Sphere

Rating:
Summary: Movie was good, book was unbelieveable.
Review: Even though I have nothing against the movie based on this book, I think that no movie can do this book justice. Crichton is at his best here, developing a story that gets you involved from page 1 and doesn't let go. Just when you thought the story was interesting already, Crichton adds something new to get you involved even more. Plus, he builds suspense like no other author I've ever read can. The characters are utterly believable and interesting. Plus, just for the heck of it, he throws in an enigmatic ending that can cause heated debate among Sphere fans. I've figured it out, have you? Anyway, this is quite possibly the best book I have ever read and proves that Crichton is the best in his field.

Rating:
Summary: To many unanswered questions
Review: Having read "Sphere" many years ago, I picked it up again to refresh my memory before seeing the movie based upon it. It was as I remembered it. An average Michael Crichton thriller. The characters were a bit stiff and one dimensional and the ending had a rushed feel to it. Above all the book left to many questions hanging. 1: Where did the ship/sphere really come from? With the powers it exhibited, it seemed likely that it created the image of an American ship from the future based upon expectations the discoverers had. I have no doubt had theobject been discovered by Russians or Japanese military it would have looked like it came from their future or another species. 2: Did the charaters lose the power, and did they really have it or was the sphere reading their mids and creating what they wanted?

Rating:
Summary: UTTERLY FANTASTIC ! ! !
Review: I couldn't put this one down. This book wastes no time, immediately drawing you into this fantastically unique and imaginative story. It pulls you in and doesn't let go until the last page. I read it all in one night! Oh, yeah, go see the movie if you read the book and like it. If you like the book, you'll like the movie.

Rating:
Summary: It was great...Better then the Movie
Review: Details is what I think is the most important part of the novel. SPHERE has enough detail to make you feel like your under the ocean with "Norman", "Beth", and "Harry" If you seen the movie, you need to read the book, because there more of the details about whats going on. SPHERE is one of few of Master Crichton novels I wish had another part (Rising Sun, Congo, Discloser are my other ones) to keep the fun and trill alive.

Rating:
Summary: This book is still great despite it's disapointing ending.
Review: Sphere is one of the best books I have ever read. It is very original and very interesting. The book is exciting from start to finish. I found it impossible to put down. Although the ending was sort of a disapointment, the beginning and middle of the book more than makes up for it.

Rating:
Summary: I usually don't care for sci-fi, but Sphere was really good.
Review: I began reading the book yesterday and by the end of the night it was done, which is something I hardly ever do. I just couldn't put the book down. It kept me yearning for the next page.

Rating:
Summary: BEST thriller novel since Craig Furnas's THE SHAPE
Review: SPHERE is the best thriller novel since Craig Furnas's THE SHAPE. (THE SHAPE is also availabe on Amazon.com, or you can order it direct from the publisher for $14 + $2 shipping. Make check or money order to CJF. Send it to CJF, 1211 Starboard Way, Corona del Mar, CA 92625-1321. The reason I recommend buying it from the publisher, is they'll have the author autograph the book if you request it.) Anyway, SPHERE is almost as good as THE SHAPE, and that is a high recommendation!!!

Rating:
Summary: Crichton comes up with great ideas but can not write at all!
Review: Sphere was a very good book, it reminded me of Ringworld. Though the book has poor character development and the characters are shallow, the premeis is good and makes for an erie sc-fi. Crichton should be strictly an idea man, his writing is bad, sometimes bordering upon terrible. For all of thoes who doubt me read "Eaters of the Dead". After I read that waste of paper I was so disgusted that I almost threw-up right on the book. I wanted to get back the time I wasted reading it. "Andromedia Strain" wasn't much better. When he writes his books he sets the place, time period, and level of technology, and then blasts holes in them all. The only reason Crichton's books become best sellers is that his premis blinds readers to the implausibility, and they don't realise the holes until the end, if ever. He probably has powerful friends or relatives that owe him favors.

Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with the ending?
Review: I am in love with the book, I have been for the past 4 years. Now that I have the movie to compare to I can say without a doubt that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENDING! It fits in perfectly with the disorted drama that encompasses the rest of the book and in now way brings down the rest of the book. I will defend this book, it's ending, and even the movie that didn't do justice to it outside the charecters.

Rating:
Summary: Do Not Overlook: Introspection and Personal Reaction
Review: I read this book years ago, and with the release of the movie, felt compelled to get a few extra copies to lend to friends prior to their running to see it. (Anyone who read Congo and then painfully spent money and time in a theater seeing it knows why I'm doing this). Crichton is not my favorite novelist to be sure, but he does have a way of advancing his plot, telling a story, and getting you involved as a reader with action (I've read 5 of his novels). This book is not an exception to my opinion but more the rule. I read slowly as a habit, but was unable to do this with this novel. I drank it in a weekend. From a science fiction point of view: no it's not on par with Asimov, Niven, Clark, or Gibson. Michael unfortunately does not labor us with the characters enough to give them full three dimensionality, in fact I've known people who couldn't associate with any of them, calling them cardboard representations of unlikeable people. The ending of this novel is controvertial. If you dare to read any or all of the negative reviews your peer readers have left on this page (I say dare because some of them feel compelled to insult those that disagree with them), you'll find most of them had major objections with this ending, and many make comment of Crichton's weak endings from other novels. So why do I join the ranks of the overwhelming majority of people that rate this book a 9 or a 10? As the story unfolded and plot points were reached, I found myself reacting: in fear, in anxiousness, in doubt, in eagerness to read on. This is a reaction to an art this is rarely reached. The story is truly gripping, we really do want to know what is happening next. Of all the reviews by friends and all the reviews listed here at AMAZON, only one person had difficulty picking the book up. Even that one person however got so caught up in the action, in the story, in the suspense that they also read it to completion in record time. Now having read the book in a whirlwind, we (the bug eyed, heart pounding, sweaty handed readers) cross a finish line that truly is a line. It's not drawn out, it comes quick, to many, too quick. What I implore is to not let the brevity become a betrayal. It's now your turn to think. Something happened, but what? Interanlize it, discuss it with friends, just don't let it go. If you do, you will be the disappointed few that do feel betrayed. It's easy for me to say those people "missed something", especially after some of them insulted me for liking the novel. But I honestly believe that they may have missed something. One - we all have strong emotions in reaction to the ending. Many have positive, some have negative. If you have an emotion, why are you having it? Did Crichton just make you feel? Have you ever looked at a painting and cried, felt angry, lost? (I encourage you to go to more museums if you have not, or at least get some coaching on opening your mind). I don't deem to compare Crichton or his novel on par with Degas or Monet, but as a piece of art, Sphere made us all feel, some stronger than others. To those that so violently hated it: you have not wasted your time. This book stirred something in you, take a look at it. Beware, it may be something you don't like, especially if you reacted enough to write a treatise like me to an audience you'll never meet. Two - I loved the ending. I have an opinion of what happened, what the sphere was, how it got there, what really happened in the decompression chamber, and what that will mean to these characters going on. I did not have it immediately, but on pensing for days, weeks, years after the read. The fact that it made me think like it did while being so exciting while reading is why I rate it so high. It has some weaknesses so is not a 10 in my mind, but the long term effect it has had on me from a story-telling point of view makes Sphere one of my favorite novels. FYI - If you agree with me about Sphere, I encourage you to read these 10's on my list: Thomas Harris - Red Dragon and Black Sunday; Tom Clancy - Without Remorse