Micro: A Novel

by Michael Crichton

2012

Status

Checked out

Genres

Science Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Standard Shelves

Publication

Harper (2012), Edition: Reprint, 560 pages

Description

Three men are found dead in the locked second-floor office of a Honolulu building, 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.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member LBM007

This likely would have been a decent book, if only Michael Crichton had finished it. Instead it's got a Crichton-like idea of a story, filled out with unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue, and ridiculous little twists and turns. Not a good representation of Crichton's abilities as a

storyteller at all; hopefully he's not turning over in the grave to have his name on this.

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LibraryThing member ColinF.Barnes

Interesting concept let down by shonky prose, flat cliched characters and a plot that often broke the suspension of disbelief. Some of the botany and insect science was interesting, but the awful, unlikeable characters had me cheering inside as each one was eaten or butchered by the natural world.

Fun in parts, but dull to read in others. Needed much better copy-editing in my humble opinion. Large parts felt rushed and the prose was so basic and repitious in parts that I felt this was aimed at 10 year olds.

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LibraryThing member rexmedford

Crichton never wrote leteratrue, but there are a few classics in his vault, (Andromeda Strain for one)....but what he does write are page turners. Novels that grab you and keep you interested in what happens next. Sometimes predictable, but as always, there are a few twists along the way. He always

seems to deal with a "real" technology, and loads his books with facts, well researched. That is what attracted me to his writing from the beginning. This novel, finished by Richard Preston, is no different, and its just as enjoyable. Who doesn't love a novel with a bibliography at the end? RIP Dr. Crichton. And thank you for making fun, factual fiction...

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LibraryThing member stefferoo

This book is the literary equivalent of those cheesy sci-fi thriller movies -- you know, the kind where a whole bunch of characters set off on an adventure and then one by one they die off until only one or two are left. And like those movies, Micro was entertaining, but it was a rather shallow

reading experience.

I don't know how much of the book was completed by Michael Crichton before his death and how much was picked up by Richard Preston. I also don't know how far Crichton got in his research and editing. I just know that Micro had nowhere near the depth and detail compared to his past books, in all aspects but especially in the science. Books like Jurassic Park and Timeline at least tried to convince the reader that their premises were plausible; in contrast, parts of Micro read like a bunch of outline and research notes thrown together.

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LibraryThing member Mintypink

I expected more out of a Michael Crichton book but perhaps since Richard Preston finished it, the book understandably wouldn't match previous novels. A previous reviewer had this right, it's a mashup of Honey I Shrank the Kids and Jurassic Park. I would not be surprised if the authors had also

watched "Ants" or "Bug's Life" (Pixar Films) as part of their research.
Micro is the pulp equivalent of a B-film. The characters are convenient and flat (although I did find myself rooting for some and hating others), the science is painfully formulaic, and the authors makes the characters sock-puppet explain background science for the reader. It feels as if either of the authors went to a conference to study graduate students and left believing that everyone communicates with their elevator pitch to a simple question from a colleague such as, "What are you doing?"
The fun part of the book, once you lower your expectations, is discovering the microscopic world. It's like Stuart Little or Flushed Away, everything is teeny tiny and oh-so-fun.

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LibraryThing member Renzomalo

A must read for Crichton fans but somewhat of a disappointment in its formulaic plot and a lack of character development, both atypical of Crichton’s former writings. I will not speak ill of the deceased but either Dr. Crichton was suffering and not himself when writing Micro or what he left was

a rough draft rewritten by Richard Preston who, if true, drained the novel of its life and believably. It was packed – somewhat awkwardly - with technical detail that failed to coalesce and transport us to another world, a critical impediment to the success of the novel.
My personal Crichtonian high-water mark, Timeline, seamlessly transported us to Medieval France and educated us in the technology that got us there. Micro did no such thing. Timeline was a whirlwind tour of life and death in Medieval France; Micro was a compilation of "Jurassic Park "and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!" with a touch of "The Island of Doctor Moreau" thrown in for good measure. The world, I believe, already misses Dr. Crichton and will increasingly with each passing year. I do.

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LibraryThing member everfresh1

Very schematic, very cliche. It's like a children story rewritten for adults. The only bright spot is a perspective of the insect world, which was quite interesting.

LibraryThing member Narilka

Micro is Crichton's final book, finished by Richard Preston after his death. Cambridge grad students are invited to Hawaii by a technology company to talk about cutting edge jobs in micro-biology. Through a short series of events the students are shrunk to a half inch high and thrown into the Oahu

wilderness to fend for their lives.

The book feels like part Honey I Shrunk the Kids and part Jurassic Park. It's a bit formulaic and the characters aren't as developed as a regular Crichton novel, both of which may be a result of him only partially completing the manuscript before his death. This aside, once the book got going it was hard to put down. I could see Hollywood turn this into a movie.

