Book Review: Micro by Michael Crichton

Micro: A Novel
by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

Publisher: Harper Publishing
Release Date: 2011
ISBN: 9780060873028
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 448
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Library
Time to read: 1 day
aStore Link (Real Book): Micro: A Novel
aStore Link (Kindle Book): Micro: A Novel

Summary (from Amazon.com)

In a locked Honolulu office building, three men are found dead with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye.

In the lush forests of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven graduate students at the forefront of their fields are recruited by a pioneering microbiology start-up. Nanigen MicroTechnologies dispatches the group to a mysterious lab in Hawaii, where they are promised access to tools that will open a whole new scientific frontier. 

But once in the Oahu rain forest, the scientists are thrust into a hostile wilderness that reveals profound and surprising dangers at every turn. Armed only with their knowledge of the natural world, they find themselves prey to a technology of radical and unbridled power. To survive, they must harness the inherent forces of nature itself. 

An instant classic, Micro pits nature against technology in vintage Crichton fashion. Completed by visionary science writer Richard Preston, this boundary-pushing thriller melds scientific fact with pulse-pounding fiction to create yet another masterpiece of sophisticated, cutting-edge entertainment.

My Reaction

Since having to read endless pages of technical and theoretical textbooks for grad school, I've found it extremely difficult to get myself back into reading for fun. Add to that having an extra hour per day to drive to and from work along with a 2.5 year old son, working that into my schedule has become even more complex.  It seems that it took the author who pretty much started my love of reading as a young adult to get my back in the swing.

Michael Crichton's The Lost World was the first adult book I remember reading, ordering it from Scholastic in 9th grade because of my fanaticism with the movie Jurassic Park. It wasn't long before I read all of his books up to that point.

Last week, I took a long overdue visit to our local library and found the newest and posthumously published book from Crichton and borrowed it on impulse.  For the first time in probably a decade I read a book cover to cover within a day, staying up until past midnight to finish.  I couldn't put it down.

I'm not sure if the story was lighter on background information than most of Crichton's other books or if I could breeze through it faster being familiar with the biology of the book's protagonists of nature: insects and creatures of the forest floor. Either way, because I wasn't trying to absorb all the facts and details I was able to get through chapter after chapter like I was reading a Goosebumps book.  It was a very refreshing feeling.

The introduction, which typically lasts a couple dozen pages in a Crichton novel, ended abruptly in the middle of the third page with "Michael Crichton, unfinished," which immediately made me sad that my favorite author would no longer be producing new works. Then, the book featured a layout map of the site of the main action of the book and (uncharacteristically of his novels) a cast of characters. I referred back to these several times while reading just to get my bearings and remember which character I was just following.

The novel was completed by Richard Preston, whose work I have never read.  Though I don't know his writing style, I do know Crichton's.  So a little beyond halfway through the book, it almost felt like I walked through a door that led out of Crichton's head and into a different writer's. It was distracting enough to make me aware that the narrative had changed, with some character statements and actions that did not seem Crichton-esque.  This and some rather one-dimensional characters are the main reasons I did not give this a ranking higher than 4.

I would certainly read this book again, especially if I go back and do a Michael Crichton anthology reading marathon, like I used to do in high school.

For more information on this book:

Official Site of Michael Crichton: Micro

Amazon  |  Kindle

Book Review: Grave Descend by John Lange

[This is an old review I've moved over here that uses my short-lived and now defunct rating system and review format. It's been modified just a bit but mostly retains its old format.]

Grave Descend by John Lange

Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Company
Release Date: November 2006

ISBN: 9780843955972
Original Publisher: Constant c Productions; 1970
Format: PaperbackPage: 203
Genre: Mystery
Source: GoodReads swap
Time to Read: 2 hours
aStore Link (Real Book): Grave Descend

aStore Link (Kindle Book): Grave Descend

| Enjoyability: 4 | Readability: E | Characterization: 4 | Overall: A- |
(Traditional Rating: 4 Stars)

Synopsis (from Amazon)

SOMETHING’S GOING DOWN OFF THE COAST OF JAMAICA
Diver James McGregor is used to being hired to explore sunken ships. But there’s something strange about the wreck of the luxury yacht Grave Descend. No one who was aboard tells quite the same story about what happened. Then there’s the matter of the mysterious cargo they were carrying…
In one of the most beautiful places on Earth, a sinister plot is about to unfold. And if McGregor’s not careful, he may find himself in over his head.

