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Summary: An alien epidemie
Review: "The Andromeda strain" shows very exciting view of the dangers of the modern space exploration.Crichton tells about the possibilities of the modern medicine as well as about the future of mankind in space.If somebody thinks of aliens , he imagines "little green men", but the kind of aliens we will get to know pretty soon will be microscopical viral lifeforms and bacterias.This lifeforms might be a danger for the whole mankind, because no human body is able to defend itself against bacterias it never knew.So an organisation like the "Hell Fire" team could be our last hope.In this book the story had a good end. This danger is shown very realistic by Crichton.
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Summary: hard, fast read!
Review: After years of saying I'd read this book, I finally followed my New Year's Resolution and did. Having read some other Crichton books (Jurassic Park, Congo, Sphere, etc.) I'd have to say this ranks up there with the best of his work.A lot of reviews say you can read this book in a day or two. While I don't always have time to read every day, I did finish this book in about three sittings. You'll polish off 80-100 pages at a time without realizing any time has passed at all. That's because of tight writing, fast plot, and good attention to detail without drowning in it. I wish a lot of other writers who pad their stories could do that. Crichton's work clocks in at about 270 pages. He could've easily watered down the plot and beefed up the book to 400-500 pages, and you've got to admire him for not doing that. He also explains very complex theories on bacteria and other biological phenomena without totally writing over the layman's head. Consequently, you actually learn a thing or two. Other works (i.e. Outbreak, the X-Files movie) have tried to copy plot elements of this book with minimal success. In short, the book was not quite what I expected (somebody told me it was about bees!) but I was pleasantly surprised with a great biological thriller. You would do well to invest the short amount of time it would take to read this fantastic book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good reading for the airport lounge
Review: I found this to be OK if you're in need of a fairly accessible book to while away a couple of hours. There is a fair amount of technical detail, but you don't really need to understand it in full to enjoy the book. It's very much of its time, in that there is an underlying assumption that the problem can be solved by the scientists if they have the time: I doubt that if Crichton had written it now, following the emergence of HIV/AIDS and other nasties, that such faith would underpin the story. To sum up, a light-weight, reasonably enjoyable read, but not one I'd want to read again, nor will it stick in the mind for too long.
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Summary: A Little Tough, but A Good Start For A Master
Review: This book has a lot of technical details. A lot. The book itself it is not very long, but a portion is tech details. Nonetheless, this sci-fi epic is fresh as ever, although the technology and dates date it somewhat. When a mysterious virus either kills all of the inhabitants of a small town there or makes them insane, shortly after a space probe crashes, a team of scientists must study this virus to determine a way to control it. Leading the team is renowned biologist Jeremy Stone, along with several other experts, to determine the nature of this elusive strand. The ending is unexpected, and a little disappointing. I dislike the analyses of a certain characters' actions, i.e. (It was twenty-four hours until he realized his error.) And there is too much foreshadowing, to the point where plot twists become predictable. But these are just minor things, not to be worried about. All in all, this is a good book, and rightfully a classic, and a worthy start for the Author
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Summary: Brilliant, Crichton Gives You Your Money's Worth
Review: Some people think that action only exists in movies, that certainly no amount of print on a page can put someone in suspense. If you ever meet someone like this, hand them The Andromeda Strain. I read some of the reviews of this book with skepticism, reviews that stated that the reader stayed up all night reading this book. I thought it was just a gimmick. I was dead wrong. I didn't finish this book in one night . . . it took me two. IT IS THAT GOOD. Crichton writes with a coolness that defies logic. The apocalypse is at hand and Crichton calmly describes it to us. It is this journalist like prose that makes the reader follow along. It is not fiction we are reading, but fact, and we believe this because Crichton does not present it as fiction but as fact. Crichton does not raise his voice to get attention, he doesn't need to, the story makes us pay attention. Crichton's writing is so good, it's scary. Read this book. Read anything you can by Crichton. You won't be sorry. Jurassic Park, Sphere, Terminal Man, all are written with an icy coolness that draws us into the story. Crichton shows the reader that if the story is good there is no need to yell, just state calmly what you have to say and the reader will scare themselves. An amazing work, which is what one comes to expect from the man.
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Summary: Good basic idea, but a little too old fashioned & technical
Review: The basic theme of the book is that an outer space bacteria enters earth and starts affecting people - this is a life form which is unfimiliar to our environment and bodies, and a group of scientists are assigned to explore it and find a cure for it. The book itself is full of suspence and makes a good read, but I think the author did overdo the technical bit a little, especially since they are really old fashioned and are either irrelevant or known to many people nowadays.
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Summary: Very interesting book!
Review: In 9th grade, my biology teacher assigned the class to read this book. Everyone groaned, but not me, because I enjoy reading. But I didn't particularly enjoy science fiction. I thought why not, I will give it a try. I read the the book, and I absolutely loved it! Reading it jumpstarted my interest in science and biology. I was planning on majoring in english when I went to college, but I changed my view completely. The book is not very technical when it comes to science, and it is a very enjoyable read. Even if you are not interested in science fiction, I recommend this book. This book is one of Michael Crichton's best work.
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Summary: An Oldie But Goodie
Review: I still haven't been dissapointed by a Michael Crichton book. This is a great book that I went through in a week. The introduction really made me think the story was true which I'm sure added to my excitement in reading. This book was published in 1969 so you may have to put up with some age difference. He tells about how expensive microscopes are(pretty darn cheap now) and explains briefly how a computer works and what they're for(everybody has them now). The ending was something very unexpected for me and not like I may have wanted it, but it was still a great Crichton book.
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Summary: Ms. Maclachlans English review
Review: This was a great novel, it was full of suspennse and kept my hair raised. It is erie how plausible this story truely is. I would recommend this book to enyone and everyone, especially if they enjoy science fiction books.
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Summary: Chrichton at his best
Review: This is a great science-fiction thriller. It's one of my favorite books by Chrichton. I love how Chrichton researches about subjects before he writes about them, this is an excellent example of it, he actually knows what he's talking about. I highly recomend this book to Chrichton fans and science fiction fans, and just about any, it's a short, easy read.
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