classic MC book. A kind of modern take on Science intermixed with Man in a kind of Frankestein esque way. it was obviously well researched and build on a foundation of facts and science ( it is MC so this would be obvious) and it was a very quick & short read. It wasnt the best thriller but it was def entertaining and got the job done. I am sad to say, I dont remember the ending of this novel so because of that, I will most likely be reading this again within next 6 months to refamiliarize myself with it and possibly rate and review it again.

As it stands, I rated it 4 starts years ago and that is where it says

Update 9/13/21- just finished rereading this last night. Took me about 2 thorough sittings. Very quick read. It wasnt as thrilling as I remember. First half of the book is about the procedure and science behind it , the hospital, staff, research etc. Once the procedure is don't and the patient escapes it picks up fast. You kind of feel bad for Benson but not as much as you do the monster in Frankenstein. Benson was already crazy and was doomed to do something nuts sooner or later. His kills were violent and the ending in the main hospital computer room was decent.

Can’t say this isn’t fast paced. That flew by really quickly yet leaves a little to be desired regarding the full science and reasoning behind electrical stimulation directly into the brain.

Interesting research, as usual. Lots of facts and psychological discussions interspersed in this novel. And of course Crichton’s medical knowledge is always a confident source in his books.

Kinda wish there was more delving into Benson’s mind and history. But nevertheless the research and fast paced action are great fun and make for a wonderfully easy read.

6/10. Media de los 6 libros leídos del autor: 7/10

Pues aunque sus pelis suelen ser bastante efectivas, esta novela como que no me dijo mucho. Prescindible, pillaos otra.

This book is enjoyable, but overall, okay. The premise was honestly interesting. The plot was bland and predictable. Nevertheless, the research took to fill this book is highly commendable.

The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton.


One of Crichton's earlier works The Terminal Man is not as polished or as engaging as his later Science Fiction or Medical Fiction, but the hint of greatness is definitely evident and despite the fact that the books is 41 years old this year the story is still a compelling read with a few unexpected twists and turns. The Terminal Man is the story of, Harry Benson, a normal man who following a car accident develops a violent side which is triggered by a seizure and a black out. The technical medical term (I looked it up) is "psychomotor epilepsy." Medical science steps in to try to an experiment in mind control, embedding a series of wires in the mans brain with a computer control to spark the right synapses when it detects that a seizure is about to happen. If you're a student of medical history you'll be familiar with the story of Phineas Gage and you'll note some similarities here. For everyone else this is a Jekyll and Hyde story without the magic potion.
Without giving too much away the action of the story really gets going when you find out that due to a miscalculation and a psychological misreading of the patient the effect of the surgery is only delaying the eventual release of Benson's dark violent side. He's a man with a ticking time bomb inside his head and anyone in his way when it goes off is in for a world of hurt.
They made a movie version of this book in 74, but I haven't seen it. However I did see a very good Christopher Walken film called "The Happiness Cage" or "The Mind Snatchers" depending on which release you see that covers some of the same ground. That movie came out in 1972 as well, so I wonder if the book influenced the movie or vice versa, or it's just another of those cases where an ideas time had come and several people ran with it. Probably the later.
In any case, if you like Crichton this is a fast read and holds up well. It's not his best, but it won't put you to sleep and the science it describes is still relevant today as we're not really all that more informed about what all the different parts of the brain actually do. It's still a brave frontier and there's a lot of room for research and growth.

This book is dumb as hell, and acts smart as hell. A lady scientist! Better describe her breasts, after the book is only 200 pages, better squeeze that in! The 1970s of course was obsessed with computer technology and the next phases of psychology. We have a kind of Dr Jekyll type story here. A man with a neurological disorder (he’s having a specific kind of seizure) commits acts of violence and aggression, and in order to save his life and maybe restore his functionality to society, is going under an experimental brain surgery where a computer chip will be plugged into his brain to control these seizures, almost like a pacemaker. So the book is mostly a kind of case history/case report on this surgery and the people involved. And of course it goes awry. This book is super boring in some ways, and annoyingly cocky and arrogant in others. If you’ve read other Michael Crichton from about this same time, you might know what I mean. It’s funny because it’s science fiction, but desperately tied to a specific zeitgeist. One thing I do love is that it’s a little cocky about the computer technology available. And it makes me laugh because the computer used here, well, I looked it up, and my phone is about 200,000 times more powerful than it is. I get the same feeling when I read about the supercomputers in Jurassic Park.