Background

My favorite author since adolescence is Michael Crichton ever since I watched Jurassic Park and read The Lost World.  By the time I graduated high school, I had read everything he had printed in his own name to that point.  However, I had only read one of his pseudonymous works and really did not know what else he had written.  Thanks to GoodReads, I was able to get a quick list of everything attributed to Crichton and even put them on a wish list so, when someone was ready to swap out their copy, I would have a chance to get it.

Grave Descend was the first book to become available to swap from another GoodReads reader, and I jumped at the chance. (Unfortunately, the swapping feature of GoodReads has since been discontinued.)  This was a very quick read and pretty easy to follow.  Crichton had written this book while in medical school, and it was published in 1970.  That year it was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. The printing I read was the first reprint ever of the book (from my research), which was published for the Hard Case Crime series.

My Reaction

This was a very quick and enjoyable read. It reactivated that part of my brain that had enjoyed the Hardy Boys stories as I tried to figure out the mystery as it was unfolding. The main characters were easy to cheer on, rather reminiscent of the hero of an action movie.  The antagonists were complex enough to be believable, but still somewhat larger than life. I guess you get that from these stories where espionage and coverup are involved.

There were times when I got a bit confused by some of the action and which character was whom, a problem I think would be somewhat unavoidable in this specific story. I had to read the last chapter twice to figure out what did finally happen to the relationships of the main characters.  Overall, the book was a nice distraction from doing things not related to reading and is something I could easily pick up and read a couple more times.

For more information about this book:

Author's Website

Amazon  |  Kindle

Book Review: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

[This is an old review I've moved over here that uses my short-lived and now defunct rating system and review format. It's been modified just a bit but mostly retains its old format.]

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Publisher: Longmans, Green, and Co., 7th ed.
Release Date: 1886
Format: e-Book
Pages: 141
Genre: Gothic mystery; Classic
Source: Google Books
Time to Read: 3 hours
aStore Link: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

| Enjoyability: 5 | Readability: H | Characterization: 4 | Overall: A+ |

(Traditional Rating: 5 Stars)

Summary

A classic mystery (categorized as a Gothic mystery), Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story about Dr. Henry Jekyll, a well-known, upstanding and wealthy citizen.  While handling changes to his will, lawyer John Utterson, Jekyll's dear friend, is disturbed by the naming of the sole recipient of Jekyll's estate upon his death: one Edward Hyde.  Utterson's feeling gets even worse upon hearing about the beneficiary's character through another acquaintance who witnessed Hyde, whom he instantly and inexplicably disliked from the first sight. His friend saw Hyde trample over a child carelessly and then, once confronted, paid the parents off with a check signed by Jekyll himself.  The only explanation Utterson can arrive at is that Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll.

The story follows Utterson's attempt at helping Dr. Jekyll get out of the blackmail, investigating Hyde's background only to find that he has no history.  Utterson finally gets a breakthrough when a nobleman is beaten to death in the street and all the evidence points to Hyde.  Now Dr. Jekyll is secluded in his laboratory, isolating himself from his servants and friends, but the staff of Jekyll's estate are certain that Hyde has murdered Jekyll and is hiding out in the lab.  Utterson finds out the truth through sealed letters, which end the last two chapters of the book, only then revealing the mystery that most readers already know.

My Reaction

I have seen many variations of plays, movies, TV shows, and cartoons based on and inspired by Jekyll and Hyde, but this was this first time I had ever read it.  This was also the second book I have read by Stevenson (the first being Treasure Island).  Although it took me a while to get into Treasure Island, I was instantly gripped by J & H, and I think that is mostly because of my familiarity with the subject versus the former book.  When I read the first few pages, it almost felt like an episode of Law & Order, where you see the seemingly unrelated characters who just happened to stumble into the dead body of interest to that particular episode.  Unlike the show, however, I discovered that Utterson was really the central character and point of view for the book.

With that unexpected way of telling the story, I was very curious in how Utterson was involved in the whole reaction to relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Knowing the outcome of the story, the most fun for me was discovering the mystery with Utterson (more like a Columbo episode than Law & Order).  However, the way Stevenson wrote the story, I think it would have been a far more enjoyable read had I not known the twist to the story so well.  Fresh readers in the late 19th century were fortunate in this respect.

