The Andromeda Strain download epub

Definitely not my favorite Crichton book. Bought it recently to re-read - first time was many years ago. It wasn't so boring that I had trouble getting through it - in fact, I read it in one sitting. But it wasn't nearly as exciting as I remembered. It's very intentionally scientific at many points, to the extent that it feels like you're reading a journal article complete with charts/graphs instead of a novel.

The climax of the story, in my opinion, kind of comes and goes without a whole lot of memorability and the story ends pretty suddenly. I found myself thinking, "Wait, is that it?" towards the end. Felt like a lot of build up for a kind of mediocre finish.

As usual, Crichton did a ton of research while writing his book and it shows. There's no lack of very specific terminologies and procedural descriptions.

One thing that may not affect other people like it did me - sometimes my wife and I like to read together with each of us taking turns reading sections out loud. We started this book that way, but had to stop because of the many graphs and charts that we kept having to try to describe. Curious how an audiobook version would handle this.

Overall, I'd read it again in several years but it didn't leave much of an impression.

This was an enjoyable, well-written book. My one complaint is that the author spoils the ending very early on, frequently alluding to things that take place later in the story or after it. The story was still clever and fun to read along with, but the only mystery was seeing how they could pull things off, and it's a testament to the author's writing skills that he kept me interested without any real source of suspense. Still, I think that this book could have gone from good to great with some changes in the style.

Seeing the excellent movie made from this book (directed by Michael Crichton) reminded me that I'd never read the book, so I sought out a library copy. After reading it, I decided I wanted to own it and was able to find a very satisfactory used copy and read it again.

In the director's commentary on the film DVD, Crichton says that he wanted it to be something between a documentary and just a caper flick. I'm not sure how well he succeeds in that in the film; the set decorators and costume designers did a great job, but this "show, don't tell" approach can do only so much. The book, on the other hand, includes numerous essays on life in Victorian times: about the growth of railroads and the importance of trains and why the train robbery was so shocking, about safes and locks and the security of the times, about the position of women and the difficulty of being an old maid, about "ratting sports," about the activities of Rotten Row, about the Crystal Palace, about Victorian horror of premature burial, and about all manner of crimes and deceptions, with details that are only hinted at in the film.

But this very factual historical background makes it very tempting to believe that the entire story is true--which it is not. Not that it isn't very convincing. As you read the book, you have to firmly remind yourself of this because Crichton confidently quotes verbatim from invented newspaper stories and includes extended excerpts from entirely fictitious books. The best example of this is detailed at http://hnn.us/article/153726 ("A Tale Worthy of Poe: The Myth of George Bateson and his Belfry").

The cultural history is just lagniappe, though. The distinctive characters and meticulously plotted story are what make this book worth rereading. On rereading, I was impressed and pleased again by the design of the book--not just the typography and graphics but the way Crichton has divided the story into discrete parts and chapters almost like acts and scenes. Most of the chapters are quite short, and each is a little jewel that advances just one aspect of the plot.

Having become more knowledgeable about the actual Great Train Robbery of 1855, and having listened to Crichton's director's commentary on the movie DVD, I was even more impressed with this book the second time through. When I first read it, I was impressed with the amount of research Crichton had done and the way he made it read like fiction. The second time I knew that it was almost entirely fiction, so I was equally impressed with his creativity and imagination. As he says on the DVD, "the original episode...was considerably more seedy," and "the real details are sordid and grubby and lacking in drama." Although Crichton did not base his story on the trial transcripts (which he didn't know existed) or on actual newspaper stories (though the book includes several such that he invented), it is clear that he must have done at least some research on the original crime, as the story he tells does match the historical event at some points. But, as he says of the film, "I really like this train robbery a lot better. I'm much more pleased with this version."

Indeed. Crichton has made a silk purse out of a sow's ear, and it is well worth reading. For readers who have enjoyed the book, I do also recommend the film, which is equally excellent in its own way, and I especially recommend listening to the director's commentary, which brings out many fascinating aspects of the story.

The Andromeda Strain was a mystery science fiction thriller for the microbiologist. The premise was that an unknown pathogen was brought to earth via a military survey satellite. It crashes near a town and the residents die. A covert team of scientists are brought together and analyze the event and satellite for the culprit in an underground laboratory. The methods described must have been cutting edge back when The Andromeda Strain was written. A lot of the same analyses are still utilized in labs today. The only drawback to this book was that it ended abruptly. Otherwise I would definitely recommend it.