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LibraryThing member Jarratt

Michael Crichton’s posthumous “Micro” was disappointing. I don’t know if this is because co-author Richard Preston didn’t know how to take what Crichton had done with the unfinished manuscript, or if it just wasn’t that good to begin with. (I’ve not researched any more than the jacket

cover saying the “majority” of the book had been written prior to Crichton’s death—I didn’t want that knowledge of who wrote what to cloud my judgment. But after writing this review, I found that Wikipedia says Crichton had completed 1/3 of it.) The idea of shrinking humans (and other items) certainly isn’t a new concept. Most of the book’s action seems to be a result of the authors’ wondering “what would happen if a human in the ‘micro-world’ ran up against an ant, a mosquito, a wasp, etc.”

A new corporation, Nanigen, in Hawaii is shrinking humans to better explore the rainforests for pharmaceutical research. Peter Jansen and his fellow biology grad students are recruited to help the company by Peter’s brother Eric and CEO Vin Drake. But when Eric is apparently killed, Peter and his cohorts travel to Hawaii to find out what’s going on. They’re inadvertently shrunk and left to fend for themselves in the micro-world. Most of the characters are annoying, the science dubious and rather silly at best (which is very un-Crichton-like), and the action redundant.

I loved Crichton’s first posthumous book “Pirate Latitudes” but he’d completed that novel. “Micro” was just a mess.

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LibraryThing member SherylHendrix

A partially finished novel when Michael Crichton died, Micro was finished and published with the assistance of Richard Preston who did a good job of keeping the feel of a Crichton book in this techno-thriller. Small robots, dealt with for the second time by Crichton, are the crux of this problem in

this horror story, which ends without total resolution. A good and fast read.

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LibraryThing member slagolas

Anyone who knows and enjoys Crichton should enjoy this book which is essentially, like many of his others, a printed screen-play, potentially adapted to the big screen with minimal changes. Lots of action and adventure, and startlingly harsh treatment of characters, par for the course.

Overall,

very enjoyable, and a quick read. My only complaint would be that it seems surprisingly glaring that Crichton left this book unfinished. Which is surprising since Preston is a fully capable writer as well (I suggest Cobra Event for Crichton fans looking for something new). The conclusion leaves something to be desired. I almost got the impression that it was so close to complete that Preston never took ownership to truly dictate an ending, or something. It's hard to specify what exactly is missing from the ending, everything is wrapped up fairly neatly, but it still seemed a little unsatisfying.

That said, the book is fun, and who knows, you might actually learn a little bit along the way.

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LibraryThing member burnit99

A posthumously published book by the late Michael Crichton, completed by Richard Preston, this requires a bit more suspension of disbelief than most of his books (except the two I've read involving time travel). Most of his books have seemed at least theoretically possible with present technology.

Here we have a group of young researchers who have been invited to get in on a new research opportunity that involves shrinking humans down to insect-size, to better explore the unseen world for new pharmacological products. This takes place in Hawaii. Events go off-kilter when they stumble across the unscrupulous CEO's hidden agenda for this technology (needless to say, it involves secret government contracts for new weaponry), and the CEO shrinks them down to easier eliminate them. They escape, but are stranded in the forested research area, miles from their only hope for being restored to normal size before they die due to "micro-bends". Not Crichton's best (one wonders how much of this is Richard Preston), but the harrowing trek through the Hawaiian undergrowth at miniscule size is tense, fast-paced and seems well-researched.

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LibraryThing member leyliagray

The cover itself is a hint as to the plot of the story and the details about science, specifically biology, gave a depth to the book. Having the book set in Hawaii with the detective and some of the characters speaking pidgin was delightful. I had to chuckle when I read the pidgin, the authors

managed to get it. Its not perfect but its enough.

Its hard to do a review on this book without giving away too much. Much of my enjoyment came from reading the book blind. My only warning was that the book got a little graphic. I didn't pay the warning any heed but the visuals when I read it made me gasp audibly and cringe in my seat. Much like Jurassic Park, the environment that the authors throw you into is something that you would not normally imagine yourself in, much less the beauty and danger. The unknown made this book a pleasure to read. I couldn't help but visualize scenes from Jurassic Park and Honey I Shrunk the Kids while reading this.

The dynamic of the main cast of characters was well put together. You have the one you admire, the one you feel wary of, the one you have a soft spot for, and the one you detest; among many others. The challenges each character goes through.. I can't help but think that the authors had a bit of fun planning and detailing each one. The details are what I appreciated. For readers who have read the book, you know what I'm talking about.

