Michael Crichton

[LoveHatesYou]

Do you ever look around yourself and realize that some people in this chaotic mosh pit we call life, just give too much of themselves? Now maybe I'm selfish, but I like to keep my creative genius to myself, sure I'll take it out at parties or something, hold it above my head like something sparkly and shiny and grab all you stoners? attention, but as quickly as I pull it out, I hide it away again, locked up in myself like Golem coveting his precious ring when he could have shared it with the world.
This is not about me.
This is not about Lord of the Rings, and for all you fantasy freaks out there, you can just stop reading, because I'm not into that pussy sh*t.
This is about the people who would slice into their shank to feed you during famine- who give so much that you wonder how there is enough crumbs at the end of the day to sustain them. Of course I'm talking about that particular someone- the ineffable Michael Crichton.
What? He's a martyreic genius. He is the fountain that keeps flowing, the gift that keeps giving, the loaf of bread that feeds and entire village.
Case in point 1:
Jurassic Park. Admit it. You loved it. You loved the science. Brilliant! Mosquitoes that have mooched off of the blood of dinosaurs, and then were unlucky enough to land in sticky amber- that poor mosquito, tiny heart pumping furiously, kicking his thread-thin spindly legs, caught! He'll die now- thinking of his mosquito family, waiting for him, hovering above their metaphorical dinner table (a triceratops perhaps, I hear they are crazy delicious), wondering to themselves in little buzzing whispers: "Where's Daddy? When is Daddy gonna be home?" Never my mosquito son- Daddy has given all he had, and will now die. But be comforted in knowing that a long time from now, your Daddy will be excavated like gold, his DNA carefully extracted from that of the dinosaur DNA found in daddy?s liquid last dinner (oh I hope you enjoyed that mosquito daddy- I hope your last meal was great), and a couple scientists later we have an amusement park! Built for your pleasure! Watch the triceratops poop! She is ill! Examine her droppings; lay upon her ribcage as she struggles to breathe! Get in your garishly painted Jeep on its track, we will try and tempt the t-rex with a goat. Jurassic Park, a wondrous playground and scientific breakthrough, finally we can see the dinosaurs how they really were when they had flesh instead of bones stringed together and hanging in a museum somewhere. Oh but that sneaky Dotson and that fat guy who laughs like a squealing pig and steals dino DNA in shaving cream. It's okay- he gets his, slashed by a dylophosaurus after trying to make it fetch a stick. A stick! Like it was Fido instead of an ancient predator. Dumbass. He deserved to be slashed across the abdomen, trying to shove his entrails into his stomach and being aware of being eaten alive at the same time. In the movie they don't really show that, but the book is pretty graphic in detail. Remember, Michael Crichton was a doctor, trained at Harvard or some such up there school. There is a lot of running away from dinosaurs after that, and raptors run amuck, Jeff Goldblume breaking the tension every now and then with his sarcastic fatalistic humor- "insert witty Ian Malcolm joke here, there's too many for me to pick from". In the end, the people we like get away, and the last scene flashes to birds flying across a blue sky, symbolic of evolution and freedom at the same time. Tear. It was all so beautiful. What a gift you have given, Mr. Crichton.
Case in point 2: ER. The TV drama. The bustle of the emergency room, fascinating because one never knows if the people in these white rooms will do their intricate ballet- and it is a ballet, watch it, the passing of tools and instruments, the moving of patients, the cycle of ambulances (ambuli?), the shift changes- all exquisitely timed and choreographed- but I digress. Our fascination lies in our wonder if these people will ever shout "3cc's of gabapentin STAT! We're losing her! Defibulate! Now!" But Doctor, that could be dangerous. "I said do it!? Breathtaking. Michael gives us this accurate (and I've asked doctors, and though they look at me funny when I ask them if TV is like real life, they admit it is, and then tell me to turn my head and cough. Think about it), portrayal of life in the ER, and then, as if he hasn't given us enough, he throws in all these plot twisters. These people that work in the ER. Not only are they talented performers, but they do this while dealing with alcoholism, death, illness, marital problems, oh the list goes on and on... As a final gift from ER, MC gives us George Clooney, Noah Wylie, and Mikkai Phefifer, and more recently, Shane West, that exquisite Indian girl whose name I cannot pronounce- these beautiful creatures caring for all of our tired and weak, with a soft touch and five o'clock shadow (except for the girl). Now we almost want to go to the emergency room, if Mr. Pheiffer will lean over me to look into my eyes and ask me what is the last thing I remember about the accident, dressed in white, like the angel Gabriel sent down to grant me... well lust I guess. ..Chills. A profound love of doctors turned writers turned screenwriter turned directors of wonderful drama series. Oh, thank you MC.

