Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Climate crank Michael Crichton dies at 66 (obituary with comments by Bruce Sterling)

As a voracious science fiction reader, I'm afraid I'll remember Crichton as one of the very worst writers in the field. His prose was so bad it was alarming.
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aw, come on, if it wasn't for Crichton we wouldn't have this catchy little tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpDckbqhpW8

11:52 PM
Mac said...

Crichton was remarkable for never -- not once, to the best of my knowledge -- having even a marginally original idea. Every plot device from every formulaic novel was a genre science fiction trope cynically recycled in the service of anti-science techno-"thrillers."

"State of Fear" found him clutching feebly at new lows.

12:54 AM
Anonymous said...

He was also a global warming denialista--now that's terminally dumb.

5:36 AM
Anonymous said...

well damn. I remember reading Jurassic Park when I was a child and thought it was great fun.

11:56 AM
Anonymous said...

I like his books.

Stan

9:36 PM
Mac said...

Stan--

I like his books.

Which ones? And *why*? I've simply never understood the appeal. I'm not ragging on you; I just don't get it.

10:02 PM
Anonymous said...

Sorry it took so long to respond. I just remembered I posted this.
The Andromeda Strain was my first of his books and I liked it best.
I related to the way he took something that was grandiose like a sophisticated science lab and top notch scientists, and reduced it to everyday people acting almost in real time. He is also talented at one of the most important writing skills. He is able to make you feel the emotions (in this case fear, frustration and exhaustion) of the characters.
I like the general theme that factors you can never think of and possibly not imagine can overcome the best laid plans. He is not Kurt Vonnegut, but I found him well worth reading.

Stan

9:39 PM

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