The ending was a bit abrupt. Things wrapped up rather quickly but I think many may feel it was lacking because it left a lot of questions up in the air.

RIP Crichton, you will be sorely missed.

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LibraryThing member WeeziesBooks

"Micro" is a book that describes traveling to and from and living in in a microscopic world the scientists created where insects and flower pollen are gigantic and death and pain are just around the corner. Since the book is set in a rain forest type setting, there is an immense menu of insects and

plant life to describe and use in the story line. The descriptions of injury and death are very graphic and were hard for me to listen to in many instances. They characters are interesting, though in many cases unlikeable. The idea of greed and money controlling scientific and innovative secrets is a somewhat familiar theme but no less distasteful.
The investigation of the crimes, most notably murder, plays a minor role in the story but does keep it pulled together in a somewhat cohesive manner. This is one of my least favorite Crichton novels but it was well developed and full of action and mystery. I have rated this a 3.5 star book and recommend it to science fiction and medical thriller fans.

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LibraryThing member cahallmxj

Title: Micro: Inner space in the jungle.

Story:

A mysterious company, Nanigen, is making some of it's investors nervous with rumors about it's unstable and ruthless CEO. A local private investigator is hired to see what he can find out about what is going on inside the company and if there is any

truth to the rumors that the company CEO may be up to no good. The PI gains access to the companies building but doesn't find anything at all really, or so he thinks.

A few days later the PI, his boss, and another man are found dead in a office that was locked from the inside. They look like they were attacked with a knife or some kind of blade, but no weapon is found.

Meanwhile Peter Jansen receives a visit from his brother, Eric, who is ready to reveal the company he has been working for. It turns out that Nanigen is hiring and he wants to know if Peter would like to come out to Hawaii and listen to what the company has to say. He also extends the offer to Peter's coworkers. They all agree to go out and begin to make preparations for the trip.

Right before Peters is leaves he is informed that his brother has vanished in a boating accident and that a company representative will be waiting for him when he arrives. This is after he receives a strange text from his brother which simply reads “Don't Come”. Worried and confused Peter heads out to Nanigen to see if he can find out what happened to his brother.

After he arrives his concerns are confirmed when he finds that his brother may have been “hushed” up in order to hide some of Nanigens secrets. Peter decides to take matters into his own hands and bring Nanigen to justice. What he didn't count on was that the CEO of Nanigne would go to any legnths to make sure that his secrets would only go to the highest bidder. That includes making sure that his “little” problem stays that way.

_*_

I found this book interesting. It was completed after Crichton's death by Richard Preston. I figured this would be a good read since I like Preston's stories as well. For the most part the story does work overall. It just seemed to me that it was easy to tell what Crichtion had actually written and what was basically filled in from an outline of the story that he was going to write.

This also happens with the characters as a few of them seem to be a list of personality traits that were checked off so that the story could keep going. Kind of like the beginning, middle, and end of the story were written but he never got to go back and fill in all the details that would have made the characters “gel” with the story better.

Overall I liked the book, in some parts the story really moves and in other parts it seems like Preston may have been told to just go with what materials he had and not alter the story too much, just make sure that it still made sense. There is one big twist that I did not see coming, but beyond that this book is really just by the numbers. Give it a read if you like Crichton or if you are looking for a decent adventure with a few Science Fiction elements thrown in. m.a.c

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LibraryThing member TomWheaton

This is a book that was started by Michael Crichton before he passed away in 2008 and was then finished by Richard Preston. I really liked this book! The whole premise was very believable and could be the future of medical treatment and/or warfare. It started a bit slowly but, then became a

page-turner when the students were shrunk and had their battles with the micro world.

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LibraryThing member ague

Micro has some good up to date science in it. It would also make an excellent movie.

LibraryThing member TwoDot

Easy read, good action but few surprises. Not up to Crichton's normal standard. I like Richard Preston's other work, but I think this book would have been better if Michael Crichton had been able to finish it himself.

LibraryThing member jshrop

As with Pirate Latitudes, I feel like there was a good reason Crichton had not released this before his untimely passing. This novel, even more than the aforementioned, was incomplete enough to require a second writer whose style is so pervasive as to make it difficult to see any of Crichton's

