Michael Crichton -- Planet Earth's novelist of doom

Slate ^ | Dec. 8, 2004 | Bryan Curtis

[mikeus_maximus]

I knew I like him, when I saw this brilliant man in an interview in his office surrounded by his many books. The reporter asked what he thought about the people who brought those books to the screen: "Stupid people. Actors are just stupid people," he said with a smirk. :)

[Paradox]

AS for Sphere, it had me going, but I thought he seriously copped out at the end, like his publishers were pushing him to put out already..

I am sure he can still write well, I just haven't picked anything of his up lately. This book may change that however.

[ken21]

that book and movie was a sham.

[Straight Vermonter]

Why does the Slate critic refer to it as State of Terror at least once? Does Slate actually have editors?

So they got the title of the book wrong once and they misspelled the author's name once. How high are your standards???

[bahblahbah]

That should be required reading for everyone going into science or politics.

[1Old Pro]

What a great lecture! Thx, He's talented. I look forward to his new book as it's time to junk "junk science".

[okie01]

The boy-novelist who engineered a tyrannosaurus in Jurassic Park and mysterious pathogens from outer space in The Andromeda Strain has become a political pamphleteer, a right-wing noodge.

And would this Bryan Curtis not be a "political pamphleteer" himself? Even a "left-wing noodge", maybe?

But, then, Crichton's view is based on hard science. And Curtis' view is based on....what?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

That should be required reading for everyone going into science or politics.

How 'bout as a qualification for voting?

[goldstategop]

Look at the body of Crichton's work. He takes politically incorrect positions on the issues of the day. That's why he's such an enjoyable author. As a writer, he's not predictable. So yes, his work leans towards the right side of the spectrum. He's said in the past he can't stand dogmatists and zealots.

[AmishDude]

Yes, the Corner makes the point that he takes every scientific trend and deconstructs it. I like the fact that mathematicians (the only pure and untouched scientists) play a primary role in his books -- even if they tend to be a little mentally ill.

[goldstategop]

Crichton is very skeptical of government and liberal special interest groups. If Slate trashes him, conservatives and libertarians can safely embrace him. By the way, he is a futurist. You can't understand conservatism in America if you have never read Alvin Toffler.

[Southack]

Crichton is outstanding!

However, if you really want scare people about the enviro-nazis, write a book about leftists in the government deliberately losing court cases to Environmental groups...so that the groups get funded by taxpayer settlements via the lawsuit judgements.

...You'd just have a hard time calling it "fiction"...

[Hi Heels]

I love it when great talents do great things.....

[goldstategop]

Amen! It reminds me of Law & Order. Its ripped from the headlines feel - and Critchon has an uncanny knack for what's splashed in the current headlines. No one does it better.

[goldstategop]

Safe bet Hollywood won't make it. Critchon's politics are no longer a secret.

[Admin Moderator]

Michael Crighton's new book targets "environmentalists!"

To help prevent multiple postings, please do not change titles.

[investigateworld]

#

[goldstategop]

Whe a lefty labels a writer a "novelist of doom" - I know he's stepped out of the closet and its not ultimately intended as a flattering compliment. :)

[Rastus]

That's my take. I think he votes like a Democrat and has said as much, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some good ideas. I haven't gotten around to anything since Airframe, but read just about everything through that book. The Great Train Robbery was a completely fascinating book--not so much from the plot itself, but from the way Crichton submerged the reader in Victorian England. I love books like that that teach so much about past times. It is for that reason that I love Jack Finney's Time After Time in spite of the leftism in the last chapter, and am looking forward to reading Erik Larson's Devil in the White City.

[jpsb]

"Environmentalist are getting a bad rap."

Big Bump, I am conservative and I like the environment too. I hate it that the rats have stolen what should be a conservative issue.