Sphere

Rating:
Summary: A gripping, suspenseful, fast-paced science fiction thriller
Review: I was recently surprised to find this novel on one of my shelves; I saw the movie adaptation of the novel recently but did not remember owning the actual book. The movie was full of promise but ultimately disappointing, so I was pretty curious to see how good a read the actual novel was. Sphere is my first Michael Crichton novel, and I have to say I was quite impressed with Crichton's prowess. There are some logical flaws and inconsistencies in the plot, but Crichton is an incredibly gifted storyteller; I eagerly breezed through this novel in short order. While it is heavy on dialogue, the story touches on a number of aspects of the human personality while mixing in some profound if problematic science fiction in the process. This is a fast-paced thriller that definitely registers impressively on the suspense meter, particularly during the climactic late chapters. While the ending is something of a letdown, the story leading up to it is gripping and fascinating, and important clues and plot points are presented with much more subtlety and effectiveness than what you will find in the movie adaptation.

The novel is built around an incredible discovery; in the middle of the South Pacific, lying all but buried on the bottom of the ocean, rests a spacecraft of unknown origin. Psychologist Norman Johnson, the author of a secret government paper on Recommendations for the Human Contact Team to Interact with Unknown Life Forms (a less than serious paper he wrote primarily for the money) is called to the site, where he is informed that he will be part of a team of scientists sent to study the mysterious craft. Alongside him are an irascible Navy project commander, a brilliant, young astrophysicist/planetary geologist, a complicated female zoologist/biochemist, and a noted mathematician/logician. This unlikely team of deep ocean explorers soon find themselves in an artificial habitat resting alongside the location of the mysterious ship. Their exploration of the site yields more questions than answers, as the ship turns out to be an American spaceship from the future. The truly enigmatic discovery onboard, though, is a giant sphere of unknown composition. As the story unfolds, the team of explorers finds themselves effectively stranded on the ocean floor for a period of some days, and strange and frightening things begin to happen after one scientist somehow enters the sphere. The scientists find themselves in communication with a supposedly alien entity who calls himself Jerry; whoever and whatever Jerry is, he seems to have the power to manifest remarkable physical creations and changes in reality. The habitat and the team inside it soon comes under attack by such dangerous creatures as giant squid and killer jellyfish, but the problems eventually internalize themselves inside the group dynamic, a group that is shrinking in size as time goes by. The mysterious Sphere imparts an amazing power to those who enter it, a power that such individuals may not even be consciously aware of wielding. Ultimately, the last remnants of the research team begin pointing fingers at one another and take steps to insure their own individual survival in the face of an unquantifiable threat, making this novel a gripping psychological thriller based in a fascinating science fiction environment.

Once the team arrives in the underwater habitat, nonstop action ensues. One emergency after another challenges the crew, and the group dynamic of the team ebbs and flows along with each jarring crisis. Along the way, we see ever more clearly into the minds and ways of thinking of our main characters, and a significant amount of ideas are expressed concerning the human condition. Crichton provides for no obligatory rest areas along the way, as he takes the reader for an incredible ride that had me turning pages hand over fist in anticipation of what was to come. Some of the science is questionable, but Crichton surely makes it all sound more than plausible. The only real problem with the novel is a logical breakdown of sorts in the concluding chapters. Still, the desperate attempts of the remaining explorers to survive, when they cannot even trust one another, make for a riveting reading experience. Sphere is by no means a perfect novel, but I found it captivating and basically addictive up until the somewhat disappointing ending. The movie adaptation takes significant liberties with the original story, so I would urge you not to let the movie's failings prevent you from immersing yourself in this eminently readable novel.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating look at sci - fi combined with psychology...
Review: Many books deal with 'alien' ships popping up somewhere. Very few of them handle the issue as well as this one.

Michael Crichton obviously did thorough research on all subjects involved in this book - ranging from physics to marine biology to psychology - and of the every day life undersea.

The 'thriller' part of this book is also well executed.