An element I was struck by that I must mention is the fluidity with which Stevenson interlaces scriptural references throughout the story.  Using a simple phrase from the Bible, the author instantly paints the picture that may have otherwise taken a paragraph to describe.  This was probably second nature to Stevenson, being the son of a minister (even though by the point of writing this book he was openly rejecting his religious upbringing).  Additionally, the common theme of the duality of the nature of Dr. Jekyll (torn between good and evil and seeking a way to separate them) is a striking allegory to the moral battle everyone faces.

Just as many people have said about Stevenson's other books, the author did not waste a word in the telling of this story.  I was engaged the whole way through and encourage anyone seeking a good classic read to choose Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

For more information on this book:

Reading Challenges:

2011 e-Book Challenge

Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

[This is an old review I've moved over here that uses my short-lived and now defunct rating system and review format. It's been modified just a bit but mostly retains its old format.]

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Pictures by W.W. Denslow

Publisher: George M. Hill Company; 1900

e-Book: 264 pages
Genre: Children's/Fairy Tale/Classic
Source: Google Books
Time to Read: 1-1/2 hours
Amazon Link: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

| Enjoyability: 5 | Readability: E | Characterization: 4 | Overall: A- |

Summary
The original published version of this classic fairy tale from L. Frank Baum is available as an e-book for free, complete with original illustrations by W.W. Denslow.  Though most famous for its 1939 film adaptation starring Judy Garland, the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz began in this book form as a modern fairy tale for the children of Baum's time.  In his introduction to the book, Baum claims that the old fairy tales could be filed away since moral lessons were now taught in modern schools and that this new tale exists solely for the enjoyment of its intended audience.

The story is familiar, but in its book form there are more adventures that failed to make it to the screen.  Dorothy, complete with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's one-room house and her dog Toto, are swept away by a tornado from gray, rural Kansas to the colorful and strange Land of Oz.  She is met by the Munchkins (here all dressed in blue) and the Good Witch of the North, celebrating the demise of the Wicked Witch of the East, who was smashed flat by Dorothy's house.  The Good Witch gives the little girl the dead witch's silver shoes and asks how she got there.  Dorothy only wants to get back to her aunt and uncle in Kansas, so the Witch of the East helps.

Dorothy is sent to the City of Emeralds on the road paved with yellow brick (I think the aforementioned imagery as it is worded as such in the book brings a fresh picture in mind, avoiding the movie cliché).  There she is to meet the Wizard of Oz, who should be able to help her get home.  Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion (all three about whose origins we find more backstory).  Her three comrades all have a need they would like to request from the Wizard. From there, they continue their journey along the road which passes through the several other adventures both before and after visiting the Wizard, who sends them on a quest to kill the Wicked Witch of the West before he honors their requests.

In the end, the three Oz residents in Dorothy's party are granted leadership by the peoples of three different lands within Oz (the Scarecrow becomes ruler of Emerald City, the Tin Woodman over the former Wicked Witch of the West's domain, and the Lion over the animals in the forest).  Glinda the Good Witch of the South (who only just appears near the end of the book) reveals the way for Dorothy to get back home.

My Reaction
I really enjoyed reading this book.  Having seen the movie more times than I can even recollect to count, I at first had the images of the movie in mind.  However, with the assistance of Baum's literary imagery and Denslow's original illustrations present in the e-book, I was able to completely reimagine the story, which turned out to be somewhat different from the movie.  As far as those differences, the characters in the book seemed more well-rounded, especially with the backstory that each of Dorothy's companions gave.

The fantastical land of Oz that Baum laid out was certainly one that children (and even well-imagining adult) readers could visualize and even almost believe while reading.  The way he had the different communities in Oz so markedly unique revealed the imagination the author had.  This is certainly a fairy tale with a good deal of adventure and fantasy that I believe any child would love to hear read over and over and which adults can read and enjoy.

For more information on this book:

Reading Challenges:
2011 e-Book Challenge

Book Review: The Night Room by E.M. Goldman

[This is an old review I've moved over here that uses my short-lived and now defunct rating system and review format. It's been modified just a bit but mostly retains its old format.]

