Eaters of the Dead, by Michael Crichton

January 2, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, Michael Crichton, technothriller, Thriller 

This book by Michael Crichton was filmed in 1999 with Antonino Banderas: The 13th Warrior. The movie is in this case better than the book.

Eaters of the Dead is set in the 10th century. The Caliph of Baghdad sends his Eaters of the Deadambassador, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, to the king of the Volga Bulgars. He never arrives but is instead captured by a group of Vikings. This group is sent on a hero’s quest to the north. Ahmad ibn Fadlan is taken along, as the thirteenth member of their group, to bring good luck. There he battles with the ‘mist-monsters’, or ‘Neanderthals’.

Eaters of the Dead is narrated as a scientific commentary on an old manuscript. A sense of authenticity is supported by occasional explanatory footnotes with references to a mixture of factual and fictitious sources.

Eaters of the Dead is a a good and interesting read, but in my opinion not among Michael Crichton’s best.

Links to books by Michael Crichton at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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Rising Sun, by Michael Crichton

January 3, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, John Connor, Michael Crichton, technothriller, Thriller 

Rising Sun was filmed in 1993 (starring Sean Connery): Rising Sun. It was a wonderful movie, but still represents an instance of the class of cases where the book is better than the movie.

Rising Sun is the chronicle of three days of investigation into the murder of a young woman during a business party. Detective Peter Smith finds himself investigating a foreign culture as well as a crime.

Michael Crichton: Rising SunHe soon finds that there is much of Japanese culture that he doesn’t understand. Smith is guided through the intricacies of Japanese behavior by John Connor, a detective on leave who used to hold Smith’s job.

The murder of Cheryl Austin should be easy to solve, as it was videotaped by security cameras at the Nakamoto building. Nakamoto officials, however, obstruct the investigation from the beginning. The tapes of the murder and what they actually show prove to be a separate mystery. It is not only the tapes that lie: Most of the people questioned by the detectives have their own motives for concealing the truth. Very little is what it seems at first glance.

Rising Sun is a very fascinating detective novel, full of surprises and fast-paced action. A superb read!

You can read more Crichton-reviews at Leserglede!

Also, you can order the book and movie Rising Sun, Michael Crichton from amazon US. Also, amazon Uk has Crichton Rising Sun, book and movie!

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Sphere, by Michael Crichton

November 16, 2008 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, International bestseller, Michael Crichton, recommendation, technothriller, Thriller 

Filmed in 1998: Sphere

Michael Crichton, now sadly dead, was one of the greatest thriller writers of our time. He was one of my favorite authors. In Sphere Crichton rolled out the present, past, and future into a highly technical and confusing science fiction adventure. The present features, among others, a pompous astrophysicist, a female zoologist, a black mathematician, and a 53-year-old psychologist, who are summoned by the Navy to examine a plane crash Michael Crichton: Sphere in the South Pacific.

The past is manifested in the stranded object resting on the sea bottom where it has been for some 300 years. When the four scientists, who carry their emotional minority baggage of sex, color, and age along with them, descend to the deep in their submersible, they discover the wreck to be no less than a spaceship from the future that fell through a black hole, thus defying time and space. At the bottom of the sea, strange things begin to happen, and one by one the cast of characters diminishes.

Sphere is very fast paced and very exciting. The plot is part of the future unfolding. You never know what is going to happen next and you can’t stop until you do. Crichton, in my opinion, develops his characters better in this novel than in any of his other books. One of Crichton’s best! Strongly recommended!

You can purchase this and other books by MichaelCrichton at amazon US here: Michael Crichton: A New Collection of Three Complete Novels: Congo, Sphere, Eaters of the Dead, see also Timeline, and State of Fear.Alternatively, you can order from amazon UK: Sphere, Timeline, and State of Fear.

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