Rating:
Summary: Crichton takes us into the deep
Review: Michael Cricton is to Sci-Fi/Techno Thrillers as Stephen King is to Horror. I could just leave this review at that and people would buy this book. This was actually the last Crichton book i have read of his, and I now wonder why I read all of his others and left this one for last?
He brought dinosaurs to life for us, introduced us to hand-talking apes, and we have battled in the fourteenth century with him, but never did I imagine that he could take me two thousand feet underwater and have me gasping for air. The story is by far one of his best. I agree with one reviewer by saying no movie could do this epic any justice.
The story alone is awesome. A crew of scientists sent to the deep by the Navy to investigate a plane crash that turns out to be an evolved spacecraft from the future, but is really over three hundred years old. Crichton makes you interested and glues you to the pages as the characters explore this ship, then plunge into absolute terror.
Don't do as I did and leave this book of his for last, pick it up ASAP and jump into it. The four-hundred pages with breeze by in a matter of hours.

Rating:
Summary: Enter the Sphere
Review: Wow. That about sums up this book. It is one amazing peice of hardware. This book starts out in the the middle of the Pacific Ocean near Tonga and takes you down about one thousand feet. Three hundred years ago (give or take five hundred) a spacecraft of unkown origan crashed here. The Psychologist in the book, Norman, is the main character. The way that this book is written will keep you guessing. Is Jerry creating the evil manifestations of the deep, or is something else doing it? And what is the significance of the Sphere? Does it have a purpose, or is it just a trophy picked up it the year 2048? Does Captain Barnes have his own hidden agenda,or is there more going on here thatn even he knows? I dare you to read this book. It will keep you exhilerated and you won't put it down until the final page. This is one of my favorite authors at his best. I hope that you all will read this book and try not to go nuts trying to figure it out. And remember, at a thousand foot deepsat expidition, no one can hear you scream.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: With so many good books written, don't bother with this one. Weak plot, page filling words and obvious situations with an obvious ending leaves this book as very ho-hum. Michael must have been under pressure from the publisher to pump this out. Read Timeline or Jurassic Park instead.

Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: This is by far one of the most interesting and creative books I have ever read. The plot is simple. A 300 year old human space craft is found far below the earths surface. The character development and sophistication of this book is lacking being that its intent is to entertain the reader. If your looking for a challenging read do not buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Plot, Lame Ending
Review: I was looking for a quick read at my local library and picked Sphere up by accident. As a big Robin Cook fan, I immediately dove into this book. I never saw the movie, so I have a pretty un-biased opinion of the book.

The ideas behind Sphere were creative, but I found myself rolling my eyes at several totally unbelievable parts of the novel (and I'm a big sci-fi lover!). The dialogue between characters was also a bit forced, but I'd recommend this book if you're looking for something to read by the pool :)

Rating:
Summary: Crichton is too good an author to not like his books.
Review: A traditional Chrichton. The begining lags, as usual in Michael Chrichton. Then it gets good, and the mystery falls in. Then it gets to the ending. The ending was slightly dissapointing. There were unanswered fates, such as Hal C. Barnes' fate. But, maybe some things are better left unsaid. There should be a warning on the cover. WARNING: not for people with high blood pressure or respiratory or cardiac conditions.

Rating:
Summary: sphere
Review: The book Sphere was a superb read. Not being able to put it down I finished it quickly.This story just hooks you. With a great plot, this book is supernatural. I usually don't read these kinds of books, but when I read about the spaceship it hooked me. If you like good twists at the end, that changes everything that you thought would happen, you should read this awesome, exciting, yet thrilling book.

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful and Engaging
Review: While not among the very best books I have ever read, Sphere is thoroughly engaging and kept me turning page after page from beginning to end. I've read many reviews that refer to Michael Crichton's cinematic writing style, and it's certainly on display here. (Although, as I've been told, the movie based on this novel was not particularly good.) As the plot unfolded, I was drawn in by the mystery of what is actually happening to the characters, and found myself caught off guard (pleasantly so) a few times as the truth was revealed. A good read, and one that I would recommend to almost anyone.