a crutch; here it is a fully powered wheelchair. I lost track of how many times Jack tells us there is no way out and he'll be dead in seconds. And he tells us this so matter-of-factly that you expect Jerry Seinfeld to show up and say, "Ah, that's a shame." And what do writers do when they can't portray the intended angst? They use exclamation points; ug. The characters are painfully stock, and the dialogue is B-movie. The most dynamic relationship is clearly between Jack and Julia, but the lack of pre-crisis Julia character development made me not care about the denouement.