This is really dated but still a pretty cool Crichton technothriller.

3.25 ⭐

CW: ableism, medical content

Hey OP, do you take criticism? Maybe don't put plutonium inside of people. Just a suggestion tho!!

Anyway lol. The neuroscience is thoroughly researched and interesting, but the whole presentation of the computer simulation plot points was practically unintelligible.

Female characters? Atrocious. "Men take showers. Women take baths." Literally get out of my house lmao.

But at least it had graphs!

n  The Terminal Mann is so far my least favorite of all Michael Crichton's novels. (I'm almost finished reading all of his fiction books.) But I couldn't rate it lower than three-stars, because this is Crichton, for pity's sake. He's one of my favorite authors. And I suppose the tremendous research and effort dedicated in this book is worth an additional star.

Okay, so this is about a man named Benson who frequently had violent seizures. People from the Neuropsychiatric Research Unit decided to apply some experimental methods to him that were never used in humans before, in an attempt to "cure" him. Whenever Benson would have a seizure, the electrodes placed in his brain would at once pulse some sort of pleasurable sensation. Apparently Benson liked this feeling very much that he managed to increase the stimulation (which would lead normally lead to seizures) in order to feel that pleasurable response. But it became too much for his brain to handle, and soon enough he was on the loose with a deadly intent on his mind.

I'm glad my General Biology class came in pretty handy, so I wasn't lost in all those scientific terminologies regarding the nervous system. One of the things I noticed here is that there isn't too much piling of information. I think that's a good thing, especially if you're the type of reader who'd get tired of the unceasing lectures and technical discussions. Nevertheless, I felt really educated after reading this because Crichton still inserted several tidbits every now and then, especially during dialogues (the briefing/ interview part of Benson was cleverly used).

The pace is very quick. Even the novel is quite short, and I finished it in about three hours or less. Unlike his other novels, there wasn't much history or background on the characters. And the point-of-view primarily centered on Dr. Ross. It's rather rare for him to use a woman as the main character. Though to be honest, one couldn't really pinpoint a single person who could effectively be considered as the protagonist. Furthermore, it was very straightforward. I like that simplicity and economy of words and pages.

However, because of that, the characters didn't develop very much. There was hardly any time for characterization. And I felt like I wasn't able to get to know the characters better.

The writing could be better. But I understand that this was written much earlier. And having read Crichton's latter works, I can say that his writing style improved immensely. Sadly, in this book, the descriptions were a bit bland. (I'll cite an example when I get a hold of my copy.)

The suspense wasn't as intense as I expected. I'm not complaining; I think it was still satisfying. But the thrill only arrived towards the end of the book, which was unlike Crichton's other novels (as there was usually a continuous dose of thrill available all throughout). Despite the writing, though, I'd admit I was utterly horrified when Benson suddenly appeared in Dr. Ross's place. I could feel her fear - it was so palpable. Since then the suspense erupted.

The ending took me by surprise. Wow, that was the first time I've ever come across his books wherein the ending was so abrupt and unexplained. I flipped to the next page and was flabbergasted to find it empty. It gave me goosebumps, really.

As usual, the painstaking research done is commendable. One look at the bibliography and you could already say that n  The Terminal Mann was a very intelligently-crafted work. I felt so smart after reading it, as if a considerable amount of knowledge was entered into my brain. (Heh, mind control, indeed.)

Although this isn't really my favorite, I'd still recommend this. The main reason would probably be because the subject matter is controversial and leaned more on psychology and ethics than medical science. The implications of this research were massive, indeed.

Really enjoyed this one. Ended up watching the movie with George Segal afterwards and it made me appreciate the book and it’s ending a lot more. Would love to see a modern body horror adaptation of this book even though I hate that style of film, I think it would really enhance this storyline.

3.5/5

A fun book! Terrifying in parts, a little boring in others, but overall kept me going with its strong momentum and pulled me out of a reading slump. It was fascinating to read about all these different scientific theories (did you know the obvious next stop for computers in 1972 was biological ones?) that are dated and some that are still relevant. I was surprised that the premise from the back of the book is almost over half of the book - it spends a lot of time pre-op. There's a good bit of discussion of Benson's mental state and whether its medically ethical to spend this money on him which was interesting to read and parse. Definitely has aged quite a bit in parts, but nothing super egregious and I'm excited to read more Crichton!