The Night Room
by E.M. Goldman

Publisher: Viking Penguin
ISBN: 0670858382
Format: Paperback
Pages: 216
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
Source: Purchased at Dollar General
Time to read: 3 days
Amazon Link: The Night Room

| Enjoyability: 5 | Readability: H | Characterization: 3 | Overall: A- |
(Traditional Rating: 4.5 Stars)

Summary

Seven high school juniors are selected to participate in a computer program project called Argus, a simulator that thrusts each individual to their tenth high school reunion.  By combining lifestyle patterns obtained through student interviews, the students get a glimpse of what could be their futures.  As frightening and enlightening as that is, they also discover that one member of their group is missing from the reunion, a memorial plaque revealing her date of death.  Each successive student's experience with Argus adds another layer to the building suspense as Ira and the others try to figure out what happened to her and what they can do to stop it.  Through it all, the students discover more about themselves, their relationships, and the value of living.

The story in third-person narrative mainly follows student Ira Martinic, with a few side stories involving other members of the teen test group, as well as some behind-the-scenes drama with people directly involved in the production of Argus. 

My Reaction

When I saw that Goldman dedicated the book "To the Crew of the Starships Enterprise" and read her bio, I figured I would fit right in with her style of writing.  Throughout the book, the characters refer to Argus as a version of the Holodeck from the Star Trek series, and it was a fair approximation without being a complete copy of the idea.  The copyright date of 1995 placed the book in the timeline of when Star Trek: The Next Generation was a current series, which incidentally was the same time I was young and watching the series.  I related to this book well.

Although the 11th grade characters were a small sampling of typical school caricatures (school paper reporter, all-around nice guy, chick everyone wants to date, jock), Goldman did a good job of rounding them out as they reacted to their simulated future selves.  The background story involving the Argus developer and her assistants adds sufficient information to the story, as well as more interest in their characters.  In fact, I think I would really enjoy another book focusing on some of the college students' experiences with Argus that led up to the high school experiment.

Though written for the secondary school age bracket, The Night Room I think appeals to anyone who has been in high school and can remember those moments when planning for an adult future was all at once exciting, frightening, and intriguing.  Fans of Star Trek: TNG will also appreciate some humorous parallels.

For more information on this book:

Book Review: The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A. Kaufelt

[This is an old review I've moved over here that uses my short-lived and now defunct rating system and review format. It's been modified just a bit but mostly retains its old format.]

The Ruthless Realtor Murders (A Wyn Lewis Mystery)
by David A. Kaufelt

Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: 1997
ISBN: 1416502998
Format: Paperback
Pages: 244
Genre: Mystery
Source: Purchased at Dollar General.
Time to read: 12 days
Amazon Link: The Ruthless Realtor Murders

| Enjoyability: 3 | Readability: H | Characterization: 2 | Overall: C- |
(Traditional Rating: 2 Stars)

Summary

Wynsome Lewis is a thirty-something realtor in fictional Waggs Neck Harbor, New York, where realty and money are on everyone's minds.  Some shady property deals have led to two women being strangled to death with pantyhose years earlier; now another realtor is dead, and the killer is still at large.  As one of the "Ruthless Realtors" connected to a particularly questionable real estate venture, Wyn discovers that she is very likely on the vengeful murderer's list.  Lecherous big city Detective Pasko, in an attempt to reclaim public reputation, investigates the town's curious characters to narrow down the potential suspects.  His plan leads to using Wyn as bait, but she would rather try to figure out the case herself.

My Reaction

It took me a long time to get into this book.  Out of the 29 chapters, I didn't really get interested in solving the mystery until about Chapter 16.  Before then, I could barely read two chapters at a time.  I really never warmed up to the main character, Wyn Lewis.  Since this was the third in the series of Kaufelt's Wyn Lewis series, I wonder if perhaps I missed some character development in the previous two books.  By the end of the book, though, I did finally warm up to her.  I really liked her husband more, even though he was basically a male paragon, but the book was not about him.

Pasko had no redeeming qualities about him, and he was one of the "good guys."  The necessary "bad cop" and tough guy from the streets, Pasko was to me more of a bother to have to read.  His diametric opposite, Captain Homer Price, was another character I enjoyed and would have loved to read more about.  Unfortunately, his role in the story fizzled out in the end.  I did find a few of the other characters mildly endurable, but that's about it.

My least favorite part of the book was the way a few of the characters would say "like" as in "Like I need this inconvenience!"  It may be a way of talking in New York, or perhaps I was reading it with the wrong intonation in my head.  But it always seemed to me that the multiple times Kaufelt used that idiom was like hearing your grandmother say "cool" or "internet" with an awkward, not contextually accurate word placement.

