Customer Reviews

Prey

5 star:		(224)
4 star:		(241)
3 star:		(189)
2 star:		(130)
1 star:		(90)

 

 

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!

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)

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.

First off, I'm a die-hard Michael Crichton fan...absolutely LOVE his stuff...however -- 'Prey' is definitely a 'formula' novel...most notably a Crichton formula novel which borrow extensively from previous works like 'Jurassic Park' & 'Timeline'. If you have read many of his other novels, this formula will become immediately apparent: Big corporation is messing with technology they don't fully understand nor appreciate, and in the process unleash something baaaad. First it was the Dinosaurs when InGen toyed around with genetic manipulation where they shouldn't have...next we have a very similar company in 'Timeline' that wanted to send the elite on once-in-a-lifetime trips through time, using science again that was a bit beyond our control and now we have nanotechnology in 'Prey' that provides a frightening look at what *could* happen should this kind of near-future science fall into the hands of those who attempt to use it for all the wrong reasons.

Just because Crichton is using his 'formula' here, that doesn't mean he doesn't provide us with some great cliff-hangers and genuine surprises along the way...his writing talent is far too refined to have forgotten how to pull a few strings with the readers. 'Prey' begins with poor Jack, a reluctant house-husband with a wife who has quickly become one of the powerhouse leaders at Xymos (you guessed it, the 'big corporation' that funds experiments that go horribly wrong). Her sudden and suspiciously odd actions make Jack begin to suspect that she (Julia) just might be having an affair. He pushes this thought away every time more and more evidence begins to mount that this is no longer a theory and more likely a fact. Her behavior seems erratic (at best), distant with him and the children and she tells small (but significant) lies which unravel the fabric of their relationship. All this is shockingly interrupted when Julia is involved in an accident which sends her to the hospital. Meanwhile an incredibly un-expected invitation by his former boss (who fired him under trumped up charges) is offered to Jack asking him to come back (sort of) to help Xymos figure out how to solve a problem with a program that Jack's technical team had designed some time before. At first Jack is totally against going back under ANY circumstances...but as the problem with Julia becomes more of an immediate concern, he figures that maybe he could find out more about her supposed affair by accepting the offer.

This is where the rubber hits the pavement, so-to-speak. This is where Jack becomes immersed in the world of nanoswarms, produced by Xymos for the Military to spy on the enemy. As in all of Crichton's novels, nothing is as it seems, and the people who give the tours of the production facility know a lot more than they are letting on (always to the suspicion of those on the receiving end of the tour). Jack has reason to believe Ricky (the tour-guide) is holding back crucial information on the little problem they have come up against. It appears that the company has made a once-in-a-lifetime scientific breakthrough which has allowed them to begin full production of machines on the molecular level. Millions of microscopic machines were accidentally vented to the Nevada environment and have a peculiar problem: they won't come back...they seem to be multiplying on their own (which they just shouldn't be able to do)...they seem to be killing desert animals...oh, and they were programmed using a predator/prey program that Jack and his former team-mates created. Just about everything that Ricky says turns out to be half-truths or outright lies from pretty much the beginning. Jack almost immediately has a plan that nobody had previously thought about which will eliminate the nanoswarms...but if you know the typical Michael Crichton novel, you know that first, and even second plans usually go horribly wrong. What exactly is Ricky hiding from Jack and just about everyone else? How are the nanoswarms able to multiply? How are they developing behavior that their programming says should be 100% impossible? How is Jack's wife, Julia embroiled in all of this, and is she really having an affair? And the biggest question of all: Can the nanoswarms be stopped...and if so, how?
Good questions and for the sheer fun of the story I gave 'Prey' 5 stars, but for re-telling a story told before in 'Jurassic Park' and 'Timeline' I give it just 4 stars. Perfectly enjoyable even despite my reservations and I very much look forward to the future movie at the local cineplex, it ought to be a real nail-biter.

As a long time Crichton fan, I have waited for Prey with bated breath. Prey is a page turner, from the very first page. It's as exciting as it is fast moving. However, it is also an utter disappointment.

Nanotechnology as a subject has so much potential in the hands of a master of the technology thriller such as Crichton, but he completely fails to take advantage of it, so we end up with a book that reads more like a modern "Night of the Living Dead" rewrite than a Crichton technothriller.

Plot holes abound, particularly near the conclusion. Instead of the technothriller everyone was waiting for, we get a half way decent action movie script (and it's already been sold!). It's formulaic, and anyone with half a brain could already see the entire plot from the first chapter, leaving the work devoid of suspense.

All in all, a good read, but wait for the paper back.

...Mr. Crichton needs to write books, not screenplays. "Prey" begins with a lot of promise (compared to his last 2 dismal outings). Good and interesting characters, background information that helps the story instead to halting the flow and a very interesting mystery. Then, about halfway into the book, it suddenly becomes yet another standard Hollywood screenplay. The characters become flat and lifeless; every 5 minutes there is a new desperate chase scene (they didn't work in Jurassic Park II, they didn't work in Timeline, but whoever bought the movie rights wants it, so Michael writes it). The final battle and resolution is very empty and hollow and the motivations of the bad guys (see spoilers below) is completely lacking (but with plenty of room for a sequel Hollywood!). The science and characters are interesting the action and plot is pure tinsel town.

Mr. Crichton certainly has enough personal wealth these days that he should be able to stand up to his editors and publishers and write the book he wants to write instead of what will sell in Hollywood. The first half is a good as anything he has ever done, the second half is exactly the same anything he has done in the last 5 years.

