Rating: 
Summary: Ok, but...
Review: a serious problem is just common sense. There is a happy ending because the virus or whatever it was, mutated into something benign. But as my father pointed out a long time ago, so what if one of many many individuals of a certain species of virus mutates into something nicer? It does nothing to lessen the virulence of the vast majority of that species. If the original virulent strain burned itself out by killing all its hosts and then was successfully quarantined, that would make a sensible almost happy ending.
If you want good "hard" science fiction with a human element, try early Heinlein instead.(pre 1963)
Rating: 
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: The Andromeda Strain
Review: Crichton's 'The Andromeda Strain' was a pretty good read. I didn't have much trouble getting to reading many pages at a time. Sometimes I did have to use my mind some to figure out the scientific theories and such, but once I got past all that intellect, the story was pleasing. It is a sci-fi, mystery book in that the entire novel was based on figuring out what wiped out an entire city's population, and how to stop that thing from killing more cities' populations.
The last 50 or so pages I did not find any trouble in reading, putting it down was where I found the trouble. So many things started happening at once right at the very end that I was totally spellbound. I didn't, however, like the way Crichton ended the novel. It was a little too basic. Everything leading up to it could have gone for so much more. Crichton seemed to be doing so well, and then just ran out of time and needed to end it quickly and chose the way he did. But, aside from the quick, base ending, I really enjoyed and would recommend 'The Andromeda Strain' as an easy read.
Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Piece of Crichton
Review: I just finished reading The Andromeda Strain for the third time, and I still found myself on the edge of my seat. Crichton created a truly gripping, engaging novel his first time out, and this book deserves to be revisited every few years. Crichton's background in medical science and filmmaking makes him an author to be reckoned with. Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors, and this book proves his mettle.
I'm sure you can read a description of the plot in any number of places on this page, but what I especially wanted to mention is the way Crichton piles coincidence on coincidence to show how quickly something can go wrong. As he says in the acknowledgements section, "As in most crises, the events surrounding the Andromeda Strain were a compound of foresight and foolishness, innocence and ignorance." Perhaps most impressive is how subtle some of the setups are, so that the reader never feels like something comes out and hits them in the face. What I mean is that the story is frighteningly plausible. Should you read this? Absolutely. It's the best couple of hours you'll ever spend with a science fiction novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Good build up but disappointing ending
Review: I loved the way the book starts off and right away you are in the thick of the plot. I espically like the way Mr. Crichton sticks to the main story but as I start see how few pages are left to read, I begin to wonder how he wraps up the story in so short a time. Now I am on the last chapter and it seems that when Mr. Crichton was writing the novel, he just decided he had had enough and just banged out a few pages to abruptly end it.
The abrupt and shallow ending spoilt what could otherwise have been a classic. Maybe someday Mr. Crichton could go back, delete the existing last chapter and actually finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: Threats from space might not be just little green men
Review: In Crichton's first novel, he explores the possiblity that first contact might not be with an intelligent lifeform, but a single-celled organism that is more like a virus than anything else. A satellite crash lands is a remote down in Arizona. A virus from the satellite seems to have decimated the local populace and scientists must find a way to contain and destroy the virus. Written in 1967, the novel still manages to be just as scary today as when it was first published. Those looking for something more action oriented, like Jurassic Park or Congo, might be a little disappointed. But the suspense and thrills are abound in this book. I've read it several times and have found it just as exciting each time. Crichton's background in the medical field serves him well in his first novel, with top notch scientific know-how to match the suspensefull plot. Simply a must read.
Rating:
Summary: The Andromeda Strain
Review: The Andromeda Strain is not written on the same level as Michael Crichton's best books, like Jurassic Park and Prey, The Andromeda Strain is only mediocre. The novel is about a government organization that sends satellites into space to collect space pathogens. When one of the satellites crashes and wipes out an entire town the Wildfire team is called upon. The novel opens up in a way that attracts the attention of the reader, and makes the reader want to read more and more. Throughout the novel Michael Crichton keeps the reader interested with a great plot and building up the climax. Though Michael Crichton does not follow the climax with
a ending that finishes off a great book. Without a well written ending this novel, The Andromeda Strain, is only mediocre. This is not one of Michael Crichton's best novels.
Rating:
Summary: A familiar concept presented with frightening credibility
Review: The little desert town of Piedmont lies dead. Or almost so, with just two of its residents still alive: an elderly man and an infant. The apparent cause? A crashed space probe. When two Air Force men sent to investigate die, also - so fast that they never get out of their vehicle - a group of five top scientists assemble at a secret facility called Wildfire. If they can't figure out what "Project Scoop" brought back before the infection starts to spread, humankind could be decimated.
This is a familiar science fiction concept, the "alien germ" against which humans have no defenses. What makes this novel's use of it compelling (even when somewhat dated, 35 years after first publication) is the author's sure grasp of the science involved. While the detail presented is overwhelming at times, and the characters wooden, the story still has frightening credibility.
Rating:
Summary: A pretty good read.
Review: This book was a pretty good read. As a Biochemist, I enjoyed reading about the 'cutting-edge' laboratory technology that Crichton wrote about when writing this book in the early 1970's. Most of the laboratory equipment is commonplace nowadays, but still quite useful. The story takes place inside a fictional underground military installation in the Nevada desert. The base has one purpose, to contain, evaluate, and eliminate infectious agents that might be brought back from outer space. The Scoop 7 satellite has brought back something so deadly, that within seconds of breathing it in, the victim is dead. The team must evaluate the infectious agent and determine how to protect us from it. The story has a good flow, and lots of edge-of-your-seat action. In addition to this story, I recommend Sphere, Jurassic Park, Eaters of the Dead, and Congo.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book playing off an issue of the time
Review: This book was written around 1969, when astronauts were first landing on the moon. There was a serious concern about the possibility, however slight, that there were micro-organisms on the moon that might return to Earth and cause an epidemic. This concern led to the quarantine of returning astronauts (and the rocks they collected) from the first few missions that landed. This ended when the fears proved unfounded. (There is an interesting side note. The second moon landing recovered several pieces of an unmanned probe that had landed several years earlier. It was found that bacteria in the probe had survived the launch, the landing on the moon, and several years on the airless surface of the moon with temperature swings of hundreds of degrees.) This book plays off of this idea of "bad stuff from space causes problems on Earth." There are more than 300 other reviews, so I'll mostly leave the plot alone here. What I liked about it was the sense it gave of scientific investigation of an important topic on a short time scale. Trying to "beat the clock," the scientists have to come up with and discard theories for how the unfamiliar organism works with unaccustomed speed, which (as you might imagine) stresses them out. In parallel with other Crichton books, the action takes place over about a week, with simple errors and accidents costing valuable time. The book is newly relevant with the possibility of "designer" biological agents from labs in rouge nations (or from terrorists) playing the role of the alien infectious agent in the book.
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