Skip to main content

RIP - Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton, genius author, and director passed away the day before yesterday. This post is in his memory.

I am a huge fan of Crichton's work. My introduction to Crichton was The Andromeda Strain, a book that was gifted to me sometimes in school. I was much too young to enjoy it at the time, and after a few pages, I put it back on the shelf and forgot all about it. During my 11th or 12th grade, I got my hands on Congo. When I was done with it, I went back and dug up The Andromeda Strain. That was it. I was hooked.

In those days, my principal complaint against authors was that each wrote around set plot lines. Robin Cook and John Grisham were so boring after some time! I found Michael Crichton to be refreshingly different! (Now I know better, Crichton writes around the idea of the collapse of a "perfect" system, at least in most cases.) Slowly and steadily I gobbled up his entire works. These were some of the earliest books I bought for myself. In fact, today I own every single fiction novel of his except for Congo (People, this is a hint. Gift it to me and make me happy)

Of all of his books, I have a clear favorite. It is The Great Train Robbery. The story is set in Victorian England and loosely based on the Great Gold Robbery of 1855. This book completely enthralled me, I have read it countless times. I don't have a clear second favorite among Crichton's books, because they are all so good, but a few notable mentions would be Rising Sun (a murder occurs during a business meeting, and Japanese and American culture clashes thereafter, technology: some awesome evidence tampering), Timeline (historians traveling to the Middle ages, technology: Quantum Physics), Sphere (alien craft discovered at the bottom of the ocean, technology: psychology, discussions of interaction with aliens), Prey (a swarm of artificially created nanobots evolves out of control and starts attacking humans, technology: nanotechnology, intelligence in distributed systems, Lamarckian Evolution), Eaters of the Dead (set in the 10th century, about a Muslim who travels with the Vikings on their adventures, technology: eaters_of_the_dead! What else do you want!) and of course Jurassic Park (dinosaurs coming back to life in a supposedly controlled environment, technology: genetics, chaos theory)

Crichton has often been criticized that he wrote with a film adaptation in mind. Indeed, at least 11 of his books have been made into films. Even so, Crichton is a real joy to read (especially if you're geeky or into sci-fi) and I would recommend him to all book lovers.

Labels:

Comments

Akansha Agrawal said…
I've read only Sphere by him. It was a good read but I didn't follow up others. Dunno why... but I didn't.
November 7, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Post a Comment

Also read

Learning from Gardening

While composing status messages, just for fun, I simply jot down anything random that comes to my mind at the moment. Here is the latest FB message i posted few seconds ago. Tushar Mangl learns a lot from his gardening routine. Even when his plants die, he simply feels bad and then goes about to plan for new plants. Mostly because an empty space does not look that good. That is life for you. People will always go away from your life, at one point or another. But you cannot always leave the places vacan t. New plants have to be placed. Optimism has to exist for new flowers to bloom, new leaves to grow. Now, FB only gives me 422 characters to say my point. But my dear blogger, a companion of several years gives me much better platform to elaborate my thoughts. You see, in a flower bed I maintain near stairs of my house I had planted bougainvillea plants on either sides of the bed. As fate would have it, and given my nature of getting too attached to livi...
4 comments
Read more

A suggestion to break the loop of guilt, isolation, and emotional burnout?

Caught in a guilt spiral, isolating quietly, and wondering why rest doesn’t heal you? You’re not lazy—you’re carrying layers of unprocessed emotion and spiritual exhaustion. This is your invitation to pause, reflect, and reset. Let’s explore why you still feel stuck despite good intentions, and discover rituals, reflections, and real reconnection to help you come home to yourself. First Published on 20/06/2008 14:30 Second edition Published on 04/07/2025 12:51 Why do you keep spiraling despite good intentions? Let me ask you this. Have you ever written out a self-care plan so perfectly, maybe in a brand-new notebook—drink more water, meditate, go to therapy—and yet by day three you’re numbly binge-scrolling, wondering what’s broken now ? Yeah. Same. We don’t spiral because we’re undisciplined or lazy. We spiral because the emotional weight we’re carrying goes deeper than we admit. It's not about a missed workout or failing to reply to that one text. It's the inner tug-of...
2 comments
Read more

Cutting people off isn’t strength—It is a trauma response

Your ability to cut people off and self-isolate is not a skill you should be proud of—It is a trauma response Cutting people off and self-isolating may feel like a protective shield, but it is often rooted in unresolved or unhealed trauma and an inability to depend on others. While these behaviors seem like self-preservation, they end up reinforcing isolation and blocking meaningful connections. Confronting these patterns, seeking therapy, and nurturing supportive relationships can help break this unhealthy cycle. Plus, a simple act like planting a jasmine plant can symbolise the start of your journey towards emotional healing. Why do we cut people off and isolate? If you’re someone who prides themselves on “cutting people off” or keeping a tight circle, you might believe it’s a skill—a way to protect yourself from betrayal, hurt, or unnecessary drama. I get it. I’ve been there, too. But here’s the thing: this ability to isolate yourself is not as empowering as it may seem. In fact, i...
Post a Comment
Read more