I can't help but feel that he was pressured to publish this book before he had really worked out the details of the ending (see spoilers) and the weak ending undermines the great work done leading up to it.

...

Michael Crichton takes us back to the complex world of computer technology in his latest book, a non-stop page-turner about a cloud of nanoparticles -- manmade micromachines -- that have escaped (or were they released?) from a laboratory in the Nevada desert and proceed to raise all kinds of mayhem. These critters may be micron-sized, but they cause some macro-sized trouble. They operate in a swarm. They're smart. They learn from experience. They've been programmed to be self-sustaining and self-reproducing. And they've developed a killer instinct and an insane hunger to feed off any kind of life. Most sinister of all, they're learning how to replicate -- they can assume the shape and form of humans. And now their creators have become their prey.

Crichton is at his best when he writes about abstruse scientific and technical concepts in such a way that even the most hopeless techno-nitwit (like this reviewer) can understand what he's talking about. I've always thought Crichton missed his real calling; he would have made an absolutely superb teacher. He loves science and technology, he's read extensively (there are 44 references to genetics, nanotechnology and distributed intelligence for the reader to follow up at the end of the book), and he knows how to explain it in such a way that it seems endlessly fascinating and awe-inspiring. He's also a scientist with a social conscience, who emphasizes in "Prey" as he did in "Jurassic Park", that just because something can be done doesn't mean it should be. He's clearly disgusted with those gung-ho scientists and techies who are so involved with their work that they have lost sight of how the results will impact on the world outside the laboratory, either for good or bad.

"Prey" suffers from Crichton's usual one-dimensional characters, although his hero, Jack Forman, is a little better developed than his earlier protagonists; we see him as a concerned father (he's a calamity of the Silicon Valley implosion raising three children while his wife directs the lab that created this menace) as well as a very worried computer expert who realizes that something lethally wicked this way comes; but with Crichton the characters are never the main draw; he may be weak on characterization but he is one terrific storyteller, and "Prey", as much as "Jurassic Park", will keep you mesmerized from the first page to the last.

Prey. Yep, it's a page-turner and perfectly enjoyable way to put your brain on hold for a few hours and enjoy the ride, Just as long as you don't waste too much money on it. (I got my copy at a thrift store.)

The flipside is that it's nonsensical... You'll need not only to suspend your disbelief, but put it on ice and lock it in a safe-deposit box as well! The plausibility factor is more like fantasy than science-fiction.

For one thing, the clues for the "surprise" ending are so blantantly obvious (at the beginning!) that the main character seems like a moron for not noticing that the people around him aren't what they seem to be.

Secondly, Crichton (to his credit) tries to give the main character depth in showing his marital, personal and family problems. Unfortunately, he's less successful than George Lucas was in portraying young love in "Attack of the Clones." The protagonist's reactions, dialogue, and emotions are way out-of-sync for what's going on. No regret at the ending? Michael, Michael, Michael!

Thirdly, the alternation between technological fill-ins and action / dialogue is a little rough.

Prey is more reminescent of Sphere than Crichton's superior works such as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park. Still entertaining, but not memorable, thrilling, or deeply satisfying.

As in all Michael Crichton novels, the heart of this novel is Crichton's fascinating scientific speculation--in this novel about the implications of Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the science of manufacturing microscopic machines. This novel speculates about what might happen if this technology ran amok.

I've read nearly all of Crichton's books, and this one is remarkably different from the others as regards the writing style. This novel is not written with Crichton's usual detached, third-person style, moving periodically among characters. Instead, the narrative is in the first person--everything is seen from the perspective of one protagonist, who slowly, gradually, realizes the horror of the situation in which he finds himself. The overall effect of this change in style is that the book is a much easier read than most of Crichton's other work. In fact, it is fair to say that more than most of Crichton's other novels, this one is a real page-turner. Mostly he does not sacrifice depth for this, and he does achieve a higher degree of clarity than in some of his other novels, notably "Timeline."

Some of Crichton's scientific prognostications are (as usual for him) absolutely fascinating. He clearly and convincingly explains how nanotechnology may come together as a fusion between mechanical and genetic engineering, and computer science. Unfortunately, in my opinion in this novel he goes a bit too "far out" in that I did not find his speculation about the ultimate conclusion of the technology to be plausible. Most Crichton novels pass the "plausibility test"--even "Timeline" did an acceptable job of suggesting a convincing scenario in which time travel might be possible--a difficult task indeed. While I found some of Crichton's speculation about where nanotechnology might lead to be fascinating, some parts of this speculation seemed forced and ultimately not believable. This lack of plausibility dropped this one to three stars in my opinion.

The ending of the novel is also not very satisfying. Crichton could have done better. Spoilers omitted here.

Despite the flaws mentioned here, this book is a ripping good read and every Crichton fan or lover of science fiction will want to read this one.

I should start by saying that I'm not exactly a fan of Michael Crichton's work. I used to watch ER, but in most of his novels it seemed that he was trying too hard for the reader to like him. DINOASAURS! TIMETRAVEL! FLYING DISEASES! O MY!

Anyway, I just got the feeling that this book was more of a screenplay than a novel. The descriptions seemed more like stage direction than real explanations. It was fairly predictable, like a good "B" movie.

However, on the whole, it WAS mildly entertaining. It would be great for a vacation to read on the beach or plane. It does get a bit technical here and there, but if you skip the science babble the story is still VERY easy to follow.

This is my first reveiw so I hope this was helpful!