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Sphere  By  cover art

Sphere

By: Michael Crichton
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

“Ingenious and beguiling.” - Time

“Crichton keeps us guessing at every turn in his best work since The Andromeda Strain.” - Los Angeles Times

Sphere may be Crichton’s best novel, but even if it ranked only second or third, it would be a must for suspense fans.” - Miami Herald

A classic thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Crichton, Sphere is a bravura demonstration of what he does better than anyone: riveting storytelling that combines frighteningly plausible, cutting-edge science and technology with pulse-pounding action and serious chills. The gripping story of a group of American scientists sent to the ocean floor to investigate an alien ship, only to confront a terrifying discovery that defies imagination, Sphere is Crichton prime - truly masterful fiction from the ingenious mind that brought us Prey, State of Fear, and Jurassic Park.

Sphere was made into a film directed by Barry Levinson, which starred Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson.

©1987 by CrichtonSun LLC. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A page-turner with oomph.... Crichton's writing is cinematic, with powerful visual images and nonstop action." --Newsweek

What listeners say about Sphere

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Sphere

Any additional comments?

Written by Michael Crichton way back in the mid 1980s, this unabridged audiobook edition was released in 2015 and is narrated by Scott Brick - about thirteen hours of listening.

If you’re looking for a written duplication of the movie, this is not gonna work for you! Although trite, I’ll say "The book is better."… and Hollywood’s twist completely messes with the story.

In a plot similar to Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, written in 1969, a diverse group of scientific people are brought together to what they all believe to be a plane crash in the mid-Pacific. A biologist, mathematician, astrophysicist, etc., in addition to Norman - the group psychologist and the lead character of Sphere, are tasked with determining what happened - and they are soon to understand, determining what exactly rests 1000 feet below the surface, since it is not an airplane. Crichton even repeats the physical examinations required to handle the sea habitats of Sphere as apposed to the bio-habitat of the Andromeda Strain. Albeit completely different stories, these initial fundamentals are virtually identical.

Sphere is a decent SciFi, written with the somewhat pedestrian style of Crichton. Not earth shattering prose, just good storytelling that will hold your attention. If you like SciFi or if you like Michael Crichton, you’ll enjoy. Author of such mega-hits as Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton died in 2008. His books are slowly moving into the SciFi classic category and are must reads for anyone interested in the genre. SciFi nerds will approve of considerable techno-babble detail and Crichton’s attempt at credibility.

Scott Brick does a terrific job, nice reading.

A fun listen.

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134 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Crichton: Good storyteller, Bad writer

Seems like an oxymoron but Crichton is a bad writer. EVERY expression of dialog is "he said" "Beth said" "Ted said" "said" "said" "said" "SAID" No "replied", "asked", "retorted", "exclaimed", "laughed", or any other word in the dictionary that describes a character's spoken word.

That is why I gave it 4 stars. The story is great. Very interesting, a good twist(s?), decent suspense, good character actualization (the things the characters do and say even though they always "said" them). AMAZING RESEARCHER. There were several places that he could have skimmed over details but you can tell he took the time to research what would actually happen and wrote it. I appreciate that.

But anything and everything thing a character says is" SAID." Even if it's a QUESTION!!! HOW DO YOU "SAID" A QUESTION!?!?

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118 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH HARRY

NOT THE UNDERWATER HOLIDAY INN
Crichton, underwater habitat, space ship, STUPID ALIEN, black hole, time travel, giant squid, conspiracies, and a plethora of science talk, what more do you want? I am pretty sure you could not cram more Science Fiction goodness in one book and keep it so good. I loved the movie (with Dustin Hoffman), which is a little different and has great special effects and is very scary and I love the book. Very entertaining and like all Crichton books, you will learn something. This is a must read for anyone who wants to be considered well read in the Science Fiction Field. Scott Brick does a wonderful job.

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93 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An exciting thriller at the bottom of the sea!

Norman Johnson is a psychologist specialized in how stress affects group dynamics. He is often called out by the FAA to help survivors of plane crashes and their families deal with the aftermath. So when he's escorted by the US Navy out to the South Pacific he assumes a plane has crashed into the ocean.

It turns out to be something far stranger.

Once upon a time, a younger Norman, desperate for grant money, wrote a report for the government about how to handle first contact with alien intelligence. He said abject terror would be the result when humans were confronted with the unknown. Now, he is about to put his hypothesis to the test. A thousand feet beneath the ocean, something has been found. A craft that has been down there for at least 300 years.

A team of scientists, recommended by Norman, and a group of navy personal are tasked with uncovering what is and, if anything is alive, how to communicate with it. Staying in cramped quarters, surrounded by the crushing depths of the sea where a small mistake could get them all killed, the pressures are incredible. Can Norman keep the group functional when the discover the Sphere lurking in the heart of the craft?

Crichton's Sphere is an interesting take on the first contact with aliens story. It's told from the psychologist point of view and it delves into many aspects of emotional reactions and Jungian's theory of the shadow self. Personalities conflict and clash. The unknown lurks around them, affecting them all as they struggle to understand just what they have discovered.

And that's before things start going weird. Cricton goes a great job setting up the mystery and how it affects the characters. The answers for the story are found if you read carefully. But that's not what the story is truly about. It's about how people handle stress and how they can rise to the occasion, or break beneath the strain. It's about what people can do when they're taken to their limits. The Sphere, the mystery of it, is merely the catalyst around which Crichton has penned this excellent character study.

One of my favorite Crichton novels, blending suspense, emotion, and wonder with a pervading miasma of dread hanging over everything.

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89 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Every bit as underwhelming as the movie....

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Scott Brick was brilliant as always, but the story just didn't deliver. I saw the movie some 10 years ago, and thought it was a great idea that just didn't pan out. I figured it was a typical case of just being a bad adaptation of a highly touted novel. But no, the book just strings you along, making you think there would be this cool revelation about the sphere, only to give what feels like a cop out of an ending. I recommend pass on it.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Here's a new drinking game, every time a character says "Jesus!" Take a shot. You will be trashed in a few chapters. The vocabulary was lacking and the "experts" that comprised the main characters seemed to be not much more than bumbling idiots for the majority of the story. I finished the book only to get my money's worth, but I won't waste the time again. This was disappointing because I enjoyed Chrichton's Jurassic Park series very much. If I had to sum up the experience in one word it would be *annoying*.

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61 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Exciting even if you've seen the movie

What did you like best about this story?

I'm going to admit that I committed the ultimate sin and read the book because I enjoyed the movie rather than vice versa. Even though I knew the basic story I found the book suspenseful and exciting. The characters are better developed and more three dimensional in the book. Their motives were more understandable and their characters were more diverse.

Any additional comments?

Even though I will always enjoy the movie I feel like it did the book a disservice. The book gives more scientific explanation. The characters are more intelligent. Those touches made the whole world feel more believable. They were trapped for a reason. The manifestations all happened for a reason. The giant squid was a character in the book rather than a plot device. I loved it.

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43 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

I made it about 5 hours in, just couldn't listen any more. Nothing happens, bunch of in fighting and boredom. Had to move on.

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not worth the read

Literally the book to no where. I wanted to love this book so much, just kept waiting. got to the end dissapointed

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26 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun sci-fi page-turner

Very entertaining page-turner, it brings up interesting ideas about aliens, black holes, time travel. Mostly though it's about the characters and their struggles to deal with the menace and survive. Enjoyed it a lot.

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