So much for the thrilling plot, but what really distinguishes the text, and makes Crichton’s debut stand out, is the enormous amount of scientific, technical and administrative content.
The breakneck plot builds up to a climax when there’s a breach in biosecurity at the Wildfire centre with the result so that the virus gets loose among our heroes, and there’s a race against time to prevent its spread… with a novel twist at the very end. The plot then follows the scientists’ race against time to identify the weird extra-terrestrial virus and try to find a cure.
Right back at the start of his career, young Michael (born 1942), was 26 when he published this, the first novel to appear under his own name (a few had appeared under pseudonyms).
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN MOVIE ANIMALS HARMED TV
What an amazing achievement and indicator of the practical skills of a man who was not only an author and scriptwriter, but who produced and directed movies himself, as well as creating and exec producing hit TV series. Ever since I learned about it years ago, I’ve been impressed by what will probably be a unique feat that no-one will ever match, namely that in 1994 Crichton was, simultaneously, the writer of America’s number one movie, Jurassic Park, was the creator and producer of America’s number one TV show, ER, and had a book at number one in the bestseller list, Disclosure. If you’re going to entertain, then you might as well do it as effectively as possible. I’ve no idea what Crichton was like as a man but I admire his phenomenal success as a writer of popular techno-thrillers.
The human body is one of the dirtiest things in the known universe (p.116) Michael Crichton