Fiction 21 Apr 2005 04:06 pm
Prey
Prey
Michael Crichton
“Andromeda Strain” for the 21st century would be a fair description for this book. As in the older book, humanity again faces a threat that is lethal and can’t be shot down but that is, for the moment, confined to a location away from civilization.
Supposedly a cautionary tale about the dangers of nanotechnology, I feel that the novel fails to deliver in that area. It is a typical Crichton plot, and the story is well developed, if a little far-fetched; it is told in the first person, though, which is a little unusual for him. However, for a writer that usually pays lots of attention to technical details, the last few chapters seem to gloss over a lot of issues. I won’t go over them here so as to not spoil it for those who haven’t read it yet, but it almost looks like he wanted to leave open the possibility of a sequel (the ending most certainly allows that). Or it may be that the main character isn’t exactly a nano-specialist, so he wouldn’t think of certain things.
Don’t get me wrong, though: I did like the book, and I think it does a good job of being technical enough without being overwhelming. He even tries to cater for the geek crowd, going as far as mentioning Sourceforge at one point. In the end, it’s very good entertainment.
