Micro

A Novel

By: Michael Crichton, Richard Preston

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Striking Gold again

Michael Crichton hits it home again with another well researched thriller. His attention to detail and forethought capture the imagination yet again.

I hope Crichten writes a sequel.

As a science major and avid nsture enthudist this book is right up my alley.

sad. just sad

this is just an adult version of "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids"....just could not sit thru it.

Imagination

I love everything about this book,love ,love ,love ,love ,love this book and it’s performance

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.

Excellent book and narration

The narration was really good and fully successful in capturing the correct tone of the story . Really enjoyed listening to the book. Definitely recommend it

Amazing that it is happening.

2 Nobel Prize winning Scientists just invented a machine that is smaller than a hair. Gives new meaning to this science fiction.
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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.

Land of the Giants, again

I rate the Audible version of the novel Micro by Michael Crichton 4 of 5 stars. The only reason for not giving five stars is that the plot seemed like a rerun. Think of this book as TV's the Land of the Giant's meets the movie Fantastic Voyage meets the movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids. While interest, it was hard to suspend the belief in the ability to shrink people and equipment. While it was a solid suspense novel, I'll give it a mild recommendation.