Summary and Reviews of Prey by Michael Crichton

Prey by Michael Crichton

Prey

by Michael Crichton
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (11):
  • First Published:
  • Nov 1, 2002, 384 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Nov 2003, 528 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Drawing on up-to-the-minute scientific fact, Crichton's new novel is a breathtaking tale of suspense about a mechanical plague and the desperate efforts of a handful of scientists to stop it.

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive. It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour. Every attempt to destroy it has failed. And we are the prey.

As fresh as today's headlines, Michael Crichton's most compelling novel yet tells the story of a mechanical plague and the desperate efforts of a handful of scientists to stop it. Drawing on up-to-the-minute scientific fact, Prey takes us into the emerging realms of nanotechnology and artificial distributed intelligence -- in a story of breathtaking suspense. Prey is a novel you can't put down. Because time is running out.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Book Magazine - Don McLeese
The problem with the literary division of the Crichton brand is that novels have no special effects. Though Prey will inevitably make the leap from the printed page to the big screen--where the battle between the swarms and their human prey will undoubtedly look spectacular--here it makes for weird science and a shallow story. At the end of Forman's ordeal, the reader could easily apply Jack's verdict on the man-made mess he'd encountered to the novel as a whole: "It was so dumb, it was breathtaking." Popcorn, anyone?

Booklist - Kristine Huntley
Crichton is the master of the sci-tech thriller, and nowhere is that more evident than in his latest page-turner, a scary, wild ride that is, without a doubt, his best in years.

Publishers Weekly
From the opening pages of Crichton's electrifying new thriller readers will know they are in the hands of a master storyteller. Crichton is at the top of his considerable game here.

Kirkus Reviews
All the usual Crichton elements are here...Normally, this would not be a problem, as even Crichton on autopilot still makes for a quick and entertaining, if ultimately unsatisfying, read. But this time the product is so by-the-numbers that even die-hard fans may find themselves bored.

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Read-Alikes

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