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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Micro in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Review Just becasue
The book Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Prestom was great. I may be a little biased because Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors but at the same time I hold his work to a specific standard that he must meet or else I'm disappointed. Like most of his work Micro touches on some topics that as a society we should be aware of. It warns us of some disasters that new technology, being worked on or possibly already created, can cause. It id also an eye opener to the dangers of that our inventions pose.
In Micro a group of young graduate students at a college or approached by the head of a company called Nanigen. The graduate students are invited out to the Nanigen lab in Hawaii to see for themselves the work being done there and to see if they want to work for the company. Out of curiosity all the approached graduate students agree to go but their trip to Hawaii becomes more than what they bargain for.
Nanigen is studying the micro world mainly looking for chemicals that micro animals are making that could be useful to humans in some way. Also like many scientific companies in the private sector Nanigen is doing top secret work for the government. Greed gets in the way for some of the scientist already working for the company and the trip becomes extremely dangerous and even deadly for the graduate students. Having to deal with micro-bots and new technology never heard of before the students must fight to survive a world very different from our own.
What I like most about the book was one of the same features that keeps me reading Michael Crichton's work. The author does his research very thoroughly. The book may be a work of science fiction but there is a bibliography in the back for the curious reader to be able to learn more about the fascinating topics brought up in the book. For being a work of fiction the animals, plants, chemicals, technology,and scientific concepts are not. What I liked least about the book was how similar to another one of his books it was and how predictable some parts felt to me. Again though, I am very familiar with Michael Crichton's work and that would probably explain why it felt so predictable. I cannot hold that against the book.
Overall I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 and would highly recommend it. It has a very strong story and is believable which is an important factor for science fiction. The target readers for this book would start around high school age if not older. I feel like high school students will get the basic concept of what book was talking about but they might be lost on some of the finer detail. It all just depends on if the book is being read for the story or if the reader is interested in science specifically microbiology and nanotechnology.
I feel like I need to note on here that Richard Preston finishing the book did not harm it in any way.
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In Micro a group of young graduate students at a college or approached by the head of a company called Nanigen. The graduate students are invited out to the Nanigen lab in Hawaii to see for themselves the work being done there and to see if they want to work for the company. Out of curiosity all the approached graduate students agree to go but their trip to Hawaii becomes more than what they bargain for.
Nanigen is studying the micro world mainly looking for chemicals that micro animals are making that could be useful to humans in some way. Also like many scientific companies in the private sector Nanigen is doing top secret work for the government. Greed gets in the way for some of the scientist already working for the company and the trip becomes extremely dangerous and even deadly for the graduate students. Having to deal with micro-bots and new technology never heard of before the students must fight to survive a world very different from our own.
What I like most about the book was one of the same features that keeps me reading Michael Crichton's work. The author does his research very thoroughly. The book may be a work of science fiction but there is a bibliography in the back for the curious reader to be able to learn more about the fascinating topics brought up in the book. For being a work of fiction the animals, plants, chemicals, technology,and scientific concepts are not. What I liked least about the book was how similar to another one of his books it was and how predictable some parts felt to me. Again though, I am very familiar with Michael Crichton's work and that would probably explain why it felt so predictable. I cannot hold that against the book.
Overall I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 and would highly recommend it. It has a very strong story and is believable which is an important factor for science fiction. The target readers for this book would start around high school age if not older. I feel like high school students will get the basic concept of what book was talking about but they might be lost on some of the finer detail. It all just depends on if the book is being read for the story or if the reader is interested in science specifically microbiology and nanotechnology.
I feel like I need to note on here that Richard Preston finishing the book did not harm it in any way.
https://facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers
10.0
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Book
On every continent and in every nation, animals unrecognized by modern science are reported on a...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2340 KP) rated I'm Your Venus in Books
Oct 19, 2018
Sylvia’s Back on the Space Case
Sylvia Stryker has landed a job on the new Moon 6. Again, she's in charge of the uniform department, but this time she's legitimately on the ship. Neptune is also on board this cruise, with the destination being Venus. Everyone is determined to make things go smoothly for the passengers. However, the ship has barely set out when Sylvia finds a dead body outside the uniform department's door. Then Neptune comes to her with a surprising plea for help. Can she figure out what is going on?