Now, my captivated (okay, bored enough to read my ramblings) audience, now do you believe me? MC, he had given us so much, all he has. What a philanthropist. What an all around generous man. What an angel. May we all be like Michael Crichton.

[knightss]

i enjoyed that. the introduction is great =)

[YoPlait]

No argument here, I enjoyed the movie Jurassic Park and the show E.R. on rare occassions... but i really loved Disclosure, Prey, Airframe and i forget the title but the one about the planned natural disasters.. maybe it was Fear.

[LoveHatesYou]

Really? No other Michael Crichton fans? What about ANdromdea Strain?

Or did I go a little to absurd with the first intro there? I do have an unnatural love for the man...

[Linda]

haha Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies of all time. i seriously have it on my like top ten.

And Michael Crichton well he must be something special to devise such an extensive story rich with science and invention. so i give him mad props lol

[NSUSA]

I never read Jurassic Park, but I loved the movie.

LoveHatesYou, I love reading your writing! It's very entertaining and witty!

[AstonWest]

I enjoyed a number of his other books so far not listed...

Disclosure
Airframe
Rising Sun (I think that was his?)

[baconpatroller]

I think I've read all his books. Andromeda Strain is probably my favourite although Jurassic Park I also read more than once. Sphere and Disclosure were also good.

[Pappy]

Airframe is a great booke. So is State of Fear. I've read a few of his books and all but one have been a good read. I wasn't too into Timeline though.

But out of all the authors out there, he's one of the ones where there's a really good chance that what I read will be quality stuff.

[karentheawkward]

Er... not a huge Crichton fan, and not just politically. I don't agree with Elie Wiesel politically on Israel/Palestine, but I still admire his writing, and believe that "Night" was an amazing memoir that every student should have the opportunity to read (like me). So politics aside, I'm just not a fan of Crichton's writing.

Especially "State of Fear"--- first of all, if you don't believe in global warming, fine. In fact, I'd be thrilled to see one's argument on why global warming does not exist. But in this book, Crichton simply throws around junk science that means nothing, and tries to mix science and fiction and present it as fact. Michael Crichton is not a scientist, he is a writer. His ridiculous, one-sided argument almost made me laugh. And as a novel, this book was all over the place. It does not have a strong storyline, and the excessive footnotes and graphs did nothing to help. The characterization is weak as well, and instead of writing a good novel, Crichton focused more on convincing the reader why global warming does not exist.

Sorry. </rant>

I must say though, Jurassic Park was an exceptional book. Not particularly "deep" or anything, but definitely a well-written, page-turning thriller. It made something that could obviously not happen very much plausible. In no way was it meaningful or had impact, but it did entertain greatly.

But still, Crichton has been going into a downward spiral, and since reading "State of Fear", I've stopped reading any of his books.

[bookwormtx]

I love Crichton. One of my favorite things is the way he begins his book. It makes you sometimes forget that you are reading fiction and maybe this actually happened.

[JDC380]

Not a huge Crichton fan, but I have read a lot of his books and enjoyed most of them.
My favorite was The Great Train Robbery. Like all of his books that I have read it was educational and interesting.

[Amelia]

Especially "State of Fear"--- first of all, if you don't believe in global warming, fine. In fact, I'd be thrilled to see one's argument on why global warming does not exist. But in this book, Crichton simply throws around junk science that means nothing, and tries to mix science and fiction and present it as fact. Michael Crichton is not a scientist, he is a writer. His ridiculous, one-sided argument almost made me laugh. And as a novel, this book was all over the place. It does not have a strong storyline, and the excessive footnotes and graphs did nothing to help. The characterization is weak as well, and instead of writing a good novel, Crichton focused more on convincing the reader why global warming does not exist.

I'm not inclined to be that harsh about State of Fear, but I definitely agree with it being all over the place. I read it several years ago, when I was a bit younger and more impressionable- I got through it, and it had an impact on me for sure. I tried to pick it up a few months ago though, and I couldn't get past the third chapter. I just found it kind of boring and sterile.

I do enjoy Crichton in general though. Jurrasic Park, obviously (who doesn't?).

I really love Prey and I find myself telling people about it all the time.

[don_harold]

One of my favorites from Crichton is A Case of Need. It was a story of a rich girl who became a prostitute and died of abortion. The book was pretty much impressive.

[Xantastic]

I was about 11 or so when I first discovered the genius of Crichton's books. I stole my mom's copy of Sphere and read it from cover to cover as fast as I could.

To this day it still remains one of my favorite books.