story telling magic. I think that it is misleading and shameful to sell this novel on Crichton's name with "and Richard Preston" when it is clearly an idea generated by Crichton and seemingly solely executed by Preston. The clunky writing style does not give the audience any credit and plays to below a lowest-common-denominator point of view. How many times do we need to hear an explanation of what curare is? How little do you trust us readers to remember what you said two chapters ago? Obviously not very much by the retelling and reexplaining that goes on in Micro. It is a shame to have to rate this novel so low, but this is basically a novel adaptation of a mediocre screenplay that hasn't be written yet. None of the conventions used mimic Crichton's style of character development and attention to detail while not insulting the audience with rehashing that I so loved in all his novels. I enjoyed the basic concept and the plot line, but the development and story telling seemed like Preston was going straight for the movie version. Many new novels are written like movies these days and it is sad to see the degradation of the craft. We expect blockbuster summer movies to give us action and the heroes get away at just the perfect 1 in 100,000,000 chance moments and then the lead male and lead female realize that they have been in love the whole time and all of the lines are tied up in a pretty little bow at the end that doesn't make you think, but please authors: Stop doing this with novels! My opinion is skip Micro and remember Crichton for his own great works, not his ideas taken and written by someone else and then sold with his name as a large marquee to trick people into believing that they are buying more than just his outline. Harper's should be ashamed to mislead the throngs of fans in this manner.

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LibraryThing member Sue24

This book was a decent adventure novel, once it got going. In the beginning, there were several plot problems which I found amazing in a book by either Crichton or Preston (both of which I like very much). And the characters were just JERKS. Out of 7 graduate students, most of them were full of

themselves, and you were rooting for them to die. And they were super competitive with one another. As a former graduate student, I do not find this to be a realistic portrayal at all, but I suppose it depends on your school and the personalities involved.

Once they got to Hawaii the book finally got going, and after that it was a good read. Overall, I give it 3 stars because of the painful beginning...

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LibraryThing member Suzannie1

have'nt read a book like this before , but i actually really enjoyed it , almost? believable, very clever.

LibraryThing member marysneedle

This kind of reminded me an old updated version of the TV show "Land of the Giants". It was anything but boring and kept me on the edge of my seat.

LibraryThing member lovestampmom

This book deserves a 3.5 stars. As I said, as a long time Crichton fan, I probably came equipped with an overly high expectation. The book started out slow, with lots of loose ends that needed to be tied together, but came together nicely at around 30%. Without giving too much away, I'd have to say

Crichton's high-tech, breakthrough technology is here, as well as the thrill factor, so the book is a page-turner. The general idea of the plot was good, and the story could be easily adapted into a movie like all his other books.

What I did not like about the book, is that the characters, especially the few graduate students, blur together a bit in the beginning. I had a hard time telling them apart, and I had no idea who the main characters were, until the very end; since once I developed the liking and understanding of one, she or he gets killed off. The villain is a bit too unrealistic and inhuman.

Preston was good in given reliable and descriptive scientific facts throughout the book...but weak in story telling and character development. I was quite surprised about this since his non-fictions, "The Hot Zone", and "Demon in the Freezer" read almost like a great fictional story. However, for readers who thrive on facts, you would learn a lot about insects, plants, as well as toxins in this story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I think all Crichton fans should read it, but wait for the price drop first.

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LibraryThing member john257hopper

This is the second of Crichton's posthumous novels, published as having been co-written by him and Robert Preston. It isn't clear exactly how much of this novel Crichton completed before he died, but it was clearly the bulk of it, and this has all the hallmarks of a Crichton techno-thriller, misuse

of science and technology by corrupt individuals and corporations, etc, entirely unlike his other posthumous novel, Pirate Latitudes (which felt more Bernard Cornwell than Michael Crichton). There are fewer characters in this one than in some of the others and it felt the better for it, and one got to know some of them quite well (Vin Drake is one of the most chilling fictional creations in any of his novels). In fact this posthumous book, while not in the Andromeda Strain/Sphere/Jurassic Park league, was for me definitely one of the highlights of his latter period.

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LibraryThing member atdCross

I'm a bit disappointed in this book. I've read a few by Crichton and he usually keeps a sense of the credible and high suspense. This one, for me, had neither.

Michael Chrichton had the knack of making the incredible credible. He fails to do so in thei book.

A nano-technology company is seeking to

recruit seven university students in the fireld of microbiology. However, when being shown around the company and what is involved in their research, the students are thrust into a a hostile world all to familiar and all too new; a dangerous world where the students find themselves in a life and death struggle against the forces of a nature they themselves have intensively studied but never dreamed of knowing by first-hand experience.

It sounds great but the movement but as you read on, the characters seem remote and, in comparison to Crichton's other books, lacks high suspense. I was actually surprised and disappointed as to the main plot as it seemed an unlikely idea to come out of Crichton and too fanciful. There is an unexpected turn and a couple of characters are interesting, especially Karen King, but it does not help the story overall.

I must add that, unfortunately, Crichton died before the book was finished and Richard Preston took over. To the latter's credit, there is no discernible difference, at least, to me of any change in style; however, wherever he started, his writing added nothing to improve the story.

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