Yes, this book has a science fiction setting, but it is still mostly a mystery. In fact, the setting is developed just enough for us to feel at home, but the story doesn't stop to explain every little detail to us. Still, there are some fun nod to pop culture science fiction and some of the tech they do have in this book would be very cool. There are a trio of characters we spent a lot of time with, and they are the best developed. The rest of the cast is still strong enough for the parts they play in what happens. The plot is quite a ride, with plenty of keep us engaged and the pages flying. I read the book in just two days, in fact. I do feel like some of the character's actions over the course of the book weren't completely explained at the end, but that is my only complaint. I'm looking forward to getting to book three as soon as my schedule allows to see how some of the threads introduced here play out.
Yes, this book has a science fiction setting, but it is still mostly a mystery. In fact, the setting is developed just enough for us to feel at home, but the story doesn't stop to explain every little detail to us. Still, there are some fun nod to pop culture science fiction and some of the tech they do have in this book would be very cool. There are a trio of characters we spent a lot of time with, and they are the best developed. The rest of the cast is still strong enough for the parts they play in what happens. The plot is quite a ride, with plenty of keep us engaged and the pages flying. I read the book in just two days, in fact. I do feel like some of the character's actions over the course of the book weren't completely explained at the end, but that is my only complaint. I'm looking forward to getting to book three as soon as my schedule allows to see how some of the threads introduced here play out.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Timeshaft in Books
Nov 26, 2019
As technology advances mankind seems a button press away from wiping itself out. The shadowy organisation of WorldSave and their top operative, the enigmatic Ashday's Child, prevent catastrophe on a regular basis because they have access to the Timeshaft, which enables them to go to any point in time and stop events before they can cause disaster.
However, after a routine training mission hits problems, Ashday's Child must save not only himself and his companions but the fabric of time itself. With cause not necessarily occurring before effect, it may be that saving the future will heal the past.
Time travel has always been a fascination for science fiction writers as it opens up so many possibilities. Where most of these use time travel as a method of getting their characters to where they need to be, in Timeshaft it is the time travel itself that provides the story. Bint allows his imagination to construct future and past versions of earth but always the time travel aspect is to the fore, with the plot carefully constructed like a clock so that in the end all the parts fit together perfectly.
This matters because the time travel in Timeshaft is one where the time travel has always taken place; it is not like Back to the Future where Marty's antics in the past then change the future; here the future is the way it is precisely because someone has travelled back in time and changed something. It's a tricky thing to pull off yet Bint seemingly does this with ease.
If you are looking for a good science fiction story with drama and great ideas, you can't go far wrong
However, after a routine training mission hits problems, Ashday's Child must save not only himself and his companions but the fabric of time itself. With cause not necessarily occurring before effect, it may be that saving the future will heal the past.
Time travel has always been a fascination for science fiction writers as it opens up so many possibilities. Where most of these use time travel as a method of getting their characters to where they need to be, in Timeshaft it is the time travel itself that provides the story. Bint allows his imagination to construct future and past versions of earth but always the time travel aspect is to the fore, with the plot carefully constructed like a clock so that in the end all the parts fit together perfectly.
This matters because the time travel in Timeshaft is one where the time travel has always taken place; it is not like Back to the Future where Marty's antics in the past then change the future; here the future is the way it is precisely because someone has travelled back in time and changed something. It's a tricky thing to pull off yet Bint seemingly does this with ease.
If you are looking for a good science fiction story with drama and great ideas, you can't go far wrong
Record of a Spaceborn Few
10.0
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Return to the sprawling universe of the Galactic Commons, as humans, artificial intelligence,...
science fiction
The Call of Cthulhu: And Other Weird Stories
Book
Collecting uniquely uncanny tales from the master of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Jul 2, 2020
Hers, Unleashed (Hers #3)
8.0
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Book
Hot. Obedient. And he wants to be hers. What could possibly go wrong? Silenian security guard...
Erotic Dystopian Science Fiction Romance
Space Kraken
8.0
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Tabletop Game
Space Kraken is a Rogue-like Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawler for one Solo Player; the game also comes with an...
An interesting and intelligent novel
The premise of this book is intriguing, and although astronauts/scientists who appear to have lost their minds on a distant planet isn’t an entirely unique story, this definitely has it’s own take. The planet Solaris is an enigma in itself, helped by there never being a full explanation behind it. The few characters in this are interesting, strong and conflicted, although I do wish we’d seen a bit more of Snaut and Sartorius.
This is a very intelligent take on a science fiction story, with some beautiful imagery, although at times some of the scientific type explanations can become a little laborious. I’m also torn between loving the ambiguity and lack of resolution, to being very frustrated as I wanted to know more than was explained.
This is a very intelligent take on a science fiction story, with some beautiful imagery, although at times some of the scientific type explanations can become a little laborious. I’m also torn between loving the ambiguity and lack of resolution, to being very frustrated as I wanted to know more than was explained.