[Radone]

Died too soon and too young. Some of favorites seem to be passing all too quickly. Was Crichton a great author? Probably not from a pure writing standpoint, but he did have some very cool ideas and his influence on pop. culture was huge. He'll be missed.

[JFTIII]

Crichton had ideas that blew away any other author... maybe not the next great American novelist, but he sure had amazing and thought-out ideas that took readers and movie goers to places they never thought they would be.

[WyrvenGuard]

Michael Chrichton got me into reading :( First book I ever read for enjoyment was Congo..

He may not have been known for his skill with the english language (I personally think he was amazing writer), but he was one of the freshest thinkers, and his stories were something to behold. From reading Jurrasic Park and Congo to reading some of his newer books like Prey and State of Fear, I'll always consider him one of my favorites of all time.

Thanks Michael for the memories.

[Gary Wassner]

We went to the same High School! But not at the same time....

Wow, what a shame.

[Werthead]

He wrote some great movies, that's for sure. The Andromeda Strain, The Thirteenth Warrior, Jurassic Park etc.

His novels were largely unremarkable, when they weren't downright unreadable, and his last few years can best be characterised as doing things that were morally reprehensible and scientifically ignorant.

However, we can, I think, mourn for the passing of someone who gave us such images as Yul Brynner in Westworld and those jaw-dropping dinosaur scenes in Jurassic Park.

[Ropie]

I read Sphere in one day when I was about 17 and really loved it. It's not very often one of my books gets finished in a day. Thanks, Michael.

[devilsadvoc8]

I don't know where you get the ignorance and reprehensible part. While I agree that he certainly took on an emotional issue in State of Fear, I applaud his effort to educate the reader by including a comprehensive listing of sources. You can disagree with his opinion but he didn't have to include that but did. I won't hijack the thread anyfurther on the legitimacy of certain of the climate change claims.

[Werthead]

I don't know where you get the ignorance and reprehensible part. While I agree that he certainly took on an emotional issue in State of Fear, I applaud his effort to educate the reader by including a comprehensive listing of sources. You can disagree with his opinion but he didn't have to include that but did. I won't hijack the thread anyfurther on the legitimacy of certain of the climate change claims.

I was thinking more about the fact that he put a critic of that novel into his next one as a child molestor. Not very classy behaviour.

[Michigan]

He wrote some great movies, that's for sure. The Andromeda Strain, The Thirteenth Warrior, Jurassic Park etc.



I know, eye of the beholder and different strokes and all that but did you really say The Thirteenth Warrior was a great movie? What's next, Battlefield Earth gets 4 stars?

How old was Crichton anyways? Any word on what he died from? Sad to see him go.

[Werthead]

I know, eye of the beholder and different strokes and all that but did you really say The Thirteenth Warrior was a great movie? What's next, Battlefield Earth gets 4 stars?

'Great', as in 'passably good'. It certainly wasn't anywhere near as bad as Battlefield Earth. Or The Lost World for that matter. Even Spielberg admits he phoned that one in.

He was 66 and had been suffering from cancer for a while, apparently.