Rating: 
Summary: Could have better ending
Review: Michael did put in a lot of effort in studying bio-chemistry subject. This is a good to read science fiction. However, the book could better by having more dramatic ending.
Rating: 
Summary: A Strain of Its Own
Review: The book I am reviewing in this review is a book I would have never foreseen myself reading. It is called the Andromeda Strain and it is by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park. It deals with a hostile organism from outer space in the form of a disease. I loved the way he incorporated science into it without deafening the excitement. It was very thrilling.
It starts with two men on a retrieval mission into Arizona to find a satellite that went down. Their truck is approaching the small village of Piedmont, Arizona, when they notice buzzards circling the town. Suddenly transmission is lost as a scream rips through the air.
A special team of scientists organized for such work is called together and discovers a disease that can kill as a person takes a breath, and drives others insane. They retreat to a special research base in Nevada where they proceed to attempt to find a cure, or a weakness of some sort.
This book is excellent and very suspenseful. I would recommend this book to 5th graders and up, mainly because the death and complications might not be good (and/or) interesting for young people. Other than that, it is a great book, and I recommend to anyone with a craving for a good book and a little time to kill.
So although this book may be kind of random for me to read (I picked it off the library shelf as a joke), I do not find it strange that I am recommending it to others now. It's not the first time this has happened.
Rating:
Summary: The Andromeda Strain to put the book down
Review: A real Crichton classic. I would reccomend it to anyone and everyone, although it's age level should really be suited for 13+. You don't have to be a science lover to enjoy this sci-fi thriller, you can skim over the science talk if you have to. If seeing the DVD/Video discourages you from reading this, boy are you wrong. This book is so much better, more interesting. Let me take you to a small secluded town in Arizona...In a town of very few people, all but two instantly die. Those two, an elderly man and a baby, are vital clues in helping the team assigned to Andromeda save the world (Not the 'Save the World' you think). This team of scientists are equipped with the latest technology (well, back in '69). Join them in this journey through havoc, fear, and relief as you experience Andromeda one-on-one. Be careful - right when you want to put the book down, BAM! That's Michael Crichton all over. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but confusing at times.
Review: I read this book for a school report in which I had to read a book by an American author. When I checked it out from the library, I didn't think I'd have much fun reading it, because I don't like reading very much. However, when I did read it, I became so interested in it I read all three hundred pages in only four days. The book was that interesting. The only fault of the book was that it used some words that the average person wouldn't know. I knew them only because I had recently been through a biology class. The author of this book is great, having written many books, including the first two Jurassic Park books, and directing a few movies. Anyways, I like the way he writes because he doesn't use too many words to describe one thing, and makes the book pretty easy to understand. Also, he uses the omnipotent style of third person writing, which is my personal favorite. So, if you're looking for a good thriller with a little irony in it, and have a pretty big vocabulary, at least in biology, then this is a great book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Andromeda Strain, the review
Review: The Andromeda Strain is a science-fiction thriller, based and written in the 1970s. The story begins when a secret military satellite designed to collect extra terrestrial organisms from orbit crashes in a small town in Arizona. The retrieval mission seems to be fairly routine, until it is discovered that all but two of the population of Piedmont has mysteriously died. This causes major concerns for the Wildfire team, a group of several scientists recruited to determine the threat factor of alien organisms, and if necessary, destroy it. The mission soon turns to one that could determine the fate of all life on Earth. Working in a top secret government facility in Nevada, the Wildfire team struggles to find an explanation for the deaths of the people of Piedmont, and the nature of the alien organism codenamed Andromeda. The nature of the deaths and the two survivors with seemingly nothing in common also contributes to the mystery that is the Andromeda strain. The scientists encounter one problem after another, and the fate of the planet is in their hands time and time again. This suspenseful story will keep you interested from beginning to end. Although this book seems less suspenseful than some of Crichton's other books, it is still a great read. The only problem I had with it was the constant scientific jargon that plays into the story at some points. However, I would still recommend this book to any science-fiction reader.
Rating:
Summary: A fine example of a comprehendable sci-fi novel
Review: I found "The Andromeda Strain" to be the best sci-fi book I have ever read, and a nice break in the sense that I actually understood it. Most sci-fi books that deal with anything actually scientific or medical were written by doctors and scientists, for doctors and scientists. If you try to read those books, you end up lost by the third page.
