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: 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!!!
Rating:
Summary: A high school kid could have written this
Review: The science behind this is really interesting. It makes my mind soar considering all the possibilities that the technology discussed in this book evokes. However, the plot was predictable, except for a few silly surprises that seemed to have no relationship with the rest of the story - like one of the characters has a car accident for no particular reason. The relationship of the husband and wife depicted in this story is thin, predictable, and boring. Overall the book has a cool premise and a silly plot.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: You encounter the first F word on page 16. By page 200 you see 5 or 6 per page sometimes. I'm not a prude, but I don't use that word, and I resent having to edit it out mentally. Once or twice is okay, but when it gets in the way of the story, it's time to call a halt. Which I did at page 225. Upon further reflection I realized that as the frequency of the word increased so did the deterioration of the plot. I've heard Mr. Crichton say that he loves research but hates writing. Apparently his disdain for his craft has reached critical mass. But I most resent his apparent disdain for his fans.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: I am a big fan of Michael Crichton. He is a master at creating suspense. He gives you just enough information for you to sense something is going to happen but you don't know when or what so you just have to keep reading. I usually read while commuting to work and usually that means about 50 pages per day. The first time I picked this book up I read 100 pages non-stop. I finished it in one weekend, which for me is very fast. Having said that, I have to say that the science part of the novel is more difficult to follow than in, Jurassic Park or Sphere, for example, but I did not mind because I got involved in the action. After a while it did not bother me that I didn't quite understand the logic of the thing threatening the characters because all I needed to know was that it was scary... I did like Sphere and Jurassic Park better [and maybe even Congo], but I liked this one better than Airframe, which I found dissapointing.
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