A Case of Need

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for his First Novel
Review: This was Michael Crichton's first novel, completed after he finished his internship for medical school (that's right, for those who do not know he is an MD who decided to become an author). Anyway, Crichton does it again with his near flawless style. This book is about a girl by the name of Karen Randall who dies from an abortion. Was it murder? Or, was it a simple mistake? Keep this in mind as you turn the pages over and over again. Though Crichton does not have great character development, I thought the main character (Dr. Berry) had excellent development. Also, this book contains a lot of footnotes and medical information, so you might not understand it all. Overall, pick this book up. It is well-written, and you know the facts are right because he wrote right after he became an MD! One thing I must say, it was written a long time ago. Keep in mind what time period it is. Good job, once again, Michael.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, not great
Review: Its fun to read a Crichton book with character development and there are a bunch of medical fun-facts to learn. Written in 1968 this book is highly contemporary, the only thing that made me look at the publication date is the use of the term 'Negroes' over and over again.

The ending is a bit of a betrayal and shoddy compared with the rest of the book. Basically the hero gets hit on the head and becomes clairvoyant.

Rating:
Summary: Not Crichton's Finest Hour
Review: I thought I had read all things Michael Crichton. But last weekend, my brother loaned me a bag of books and inside was A Case of Need.

One part of me loved it because it delved into the medical world - and that brought back so much. The funny things about working with other doctors/nurses and treating patients. The sad/shocking things. That part was really interesting - and showed Crichton's typical obsessive research tendancies (which I love - it makes it believable when the author has researched his topic thoroughly so that he can speak with correct terms, context, etc). This was Crichton's first novel ... and his researching skills have remained one of the reasons his books are usually so well written.

The other part of me was turned off from the book right from the start simply because of the topic: a pathologist is trying to find evidence to free a friend of his - a doctor who is accused of doing abortions illegally. He does actually do abortions ... and sometimes for people who are using it as a form of birth control. Married women trying to hide affairs. Ugh. Come on people ... don't be having sex if you can't handle the consequences. If you aren't mature enough to be a parent ... you aren't mature enough to be having sex. Crichton was a Harvard Medical School student when he was writing this (and it was originally published under a pseudonym) - and evidently it stirred up quite the controversy.

Abortion is and always will be a hot topic. But if you've ever worked in a hospital ... when you're talking about a persons body and their health ... you can see that it's not always a black and white issue. (I have a friend who is doing an OBGYN rotation in Memphis right now - and he wants them to start offering free sterlizations. He sees 20-30 pregnant teenagers a day. Potheads who are on their 6th and 7th child - whose babies are immediately taken into custody by the state. He's pretty down right now and is ready to move on to his next rotation where things might not seem in such a hopeless cycle.)

Maybe Stargate SG-1 could bring the Aschen here to sterilize those who seem incapable of mature and responsible actions!

I much prefer Crichton's later novels. Loved The Andromeda Strain (I haven't seen the 1971 movie so I don't know if it's a good adaptation or not!), Timeline (the movie was a pretty good adaptation), Sphere (the movie was .... ok), Airframe (I think this is being turned into a film?), and Jurassic Park (amazing film and effects - great adaptation).


Rating:
Summary: Nope
Review: If you like Crichton's earlier and non science-fiction work you'll like this. However, if you like Crichton because of his fast-paced action novels...you might be dissapointed by this one, at least I was.

Rating:
Summary: Decent, but don't expect much
Review: This was an okay book to read. It was entertaining, however, very forgettable. Having finished the book last night, I had already forgotten the main characters name. Crichton deals with abortion in an evenhanded manner. What the story lacks however seems to be any real substance. The story seems very trite and easy to predict each turn that it will take. It does keep you interested while you read it, but only to confirm what you figured out early on. All in all three stars for the lack of depth found in this novel (unlike most Crichton novels.)