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151 of 174 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Among Crichton's Best, November 25, 2002
Just as "Jurassic Park" was a cautionary tale for the dangers of tampering with the genetic code, so to is "Prey" a warning. This time, Michael Crichton has chosen to explore the potential and hazards of nanotechnology; the fashioning of robots at the molecular level. The power of these machines is that they are small enough to go anywhere, and their capabilities are limited only by human creativity. However, since they are so small, they need to be able to apply adaptive learning in order to accomplish their assigned tasks, and that's where the trouble starts. The novel begins with Jack Forman, stay at home dad, and long time, but currently unemployed software engineer, shopping for placemats. This touch of normalcy sets up an environment where Crichton can rapidly ratchet up the tension, as an all-American home life turns distinctly scary. Moreover, Crichton has written the book in the first person, so the reader really has the opportunity to roam around Jack's head. As a result, Jack may be the best character Crichton has written to date. His emotions leap off the page, and his thought processes allow Crichton to seamlessly integrate necessary expository elements into the flow of the novel. Of course, Jack doesn't remain the house-husband for long. It turns out that there are problems at Xymos Corporation, where his wife is a vice-president. It seems that they've lost control of some of the nano-particle swarms that they were working on, and they need Jack to help bring them back into the fold. As it turns out, Jack wrote an early version of the software (which is based upon predator-prey relationships) that is being used as the brains behind the swarm. As an added level of intrigue, Jack suspects that his wife is having an affair with one of the people at Xymos' fabrication plant. I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining the plot, but as one would expect, the situation quickly spirals out of control in typical Crichton-esque fashion. Specifically, I think I can say without giving anything away, that he does a superb job of imbuing what are essential machines with an incredible sense of malice. Anyone who thinks that tiny machines acting in groups aren't scary will quickly have their minds changed by this novel. As with all of Crichton's best work "Prey" leaves you not only entertained, but feeling like you learned something as well. At the same time, unlike "Jurassic Park" and "Timeline" which employed technically possible, but functionally questionable technology, nanotechnology is on its way, and is already here to a degree. Already there are microchip sized laboratories that can perform dozens of experiments on a single drop of blood, and there are exotic materials custom built for specific functions from the molecular level. It is entirely likely, even probable, that within ten or twenty years, we will see some crude version of the technology that plays the central role in the novel. As a result, Crichton writes with a sense of urgency that makes this a thriller you don't want to put down. This is definitely one of his best novels to date: an incredibly exciting story filled with cutting edge, but easily understood, technology. A must read! Enjoy!
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crichton takes on new ground in Prey, January 6, 2003
When I first started reading Prey, I noticed something that I'd never seen in any of the other Crichton novels I've read. He immediately plunges into the character of Jack Forman, an unemployed computer programmer and current "house-dad" who is beginning to suspect that his wife was having an affair, writing in the first person. By using the first-person perspective, he makes the character more real by directly stimulating a reader with the thoughts and emotions of a single character, something he hasn't tried in any of his other books that I've read. A reader sees the growth and development of Jack as he has to further deal with the new micro-camera swarms that are being developed at his wife's start-up company Xymos when he is called in to review some of the computer code at the company's Nevada fabrication plant. In terms of the science topics discussed in Prey, Crichton does a marvelous job of introducing and tying together genetics, nanotechnology, and computer science into the race against the rapid swarm evolution within the text. As always, he takes many pauses to inform a reader to the meaning and importance of many scientific terms involved in the book. For those less ignorant to the material than others, the reviews can get a little cumbersome. Overall, I thought Prey was a strong read. Here's to an amazing writer who always does his homework. (if nothing else, his three page biliography at the end of the book clearly shows Crichton's dedication to his work)
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Microscopic Killer, March 20, 2003
In 'Prey,' Michael Chrichton continues to stay at the forefront of scientific and technological issues to write a thriller. In 'Jurassic Park', Chrichton tackled genetic cloning, and this time around he addresses the field of nanotechnology. For the uninitiated, nanotechnology is a field of science concerned with creating microscopic machines to carry out real world functions (which is probably a grossly inadequate description of the field). Jack Forman is an unemployed programmer. His area of specialty is agent based programming. When not searching for a new job, Jack stays at home while his wife, Julia, goes to work for a company involved in nanotechnology. In a sharp departure from past novels, Chrichton tells Jack's story in the first person, which is especially efective in the first half of the book. At the opening of the book, Jack begins to notice odd behavior in his wife. She has become blunt and short tempered with him and the kids. Jack begins to suspect an affair. The first third of the book is probably the best part. In addition to Julia's odd behavior, things start happening around the house. One night, Jack awakes to find his baby daughter screaming bloody murder while a rash breaks out across her body. After a trip to the emergency room, everything at home seems to be a little out of place. Then some minor electronics begin to fail around the house and Jack discovers a suspicious looking surge protector beneath the baby's crib. Chrichton is incredibly successful at establishing an eerie atmosphere in which the reader is just on the edge of comprehending what is going on. The book moves into it second phase when Julia is involved in a car crash. Jack suspects, for reasons you'll find adequately laid out in the book, that her new project is somehow involved. While Julia recovers from relatively minor wounds in the hospital, Jack goes to work for her company as a consultant, which sends him out to the desert to help solve a programming problem. At this point, the novel takes on a very 'Jurassic Park' like quality. Jack and the others at the research facility in the desert encounter an unexplainable force that must be contended with. Chrichton's novel is a good one, but it is not his best work. As previously stated, the second and third part of the novel are reminiscent of 'Jurassic Park' as humans struggle to overcome the monstrocities they have created. The atmosphere that Chrichton established in the first third of the novel begins to give away in the second third to too much information which destroys some of the suspense. Overall, 'Prey' is an entertaining sci-fi thriller. As usual, Chrichton has thrown in some lessons about current scientific issues along the way (this time concerning nanotechnology, animal behavior, and programming). I'd recommend this novel to any Chrichton fan or anyone who likes technological thrillers.
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