Michael Crichton

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June 17, 2020 at 10:57 am #164771
KiethBlackLion
If we’re going to talk about writers, I thought we should have a thread on Michael Crichton.

Being a fan of the Jurassic Park movies, I read the original book as well as the sequel and they are just phenomenal. The first movie diverts so much from the book that contains so much backstory on how the park is operated, the breeding of the dinosaurs and just how messed up things were without Nedry’s aid in shutting the park down. Hammond’s character is vastly different than the movie, Henry Wu is close to how his character is being portrayed in the new movies, and Grant was far more comfortable around children than the movie version. For me, the movie version of Ian Malcolm was pretty close to the book version.

I haven’t read any of Crichton’s other books and would be happy for any recommendations.
June 19, 2020 at 7:00 am #166820
Sajjux
Oh, Micheal Crichton was such a great author. I did like Jurassic Park movie and books. I don’t think if they adapted book faithfully it would work out that much, so first movie is ok, but after…

If you didnt read Sphere, then do, one of his best works. Also Timeline is good. Well, I think if you pick any of his book, it would be either good or excellent. I have been wanting to read his all remaining books for a while now.

You can also watch his movie Westworld, it’s old, but pretty good.
June 19, 2020 at 7:39 pm #167427
Brett Stevens
Crichton’s Pirate Latitudes is fantastic. Spielberg was developing an adaptation back in the day.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-takes-pirate-latitudes-88162
June 23, 2020 at 6:23 am #170110
KiethBlackLion
Thanks. I’ll definitely check those out. I remember when the movie Disclosure came out with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore and I was surprised when I learned that Michael Crichton wrote that novel as well.
June 24, 2020 at 10:50 am #171067
THATTUGGLIFE
Premium
Michael Chrichton is amazing. I love Timeline, it’s one of my favorite books.
June 24, 2020 at 1:58 pm #171143
ajpecanic
I’ve read Crichton off and on for years. I was so disappointed that the movie version of the Lost World was nothing like the book. I thought that book’s themes were so much more interesting than the jump scares Spielberg put in the sequel.

As for other Crichton books, my favorites were Sphere and State of Fear. I haven’t read Sphere in a long, long time, so I don’t know if it holds up, but State of Fear is still good and relevant.
July 2, 2020 at 12:12 pm #174504
KiethBlackLion
The novel version of the Lost World felt more like a suspense, detective story and would have loved it if Spielberg had done more of the “investigation into InGen” that the book did rather than the InGen mercs coming to get the dinosaurs. Definitely a situation in which a smaller cast would have been better.
July 19, 2020 at 9:04 pm #179395
Open_AirlockPolicy
Late reply.

Rising Sun is horribly dated, but I think it would still be enjoyable. I remember being completely let down by the film, which changed everything, including the murderer.

As Tuggs mentioned, Timeline is highly recommended.

Disclosure was fantastic and an oddly prescient answer to “me too” extremism.

State of Fear is a must.

Airframe bored the shit out of me. Never finished it. Pirate Latitudes seemed to meander with no real poimt.
July 27, 2020 at 7:55 pm #180709
Hulksmash
Oh yeah, I loved all the Jurassic park movies, except for the third one, due to a particular spinosaur
August 1, 2020 at 8:51 pm #181751
RebelSquadron
Not sure you can go wrong with any of his books. Can’t recall reading one of his stories that I didn’t like.
March 12, 2021 at 7:41 pm #212277
comicsgate
Two authors compared to MC are Daniel Suarez and Robin Cook. I like them all.
March 24, 2021 at 9:45 pm #214644
StarWarsEffect
I love “State of Fear” and wish someone would adapt it into a movie or miniseries.
March 24, 2021 at 11:22 pm #214653
ThrillHouse
i’ve read most of Michael Crichton’s books, after starting with Jurassic Park. My next favourite was Sphere, Timeline, and also loved Andromeda Strain. I was very disappointed in the movies, with the exception of Jurassic Park. The movie Disclosure wasn’t great, Sphere was really disappointing, and don’t get me started on Congo. I could barely finish the movie.
April 24, 2021 at 4:43 pm #219414
THATTUGGLIFE
Premium
Timeline is my favorite Chrichton book, I definitely recommend that one if you haven’t read it already!
May 26, 2021 at 9:24 pm #225938
Rykerjackson97
Jurassic Park is my favorite film of all time, so for me it was a no-brainer to check out the novel. I really enjoyed it, although it is quite different tonally. The movie really captured the majesty of the dinosaurs and a lot of the wonder of the situation. I kind of felt like the book skipped all of that, and was much more cynical overall. I don’t necessarily think that this is a negative, though; just a different way of presenting the story. I still enjoyed both the film and the book, but the movie still holds more nostalgic value for me since I saw it when I was so young. I was never really able to get super into The Lost World as a novel. It isn’t terrible, it just felt somewhat unnecessary, I thought that the first book ended fairly well. The same is true of the film adaptation. I’m definitely not a fan of Spielberg’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, the only other work of Chrichton’s that I’ve read up to this point is State of Fear, which was recommended to me. I thought it was great, although some of the pacing felt off. It’s an especially great book considering it provides a solid refutation of climate change hysteria. I’d definitely love to read more Chrichton, I guess I’ll just have to keep a look out for his best works.
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