Micro

If you liked Jurassic Park, than I suggest reading Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. (Crichton died in 2008, while writing Micro, and Richard Preston was selected to finish the novel.) Something unique and interesting to the book is the author's note in the beginning which was written by Michael Crichton. The points that he make our well-thought out and make you really think, but he died before finishing the note.

Micro begins with the baffling death of 3 men in an office locked from the inside. All men bled to death. The only indication of something wrong are hundreds of small, razor-like cuts made by a robot so small it is all but invisible to the human eye. When an opportunity of a life-time arises, college-students at the top of their fields; Rick, Karen, Peter, Erika, Amar, Jenny, and Danny take it. Once again, Crichton introduces a world both familiar and strange to us, a world of beauty and violence, a world where a person's fate is decided with terrifying precision and almost no time to react.

Though Micro is not as sophisticated as Jurassic Park, it isn't a bad story. I love Crichton's fast-paced, but detailed writing style. His talent for setting the stage for action is apparent and I appreciate that he wastes little time in beginning the story. Crichton grips the reader with vivid details, but there is a decidedly deadly undertone, in the sharpness of his words and also in the scenes of Micro. Tastefully, the author includes some humor between characters to break up the intensity occasionally. From reading Jurassic Park before, I can see that the author has a fascination of a peaceful Paradise that turns deadly quickly. Though, I liked Micro I didn't connect with the characters which was a bit unsatisfying, especially during scenes in between the action.. Another problem with the characters was they were undeveloped. An example of this is Vincent who was overly evil. I found him unrealistic and undeveloped, his purpose was to be the villain and that was all he was, there wasn't a single somewhat likable trait which would have given the story a touch more of plausibility. I'm not altogether sure about how I should judge Micro because of the book it might have been should Crichton have lived until Micro was finished and the difficulty of switching authors mid-story. Micro is not the best book I have ever read, nor is it the worst but if you liked Jurassic Park style of stories than you may like Micro.