Prey

As a rule, I'm not a big Crichton fan. This book changed my mind. Well written. Well researched. Terrific plot of a terrifying possibility. The icing on the Crichton cake? The book's narrator. Why can't every book have such a perfect reader?

If you are a fan of Creighton's other works, especially his earlier titles, this is a very enjoyable listen. I did find that I was able to deduce the plot after about 2 chapters maximum, but the elegant way the story unfolds makes up for a degree of this transparency. The last few chapters were very exciting and I found myself truly doubting whether the hero would be able to come out on top, which in my mind is the sign of a good thriller.

The only other problem I had was the heavy use of technical asides that really didn't add very much to the story. In most cases, the information presented is mildly interesting at best and could be left out with no real difference. It seems almost as though Creighton can't decide if he should explain everything or nothing, and the technical details fall into the middle range, where the scientific minded will find them superficial and cumbersome, and the average reader will find an excessive amount of jargon and trivia.

Still, it was a good story and worth your time.

This was a great sci-fi, suspence, action novel! It kept me on my toes guessing what was next. I am in the computer/technology industry and this has some very interesting concepts. The narrator did a very good job which helped make the book even better. This was one of the best ones I have listened to since joining Audible. Definitely recommend!!!

This book was really good. The beginning completely throws one off track with our hero playing an unemployed at home person with very hunorous eposisodes of his home adventures. The story quickly moves up to top speed and from there won't let you stop listening. Everything from great research, believable plot and Scott Brick doing a great job as narrator, will keep you riveted to your earphones until the last scene.

The story was the sort of story I was expecting. If you've read other Michael Crichton books think Andromeda Strain not Jurassic Park. Lots of technical stuff but doesn't get to gripping suspense until the end. Unfortunately the narrator did an adequate job of reading but was licking his lips or swallowing constantly. I'm usually pretty tolerant about such things but this was so bad that I found it very distracting from the story.

A great "read" overall. It starts slow thanks to TONS of background on the characters -- far too much, I thought -- but once Jack gets into the meat of the plot it is thrilling. I'd also reiterate what's been said earlier: The sample clip is largely of Michael Crichton himself narrating the foreward to the book - very dry. The actual narrator, George Wilson, picks it up at Chapter 1 and is SUPERB in his reading. He expertly acts all the parts in the book, convincingly giving you men, women, and children characters. His performance really elevated this audiobook a notch.

Having read books or seen movies based on his books, and having read the summary of this book, I began to listen with great anticipation. However, one of the biggest dispponitments was the amount of time that was devoted to the characters in the opening portions of the book. That honestly could have been cut down to 1 1/2 to 2 hours and--I think--still would have given us enough info about the characters. I personally thought that 4 hours was *way* too much time. Yet once he got into the meat of the story, it was a fast and exciting ride. Some good edge of your seat moments.

I also agree with 2 points brought out in earlier reviews:

1) There was too much foul language in the story. I sometimes will listen to a book at work and I had to be very careful because I work in a place where the public can hear what I'm listening to.

I would like to see Audible institue a rating system or at least a warning as to content for those who may have a need to be concerned over such things.

2) And on a more positive note, I too thought that the narrator did and excellent job with voice characterization. Young Eric's, "It"s not fair!" is just how you would expect an 8 year old boy to sound.

I would have liked to have given the book 4 or 5 stars, but the language and the slow start have moved me to give it three.

If you don't have a problem with thw slow begining or the language, it's a pretty good book to listen to.

George Wilson (the reader) must drool more than my 4 month old daughter. Geesus! He made me sick after the first three sentences. Be forewarned that at the end of about every three sentences, the reader slurps, swallows, and slurps again. You'd think a best selling author could keep his reader from what sounds like eating corn on the cob while doing the performance. I can just see the guy, jowls flopping, waddle quivering, foaming lips - and a pool of saliva gathering on the desktop and dripping off the microphone. He all but destroyed any value. Be sure to towel off after listening to this book.

If you could overlook just how ignorant the main character was of anyone else's intentions, it was an intriguing book. The guy was a real dope. And it was a shame that most of the questions that came up during the story were only answered in the summary at the end, rather than truly being part of the story - like Crichton got tired of writing and just wanted to quickly tie up the loose ends in one paragraph. Where "Timeline" was one of the most thoroughly memorable books I've ever been through, this one will be notable only with respect to it's unfulfilled potential.

I have read all his books - this one is his worst effort so far. Is he loosing his magic touch? I hope not. Do your ears a favor and stay away from this one (or your eyes if you plan to buy the book).