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David McK (3162 KP) rated Sphere in Books

Jan 30, 2019  
S
Sphere
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
While [a:Michael Crichton|5194|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1359042651p2/5194.jpg] may be more famous for books-that-became movies blockbuster like [b:Jurassic Park|6424171|Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344371661s/6424171.jpg|3376836], tha's not the only of his works that have been turned into movies:a longside that, we have the likes of [b:Congo|7672|Congo|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388889401s/7672.jpg|688299], [b:Timeline|7669|Timeline|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405420745s/7669.jpg|1525987], and this.

Largely, however, I've found hose to be pretty forgettable: I know I saw 'Sphere' (the movie) before I first read the book, but (truth be told) I didn't really remember all that much about either.

With that in mind, and with Goodreads at-long-last implementation of the re-read feature (yay!), I decided to re-read the novel recently.

And, unfortunately, I still found it pretty forgettable.

Don't get me wrong: it's a pretty adequate sci-fi thriller (in this case about a mysterious Sphere found at the bottom of the Pacific inside a spacecraft that has lain there for hundreds of years), but it lacked - for me - the connection with the characters (none of whom I found to be all that likeable, or even interesting), the thrill-factor (if you will), or even the implied awe and majesty of the Dinosaurs in [b:Jurassic Park|6424171|Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344371661s/6424171.jpg|3376836].

In short: it's OK, but not Crichton's best.
  
Dragon Teeth
Dragon Teeth
Michael Crichton | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
you still shouldn’t go into this expecting an epic adventure with the level of research and detail on par with the author’s more famous novels that he wrote in life, but as far as posthumously released publications go, this one was pretty damn decent.
Critic- The BiblioSanctum
Original Score: 3.5 out of 5

Read Review:https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/06/15/book-review-dragon-teeth-by-michael-crichton/
  
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Dave P. (9 KP) rated Westworld - Season 1 in TV

Jul 20, 2017  
Westworld  - Season 1
Westworld - Season 1
2015 | Sci-Fi
Slow and Go that is the tempo
This new take on the Michael Crichton novel rings the HBO show to a better futuristic reality that the old movie. There's drama and romance and all the stuff you would expect in a western themes virtual world to go out and play in. Some twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed watching the first season but it had some slow spots.
  
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Katie Guinn (34 KP) rated Airframe in Books

Dec 7, 2018  
Airframe
Airframe
Michael Crichton | 1997 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm ashamed to say it's been years since I read a Michael Crichton novel, but what a way to jump back in! This book was better than I expected, somehow he managed to keep it interesting even though there wasn't a lot of action happening. The pacing was fast, although I thought the main character could have been a little more developed. All in all, this is a book I would definitely recommend.
  
Disclosure (1994)
Disclosure (1994)
1994 | Drama, Mystery
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Power Play
Disclosure- is a good erotic thriller. Micheal Douglas, Demi Moore and Donald Sutherland are all good.

The plot: In this Michael Crichton adaptation, Tom Sanders (Michael Douglas) is a senior executive at a cutting-edge technology corporation on the verge of releasing an innovative new product. Sanders' boss, Bob Galvin (Donald Sutherland), is putting the final touches on a potentially lucrative merger and everything is in order for Tom until a vamp from his past, Meredith Johnson (Demi Moore), swoops in, stealing his impending promotion and then -- doubling down -- suing him for sexual harassment.

Like i said its good.
  
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AT (1676 KP) rated Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1) in Books

Sep 16, 2018 (Updated Sep 16, 2018)  
Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
Michael Crichton | 1990 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.3 (34 Ratings)
Book Rating
I absolutely love Jurassic Park! Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors because his books are so different from each other. Jurassic Park, the movie, was amazing for its time, and is still one of my favorites. However, the book was better! The movie didn't even touch on half of the things that were in the book. If you're looking for a great, entertaining read, pick this up! Don't just say you've seen the movie, so you know it all. The book is even better.
  
Crucible (Sigma Force #14)
Crucible (Sigma Force #14)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entry #14 in James Rollins now long-running Sigma Force series; again a mixture of science and fiction: think Dan Brown, maybe, or even Michael Crichton.

This time around, the threat that Sigma force (and, perforce, the world) faces is one of our own making: that of Artificial Intelligence (or AI), and - more specifically - that of an 'evil' (one with no moral qualms or compunctions) AI let loose. So, think Terminator's Skynet, basically.

If you've read any of the previous entries in the series, you know pretty much what to expect ...
  
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David McK (3162 KP) rated Micro in Books

Jan 30, 2019  
Micro
Micro
4
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Finished by Richard Preston, this is the novel that Michael Crichton was working on at the time of his death in 2008.

I have to say that, of late, I have actually been disappointed by most of Crichton's more recent novels, with the possible exception of <i>Prey</i>. Unfortunately, I was also pretty disappointed by this: I felt that I was never really engaged with any of the characters, so their plight never really had any impact on me - without giving too much away, and in a pretty superficial sense, I think this novel could be pretty much described as <i>The Borrowers</i>, set in nature.

For me, <i>Jurassic Park</i> (by far) still remains Crichton's seminal work.
  
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David McK (3162 KP) rated Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1) in Books

Jan 28, 2019 (Updated Oct 1, 2022)  
Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
Michael Crichton | 1990 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.3 (34 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first of the late Michael Crichton books that I've read, and this is still the best.

While the film of the same name is very good, it's really only a watered down version of the story contained within here, with several of the characters (most notably Alan Grant and John Hammond) undergoing a personality/trait change between print and screen. Presumably for reasons of cost and running time, the film also leaves out some of the dinosaurs and events of the books (eg the Pterodactyl lodge, although that is later used in the film Jurassic Park III).

For me, this was further proof of what I've always found: that films based on books are never quite as good as the source material.
  
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Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Micro in Books

Feb 21, 2018  
Micro
Micro
2
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really wanted to like this book, but the dialog was so painful I almost didn't finish it. The descriptions and action scenes felt too choppy. There were more continuity issues and contradictions than I can count (for one, thing, if you are out of visual range of something, you can't look back in the next sentence and see what said something was doing!) and by the time we're 90% into the book I KNOW who Karen is and there is no reason to refer to her or any other character by their full names anymore, at least not so frequently.

The basic idea was good - and it had the potential to be an entertaining, if far-fetched, techno-thriller, but I couldn't recommend this even to die-hard Michael Crichton fans.