Superstar author Michael Crichton, perhaps best known for JURASSIC PARK and THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, died unexpectedly today of cancer at the criminally low age of 66. A giant in the field — both literally and figuratively — his technothrillers sold millions of copies, and yielded hundreds of millions of dollars when turned into big-budget movies.
On a personal note, reading one his early novels — A CASE OF NEED — hooked me so much that I immediately bought every book of his in print, and was one of the sparks that led to the creation of this very site. I looked forward to every new novel he created, and that includes his final one, due to publish in May 2009. He will be missed. —Rod Lott
BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF MICHAEL CRICHTON:
• GRAVE DESCEND by John Lange
• NEXT by Michael Crichton
• STATE OF FEAR by Michael Crichton
• ZERO COOL by John Lange
Related posts:
- Hard Case uncovers lost novels from Dodge, Crichton
- Zero Cool
- Next
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> Michael Shayne Mysteries: Volume 1
- Hard Case circles Block a third time
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I was terribly upset to hear of his passing. Too young with too many stories left to tell. We’ve lost a lot of great authors this year, but Crichton’s death really hit me hard.
Jurassic Park was the first novel I read as an adult that didn’t have pictures and speech bubbles. I loved it. I read it over a two day period and then went out and bought everything else Crichton had written. He was my favourite author for a long time, and although his star diminished in recent years, with books like Prey and State of Fear, I still regard him as a personal hero. Very sad to read of his passing.
The Andromeda Strain helped hook me on reading. Another great “John Lange” thriller, which I hope Hard Case reprints, is Binary. He will be missed.
Binary is the perfect thriller.
I vividly remember sitting on the livingroom couch in the house I grew up in in St. Louis one summer afternoon, clutching a worn paperback copy of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN that my father had finished reading and passed along to me. I finished it in one sitting. It was that good.
A tragic loss to all who love great fiction.
It’s so sad. Jurassic Park and Timeline have always been two of my favorite books. He was one of my favorite authors, he had a brilliant mind, and he will be missed.
Kinda sad. Andromeda Strain, Sphere, J. Park…all great reads. Too bad his last few novels were, bluntly, awful. But I’ll miss him.
He was my favorite author of all time. His books all seemed so plausible and were so interesting. I’ve read nearly all of his books. I loved how they made a statement and blended fact with fiction. He was an amazing author and will be missed.