Micro

A Novel

By: Michael Crichton, Richard Preston

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

In Jurassic Park, he created a terrifying new world. Now, in Micro, Michael Crichton reveals a universe too small to see and too dangerous to ignore.

In a locked Honolulu office building, three men are found dead with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye.

In the lush forests of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven graduate students at the forefront of their fields are recruited by a pioneering microbiology start-up. Nanigen MicroTechnologies dispatches the group to a mysterious lab in Hawaii, where they are promised access to tools that will open a whole new scientific frontier.

But once in the Oahu rain forest, the scientists are thrust into a hostile wilderness that reveals profound and surprising dangers at every turn. Armed only with their knowledge of the natural world, they find themselves prey to a technology of radical and unbridled power. To survive, they must harness the inherent forces of nature itself.

An instant classic, Micro pits nature against technology in vintage Crichton fashion. Completed by visionary science writer Richard Preston, this boundary-pushing thriller melds scientific fact with pulse-pounding fiction to create yet another masterpiece of sophisticated, cutting-edge entertainment.

©2011 John Michael Crichton Trust (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

NOT nearly as bad as others report

I have listened to ALL of crichton's books and many from preston. No, its not as great as say Prey, or his masterwork State of Fear, BUT its better than some others. Some sections and scenes are far fetched regardless of the technology. Example, at a tiny state the people and objects mass is reduced to the point where a breeze can blow them away but other natural and man made effects are substantially less so. The characters are a little light weight (no pun intended), true enough. I just hope that this is the LAST "crichton" book, so that he doesn't end up like the dead robert ludlum

Micro ~ intense!

What a brilliant novel! Loved every minute of it. Can't wait for the movie. RIP Michael Crichton❤

A fun read.

A fun read. Just waiting to be made into a movie.
Too bad Michael Crichton died, cause I would have loved a sequel, and I always loved his books.

Great story!

What made the experience of listening to Micro the most enjoyable?

The reader was good. I enjoyed his voices and interpretations of the characters. The story kept me interested.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked all of the students.

What about John Bedford Lloyd’s performance did you like?

His voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

I love stories such as this and appreciate Michael Crichton's scientific take and meshing it with fiction--he is missed.

action all the way

action all the way! Crichton continues to live on and show how great writing is done

Oh... pronunciation

it's Omi-Cron, not O-Micron. Otherwise, performance was fairly ok. Go ahead and purchase! I know I did.

Interesting Setting

The micro world setting is a fun exploration story. The dangerous insects were all exciting and the use of nature so on.
the dialogue is rough but it didnt deter my enjoyment of this world.
was left at a possible sequel ending so that's sad to see we wouldn't get whatever the next adventure would've been in this cool sco fi setting.

Fantastic Voyage meets Dr. Cyclops in the jungle

To say willing suspension of disbelief is necessary is an understatement. While Dr. Crichton provides excellent biological and psychological forensics for his characters, whose tribulations and strife in the story, the personalities provide insight to individual difficulties provides for good group insight and development of group dynamics to the storyline. The story itself is old fraught with difficulties and for anyone with a modicum of scientific background, will find old and tired. In Crichtonest fashion the antagonist and protagonist’s evolving a go-round of highly unlikely occurrences for individuals were supposedly so educated. All in all it’s a good campfire tail, narration is great storyline is so-so.

So Disapointed

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No! I do not, although Michael Chichton and Richard Preston tried to bring real science into the book Spoiler Alert! The main premise to of shrinking someone down to the size of an ant seems preposterous as our organs probably would not function because of surface tension of liquids, size of air molecules in our lungs etc. It was like a bad 40's- 50's scifi movie ala "the incredible Shrinking Man" and "Dr Cyclops". The writing is monotonous with too much detail for everyday actions and lame conversations. Also like many of Chichton stories it's too convenient that audio and or video just happened to be recorded to expose the culprit. I tried to get through it, but couldn't... I couldn't suspend my believe on this one (Although I was a Marvel Comics" Ant Man" fan in the 60's.

Has Micro turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I like many of Chrichton's earlier writings. I like good scifi, but as I have aged I have become more jaded, as I have read or seen the same themes done over and over and usually rather poorly. So a story has to be really good to get my interest. I did like "Prey".

What three words best describe John Bedford Lloyd’s voice?

I didn't particularly like or dislike his voice, The material would make it hard to listen to anyone.

Do you think Micro needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No leave it alone. Of course I didn't listen to the end so I don't know if the story was left open to have a sequel.

Any additional comments?

I recommend "Andromeda Strain", Jurassic Park", "Disclosure", "Airframe" and "Prey"from Chrichton, but you might start seeing the same kinds of plot props throughout his work. On the positive side I did and do still enjoy the above mentioned books although formulaic as they maybe. He was a smart man - May he rest in Peace.

Meh

The story started off interesting and you found yourself rooting for likable characters. However, by the end, I found myself daydreaming as well as fast forwarding through tangents and long repeated challenges the less likable characters went through. Not one I'll continue to think about or recommend to anyone. Just medium level entertainment for the commute.