The Andromeda Strain

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: David Morse

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

First published fifty years ago, The Andromeda Strain redefined the science fiction genre, and immediately established Michael Crichton as one of the brightest voices in contemporary literature worldwide.

"I love anything Michael Crichton writes." (Stephen King)

A military space probe, sent to collect extraterrestrial organisms from the upper atmosphere, is knocked out of orbit and falls to Earth. Twelve miles from the crash site, an inexplicable and deadly phenomenon terrorizes the residents of a sleepy desert town in Arizona, leaving only two survivors: an elderly addict and a newborn infant.

The United States government is forced to mobilize Project Wildfire, a top-secret emergency response protocol. Four of the nation’s most elite biophysicists are summoned to a clandestine underground laboratory located five stories beneath the desert and fitted with an automated atomic self-destruction mechanism for cases of irremediable contamination. Under conditions of total news blackout and the utmost urgency, the scientists race to understand and contain the crisis. But the Andromeda Strain proves different from anything they’ve ever seen - and what they don’t know could not only hurt them, but lead to unprecedented worldwide catastrophe.

©1969 Constant c Productions, Inc.; Copyright renewed 1996 by CrichtonSun LLC (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Not bad, build up was better than end

Very wordy and detailed, which helps in some areas but makes getting through some sections a chore. I feel like some of the military protocols and messages could have been summarized more. The ending left me wanting, some probably found it fine but I felt like it was cliche and didn't tie in well to the rest of the story.

Suffers in audiobook form

While the story was good it slows down to a crawl whenever the main characters look at data or transcripts. It can take 5 minutes to get through a lab report.

2 hours of almost straight statistics

I couldn’t finish. If I could figure out where the “meat” of the story was I would have gladly skipped to it. All that I heard besides about maybe 20 minutes, and I think I’m being generous, was statistics that for me added nothing to the story. It just sounded like drowning after awhile. I’m not saying some aren’t needed but 2 full hours. Good grief. Needless to say I got 2 1/2 hours in and just couldn’t do anymore.

Dated and too technical sometimes

The technical aspects tend to go too detailed unnecessarily.

This story is definitely dated. But it's understandable since it's from 1969. It could've done without the minute details on biology and science. The Martian was better in this regard.

David Morse is outstanding

Best thing about this audible selection is David Morse's narration. Wow. This is for sure top 3 narration on my list. This should be a standard for narrators. You don't have to do different voices for all the characters; but if you do, it better be good. This is outstanding; lots of different accents, along with individual speech patterns. That said, the book itself it too smart for me, I'm ashamed to say. It's about how the government, researchers and doctors would react in the wake of an extraterrestrial biothreat. This book details logistical details, and I see that this appeals to fans of this book. I agree that it wraps up too quickly. I'm not sure if I would have finished it had the narration not been so good.

fascinating!

Kept me on my toes the whole time! Loved the narration and intensity of the story.

An acquired taste

What did you like best about The Andromeda Strain? What did you like least?

I was expecting something different. Not to say that what I got was bad, just not what I expected. The scientific and military explanations really are long winded and super detailed, which creates the air of believability and kept me listening, but in the end I got so lost in the jargon the end left me, "ehh"

Would you be willing to try another book from Michael Crichton? Why or why not?

I would be willing to try another book from Crichton.

Which scene was your favorite?

In the build-up to the end the scientists are underground dealing with the Andromeda Strain and all their personal fears and end of the Earth pressure on their shoulders. I did enjoy the realism of the scenario.

Do you think The Andromeda Strain needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It was left with a big open ending. I did feel like I was left hanging. It really seems that the end came abruptly after the build up to the detonation. It almost seemed anti-climactic.

Not smart enough I guess for this book

Honestly I felt like there was too much science for me. There was quite a bit of of boredom for me. I think this book would be more for someone who likes science. I had a hard time getting interested in it.

Andromeda Strain

I was expecting a much faster pasted thriller from this book but it just wasn't that exciting. The only fast paced part of the book was the very end, it never really got that intense.

Great!

This was such an intriguing sto8y with great details and action scenes. Some pages left you on the edge of your seat! Very good read.