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The Terminal Man

michael crichton

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Harry Benson is prone to violent, uncontrollable seizures and is under police guard after attacking two people.

Dr. Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit at University Hospital in Los Angeles, is convinced he can cure Benson through a procedure called Stage Three. During this highly specialized experimental surgery, electrodes will be place in the patient's brain, sending monitored, soothing pulses to its pleasure canyons.

Though the operation is a success, there is an unforseen development. Benson learns how to control the pulses and is increasing their frequency. He escapes -- a homicidal maniac loose in the city -- and nothing will stop his murderous rampages or impede his deadly agenda. . .

268 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1,1972

This edition

Format
268 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published
November 5, 2002 by Avon
ISBN
9780060092573
ASIN
0060092572
Language
English

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About the author

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michael crichton

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Michael Crichton (1942-2008) was one of the most successful novelists of his generation, admired for his meticulous scientific research and fast-paced narrative. He graduated summa cum laude and earned his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1969. His first novel, Odds On (1966), was written under the pseudonym John Lange and was followed by seven more Lange novels. He also wrote as Michael Douglas and Jeffery Hudson. His novel A Case of Need won the Edgar Award in 1969. Popular throughout the world, he has sold more than 200 million books. His novels have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and thirteen have been made into films.

Michael Crichton died of lymphoma in 2008. He was 66 years old.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
31(31%)
4 stars
36(36%)
3 stars
33(33%)
2 stars
0(0%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
AzafuseKingTora
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Years ago, I saw "The Andromeda Strain" & then saw this book, so I picked it up. It was pretty good & was an early explorer of man-computer interfacing. It also shows the fallacy of positive feedback as a form of control. There's a fair amount of gore & the hospital descriptions really impressed me. It might be a bit dated now, though.

If you have to hunt up a volume, try to find the first hardback. It had some good, if a bit gruesome, illustrations in it, as I recall.
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Fyzle
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Harry Benson is a computer analyst who works for the DOD and thinks machines are taking over the world. On top of his delusions, Harry was in a car accident which resulted in brain damage. Harry suffers from seizures which make him violent and he is wanted by the police. Most of the medical staff at University Hospital think he's a perfect candidate for surgery - implantation of a computer in his brain to stop the impulses triggering these seizures. All except his psychiatrist, Janet Ross, who realizes that Harry is psychotic and will feel that machines really are taking over at least taking over him. It all spirals out of control when after the operation, the nurses neglect to give him his medication. Then the race is on.

With a premise like that, this should have been an excellent book. However, it really fell flat. There was too much medical and computer speak, as well as too much interaction with the hospital staff and their hopes and dreams for fame and fortune. Granted some of this is necessary but 2/3 of the book? The ending was intense (and upped my rating to 3 stars) but the book itself merely rated 2 stars. A real disappointment from Crichton. I listened to this on audiotape otherwise I never would have finished it.
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steamed_clams
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Obra menor que xposa les vicissituts d'una colla de neuròlegs i psiquiatre que pretenen guarir l l'epilèpsia d'un pacient, que l'obligava a cometre accions violentes contra altres persones. M itjançant una operació molt delicada li implanten uns elèctrodes al cervell, que controlaran els atacs, gràcies a la intervenció d'un computador minúscul també introduït al coll del pacient. La trama és interessant, però el valor de la trama minva molt la meitat de l'obra i no s'aconsegueix cridar l'atenció ni amb un final bastant mediocre.
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Rikkas_Familier
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Through the use of tools mankind has made unimaginable advances, and with the ever increasing advances in tools progress has come at increasing speed and complexity, but at what point are the advances untenable? At what point does the dependency on the tools become a weakness? At what point do we design our own destruction?

This is a classic 'man orchestrates his own downfall' or 'man created monster' warning tale, but at the same time it is a quick paced thriller. This might be my favorite Crichton so far - not that he is one of my favorite authors - but this book is short and while you can see that he has done his customary research, this book keeps the focus on a concise plot better than some others I have read by him (I'm looking at you Next). The reader can get a sense of the complicated nature of neuropsychiatry, and how little we understand the human brain (or at least how little we understood it in 1972) while not feeling like they are reading a fear-monger's treatise on the subject. We get the background, but only enough so that we can see the implications on the specific story. It is a story that will make you think, but also entertains.

This story specifically centers around a man named Henry Benson whom has brain damage, and partially due to this damage he has episodes of uncontrollable rage and psychosis, this man is also brilliant in his own right. At a research facility we have doctors and biotechnology experts that are on the cutting edge of neuropschiatry and they believe that they can implant a computer that will correct some of Benson's damage, and hopefully alleviate the violent attacks. Predictably, the excrement hits the air conditioning (to borrow a quote from Kurt Vonnegut) after the procedure has been completed. Overly eager and arrogant men can not control the impacts of their actions, nor the reactions of their test-subject. A chaotic and dangerous man is on the loose in L.A. and the only hope lies in the surgical hands of the very same people that implanted him to begin with, but his very psychosis that has been exacerbated by the implantation assures that he will not be seeking their help.

The characters are not the most well rounded and developed, but neither are they completely two-dimensional. For a quick and interesting thriller the level of characterization works well enough. For me this leans to the high-end of a three-star rating, it accomplishes what it sets out to do and is a fun, if somewhat dark, ride along the way.
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Scriptcod
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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The book uses Crichton's training as a medical professional to address Medical and Technological themes ahead of its time (1972), such as the ethical implications of using medical technology to alter behavior and the potential dangers of relying too heavily on technological solutions for psychological issues.
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scarletdust
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Mi risultano del tutto incomprensibili i commenti che definiscono questo libro quasi comico solo perché la tecnologia descritta è superata... mi sembrano ragionamenti di chi guarda il dito anziché la luna che esso indica. Il messaggio che Crichton vuole comunicare non è certamente compromesso solo perché si parla attraverso un telefono con filo o perché i computer occupano un'intera stanza. A mio modo di vedere la forza della storia resta intatta anche leggendolo ai giorni nostri... e quanti scrittori successivi hanno copiato da questo romanzo del 1972! Il libro non è perfetto, in particolare mi aspettavo alcuni approfondimenti in più e soprattutto un finale più incisivo e meno affrettato. Resta comunque una lettura consigliata e uno dei migliori Crichton che ho letto finora. Il mio voto: 3,5 stelle.
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ironcladgranite
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This book was originally written 1972 or so…. So it’s a bit outdated. So you have to work through that. He explaining computers….CRT monitors…quite funny in one sense.

Updated, it might be a stronger book. Crichton does bring a lot of commentary to a topic. Which should make you think. Though I didn’t think it’s one of his stronger stories
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theleiren
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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A quick read this short medical thriller / medical scifi about a man having brain seizures which gives him blackouts and more recent his behaviour turns very violent.
He gets an operation which should counter the seizures with small electro shocks to correct his seizures not unlike a pacemaker for the heart.
It turns out to be a disaster and the man become even more dangerous and is sure he is turning into a machine.

A small well researched early novel by Crichton about the dangers of medical science.

Enjoyable read
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