Bumping an old and interesting thread for bibliophilesInterestingly the 'heavy' book that I am reading (In Defense of Lost Causes- Slavoj Zizek) has this to say about Crichton...
"Crichton added to the genre (Capitalist Realism) a postmodern techno-thriller twist, in accordance with today's predominant politics of fear: he is the ultimate novelist of fear- fear of the past (Jurassic Park, Eaters of the Dead), of the nanotechnological future (Prey) of Japan's economic strength (The Rising Sun), of sexual harassment (Disclosure), of robotic technology (Westworld) of the medical industry (Coma), of alien intrusions (Andremeda Strain) of ecological catastrophes (State of Fear). State of Fear, his most recent book, brings an unexpected final addition to this series of shadowy forces which lurk among us, poised to wreak havoc: America's fiercest enemies are environmentalists themselves. " (page 52)
just sharing an interesting bit of trivia...
Michael Crichton was an author I enjoyed reading as a kid and still re-read them.
It's true that Crichton was a master of weaving a story around the unknown. It is known that fear and dread in humans comes from uncertainty. What makes this dread more sustaining is when it is associated with everyday objects and ideas we are used to, and never think of them as possible agents of harm.
Like H.G. Wells before him, Crichton was also a visionary. Many of his seemingly bizarre ideas and interpretations really did come to fruition later on. From the talking gorillas in Congo, self-replicating robots in Prey, pandemic from space in Andromeda strain, brain implants in Terminal Man to cloning dead or extinct animals in Jurassic Park and Lost World, several of his story plots turned out to be eerily true later on