Michael Crichton

[RobinHood3000]

Anybody else here like his work?

The Great Train Robbery is perhaps one of my favorites, particularly with the skillfully made movie adaptation of the same name with Sean Connery. I also like Jurassic Park because it may have conceivably changed my life...Crichton's quality of work never seems to diminish!

[Xamonas Chegwe]

Sorry - No - to be quite honest.

He writes good (but very Hollywood-predictable) film-scripts and his books are nothing but those scripts with a bit of padding.

I would love to know how Jurassic Park changed your life though - have you managed to follow the recipe and breed a pet Velocoraptor? ;)

[starrwriter]

Anybody else here like his work?
I enjoyed "Jurassic Park," but my favorite Crichton book is "Travels" (1987). It is a fascinating autobiography couched in terms of a travel book. Crichton explains how he wrote it here:
http://www.crichton-official.com/travels/

[RobinHood3000]

Sorry - No - to be quite honest.

He writes good (but very Hollywood-predictable) film-scripts and his books are nothing but those scripts with a bit of padding.

I would love to know how Jurassic Park changed your life though - have you managed to follow the recipe and breed a pet Velocoraptor? ;)
If that's your honest opinion, I seriously doubt you've read any in-depth Crichton (no offense meant, but what you're saying is the polar opposite of what I see). Dr. Crichton's novels and movies are entirely different mediums, and his writing style shows it. That's part of the reason why so many of the movies based on his work do so poorly: they don't translate well. I view his novels as textbooks with plot, simply because of the sheer depth of research he does for them.

And if you must know, Jurassic Park conceivably changed my life because of Ian Malcolm's insights into the way society and mankind function with regards to scientific achievement. Man is destined to be humbled by nature when he needs to be. I also found interesting Malcolm's descriptions of chaos theory and what, on a basic level and in straightforward language, what it entails.

[starrwriter]

... I also found interesting Malcolm's descriptions of chaos theory and what, on a basic level and in straightforward language, what it entails.
Although I don't consider Crichton a truly great writer, I was inspired by "Jurassic Park" to learn about chaos theory, which I had never heard of until then. I think chaos theory, along with fractal geometry, will lead to the next big breakthroughs in science.

About "Travels": I could definitely relate to Crichton's feelings about his pushy father, who forced him to get a medical degree from Harvard when he had no interest in being a doctor. Crichton has never practiced medicine in spite of his MD. His father died while Crichton was doing something he really enjoyed -- SCUBA diving in the Caribbean.

[Admin]

If a movie has a bad screenplay, blame the screenplay writer or the hollywood studio, not the author of the book it was based on.

I like most of Chrichton's work, I have a background in science so his method of writing really appeals to me. In case you didn't know he thoroughly researches each topic he writes about and in fact you'll often find a bibliography at the end of his novels with citations for scientific journals and whatnot.

The concepts in his novels are always interesting ones as well. Like with Jurassic Park, the concept is not "making dinosaurs" its "should humans play god?" and "can science triumph over nature?" And as good as the movie was, Jurassic Park was better in book form.

[starrwriter]

If a movie has a bad screenplay, blame the screenplay writer or the hollywood studio, not the author of the book it was based on ... as good as the movie was, Jurassic Park was better in book form.
I agree the book was better, but I think Crichton was nearly always the screenwriter for the film adaptations of his books, so he was largely responsible for the movie quality.

[RobinHood3000]

Actually, of the movies made from Crichton novels (i.e., excluding movies that weren't novels beforehand and TV shows), Crichton only wrote Westworld, Rising Sun, Jurassic Park, and The Great Train Robbery. That amounts to maybe only a third of the total movies based off of his work.

[Admin]

And certainly not the bad ones. I haven't seen Westworld, but the other 3 are good movies. Not like Congo.

[RobinHood3000]

Interestingly enough, Westworld was the first film to use computer-generated effects. EVER.

[starrwriter]

And certainly not the bad ones. I haven't seen Westworld, but the other 3 are good movies. Not like Congo.
Why does everyone seem to hate Congo? I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure film and it was the first time I had ever seen Laura Linney, a very good actress. Sphere was the awful Crichton movie. Dustin Hoffman should have had his head examined for taking that role.

[Xamonas Chegwe]

On the subject of Crichton's research. I see it as similar to that performed by Dan Brown - ie. Come up with your theory, then go looking for sources that back it up, ignoring those (usually the majority and often by the more respected authorities) that disagree.

And I have read a lot of his books - most of them, in fact - I have a friend that buys them all on release date and I get them about a week later. They are entertaining enough - just bad science for the most part - and certainly not worthy of the tag, "literature". They give the impression of depth without actually having all that much.

Be serious now, how many of Crichton's novels offer anything more on a second reading?

Some of his books have made excellent films though. Westworld especially (which Crichton also directed). But comparing the 2 media is fruitless. Most great films come from so-so books. Puzo's novel of The Godfather is a sensationalist page-turner, but the first 2 Godfather films are an incredible study of a man's descent into crime from the highest principles and family loyalties. Coppola takes the best from Puzo's writing and adds his own special touch.

Personally, I will never be convinced of Crichton's greatness as a writer of novels but I do rank him highly as a screenwriter. He knows how to press all the right buttons but I demand a little more than that before I class a writer as great.

[RobinHood3000]

Hmm, I disagree. I found The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World all very satisfying on repeat readings. True, the science isn't always solid (I've heard substantial complaints about Timeline in particular, but then, time travel novels are difficult to simultaneously explain and extol). Still, not all of his work is about science; personally, I thought that Crichton did Airframe, A Case of Need, and The Great Train Robbery extraordinarily well outside of his most well-known genre.

[papayahed]

I just found this thread. I can't say Jurassic Park changed my life but I remember reading it and thinking that I must find more books like this and that I needed to find more by that author. It was a light shining down from the heavens and hearing a choir of angels upon opening the book.

I've always loved westworld, I thought the idea was pretty cool - then I found out it was by Chrichton.

[RobinHood3000]

Wait, do you mean that you thought that Westworld was a cool idea UNTIL you found out that it was by Crichton, or simply that you thought Westworld was a cool idea before and through learning that it was by Crichton?

[papayahed]

opps, I meant I tought Westworld was a cool movie then when I found out it was by creighton I thought to myself "Huh, that figures - Creighton writes cool stuff"

[ClaesGefvenberg]

The Great Train Robbery is perhaps one of my favoritesI just reread it, and I have to agree there, Robin. Apart from being very entertaining it also provides a peek into the views and ways of the victorians.

/Claes

[poetru_fanatic]

I don't know what you guys don't like about Congo. It's a really good book. Yeah I understand that theres a lot of scientific research in it but I think it's really good that Crichton went to the trouble of learning about this stuff before he wrote it. It's almost as if he's giving people who's looking to go into a job where this stuff is needed. I have read a lot of books that the author didn't even go into any trouble of finding information on the things he's writing about. So to me, the author should be given much more respect then those that don't know anything about what their writing about. If any of that makes sence........ Oh well just my opinion.

--Jenna