But "The Andromeda Strain" is different.
It picks up from the first chapter, and it's an uphill climb all the way until the climax at the end, which involves the threat of contaminating the entire US, and maybe even the world. The characters stand out at you, and you really come to care about them.
There's Dr. Jeremy Stone, a seasoned scientist of only 36 years but who has invalueable experience. He's sort of the unofficial leader of the whole project while at Wildfire, the secret underground labratory where they attempt to isolate the Andromeda Strain. Then there's Dr. Charles Burton, a bumbling but crucial scientist who plays the final piece in the cause for the climatic ending. There's also Dr. Mark Hall, a young and cocky doctor who is the team's leading doctor, and who is the only one who can stop the automatic self-destruct feature of the Wildfire labratory. He's also the one to care for the two survivors of the epidemic, a cranky old man and a crying baby. Last but not least, there's Dr. Peter Leavitt, a patient and intelligent scientist who is Dr. Stone's main man and the person to propose ideas as to how the organism may have originated, and how it might attack the body. It also turns out that he has a secret, that he hides from his colleagues because it would ruin his scientific career. But his disease becomes known to everyone at the end. (HINT: he can't let himself look at blinking lights.)
The plot is fast and fascinating, and it will keep you attention from start to finish. I highly recommend Micheal Crichton's "The Andromeda Stain."
Rating:
Summary: The Amazement of Science In A Fiction Novel
Review: The Andromeda Strain is the first Michael Crichton book I have ever read, and I will honestly say that I found it intrigueing and quite a learning experience. I felt like I was attending an advanced science class that require more research in order to pass. Good thing, he explained some of the things mentioned to give a better understanding of what he was writing about. He made me a believer in the science fiction. The attention was mostly on this new discovery, and I was eager to find out everything they discovered. I wanted to know the exact details; like it was real nonfiction reading. This book really caught my attention and wouldn't let go of it. This science fiction is really a turn around from what I usually read, and I'm glad I broaden my reading to include this novel. I was impressed and inspired. I turned each page waiting for the cure to the Andromeda Strain. This is an excellent read, and if you are a science fiction junky, this is the book for you. Enjoy, because I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Scientific!
Review: Crichton is a master of detail and tells a very complete story, but this one was just too scientific for my liking.
Rating:
Summary: A great "what if" in the space program
Review: Given that most life forms on earth are of the single-celled variety, it is likely that our first contact with extraterrestrial life would also be simple bacteria or spores. When a space probe crashes in the desert near a small town, the crew sent to retrieve it finds only 2 survivors seemingly with nothing in common and a mystery as to the fate of the townspeople. An expert team is assembled to study the probe and discover the cause for such quick and unusual deaths. What they discover and some mistakes lead to an exciting ending. While it may have sounded somewhat far-fetched when it was written in the early 70's, scientists today routinely take precautions to avoid such contamination. A good example is the recent destruction of a space probe into Jupiter to avoid the chance of it crashing on one of the moons and possibly contaminating it with any hitchhiking Earth bacteria. This story is written as though it were an actual event and the details, along with an analysis of the errors made along the way, having been pieced together in retrospect. The idea is certainly plausible and the story was interesting to read. Michael Crichton's medical and scientific knowledge lend and amazing air of credibility. I enjoyed reading it very much - certainly much more than watching the hokey movie based on the book.
Rating:
Summary: forget the spore i ll take the proSE
Review: not only suspensfull powerfull story WHAT if scientific, itsey bitsey bit in SPACE PARTICLE ADHERE TO,SATELITE AND CRASHED EARTHWORD,AND UNLEASHED A NASTY SPORE BUT FOR ME ITS THE SIMPLE EASE IN WHICH images flow off the pages INEXPLICABLY from simple writing... words uses ;used to full effect , like a full frontal lobe mother lode onslaught the SHOCK OF THE GOOD SIMPLE [PURE CRAFT OF IT ALL] IN AN ERA OF THE,STONED SMYLEY FOR FOR SURE. GRUNT .THE MELLOW YELLOW OR THE GONZO EMPTY THIS BOOK IS REFRESHINGLY GENUINE.
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