I was satisfied with the ending, partly because it did end, but also because Kaufelt did keep the mystery pretty suspenseful throughout, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.  All in all, it was not a total waste of time to read.  If I could go back, I think I might have read the beginning of the series first.

For more information on this book:

Book Review: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

[This is an old review I've moved over here that uses my short-lived and now defunct rating system and review format. It's been modified just a bit but mostly retains its old format.]

Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Publisher: Penguin Popular Classics
Release Date: 1994
ISBN: 0140620834
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Genre: Classic Fiction; Adventure
Source: Purchased for 39¢ at the local Goodwill store.
Time to read: 9 days
Amazon Link: Treasure Island

| Enjoyability: 5 | Readability: H | Characterization: 4 | Overall: A+ |
(Traditional Rating: 5 Stars)

Summary

Treasure Island was Robert Louis Stevenson's first full-length, published novel, which began as a story for his stepson.  The main character and the narrator is a boy named Jim Hawkins who lives and works in his parents' Admiral Benbow Inn.  A drunken buccaneer has been living at the inn and causing quite a scene among the locals.  After he receives a black spot (an item representing pirate judgment) from an old, blind pirate named Pew, the buccaneer dies, leaving behind an unpaid room and a seaman's chest.  Jim and his mother open the chest and find a bag full of coins of all different nationalities and a document containing a map.  They escape the inn just before a band of pirates begin to break in and search for the map, which leads to an island containing Captain Flint's buried treasure.

Jim takes the map to Doctor Livesey and Squire Trelawney, who then immediately embark on a voyage on the ship Hispaniola, hiring Captain Smollet and a crew recommended by Long John Silver.  Silver and most of the crew he brings with him were part of Flint's voyage to Skeleton Island, unbeknownst to Livesey and Trelawney.  At sea, Jim finds himself in a barrel of apples and accidentally overhears plans for mutiny from the pirates, which he soon relays to Livesey, Trelawney, and the Captain.  Soon to land at the island, Jim Hawkins and the rest of the trustworthy crew plan a way to make it off the island with the treasure and their lives.

My Reaction

Until I read this book, I did not realize how much I already knew about it simply from references in popular culture. International Talk Like a Pirate Day could very well have been originated from a group of readers fond of this classic tale of pirates, treasure, and island adventure.  In fact, I found just about everything I think about when I imagine pirates in this book.  (The only thing Stevenson left out was a few hundred uses of the now ubiquitous pirate word "Arr!" but that may be anachronistic.)  This alone I think demonstrates the far-reaching influence of this book as it applies to the popular view of pirate caricatures.

Normally when one thinks of reading "classic literature" one expects a laborious trek through hundreds of pages of archaic phrases and unfamiliar circumstances.  Treasure Island is a refreshing reminder of why there are "classics" and has encouraged me to seek out others to read.  Despite being over one hundred years old, it is easy to immerse oneself in Jim Hawkins' place throughout the action.

It took me a few pages to get used to some of the nautical terminology and Stevenson's use of apostrophes and phonetic spelling to illustrate the way the pirates were talking.  However once I figured out what he was doing, the characters' voices in my head were clear.  The action and suspenseful moments kept me turning the pages.  I even jumped a bit in the part when Jim accidentally ended up with the pirates in the middle of the night.  Descriptions easily laid out the setting of Skeleton Island.  In fact, some of the more bloody scenes were surprisingly descript considering this was a tale aimed at young boys, but nowadays the target audience has seen more than that in a single video game.

I was also impressed with the character development within the novel.  This was truly a coming-of-age type of tale for Jim Hawkins, learning nobility and honor practically as he fought to keep his and his party's lives and dignity.  Long John Silver was mostly the star throughout because of his interesting mannerisms ("and you can lay to that") and his manipulative character.  Just when I thought I figured out Silver's motivation, he pulled out another trick.  The rest of the characters were distinct and multi-dimensional, with only one or two archetypes (Pew being one of evil villain, though he doesn't last long in the book).

Overall, as many other reviewers have said, Stevenson did not waste any words in writing Treasure Island.  Everything written had purpose and added to the story.  I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a fun exciting page-turner, as well as to anyone wanting to get started reading the classics.

For more information on this book: