Perhaps the first book I have genuinely and spontaneously referred to as 'gripping'. Also, I like to think that if Michael Crichton were alive today, there's no way he'd still be a climate change denier.

Prey is a little underwhelming. The grey goo scenario is very interesting, but badly explored in this book. It starts with 140 pages of marital issues, followed by a pretty good midsection, only to jump the shark completely at the end. It only touches the surface of some very interesting concepts, which is such a shame. Lots of potential, but seriously lacking in the execution department.

I had heard about Prey since a few years, but got round to reading it only a few days back.

The story is very interesting. A technology experiment - combining bio and nano tech brings out unexpected results (quite expectedly!) and a crisis of sorts.

Jack is a person who has lost his job. His wife Julia works in a senior position at a company called Xymos. The company is reportedly on the verge of making a major breakthrough - nano miniature cameras which can be used for a wide range of purposes. Jack takes care of the kids and despite his best efforts finds it difficult to get a job, especially as his exit from the previous company had issues - though for no fault of his.

Jack finds himself drawn to issues at Xymos - to rein in organisms which have gone out of control. There is tragedy, quite a bit of it and the book has good pace throughout.

The books also brings out the dangers of technology - if we are not careful with it. Overall a good science fiction read.

Tecno thriller que se sigue con interés de principio a fin. Crichton hace especial hincapié en la parte tecnológica por lo que dependerá de tu grado de interés en la materia, el que ciertas explicaciones te resulten muy interesantes o te puedan llegar a resultar pesadas. Como se puede ver en la calificación, yo me alineo dentro del primer grupo.

Re-read after thirteen years. Still, it was an entertaining read. A techno-thriller, but I enjoyed reading the SF part of it: a bit of Biotechnology, added with Nanotechnology & Self-evolving Artificial Distributed Intelligence. Good suspense and pace. The theme of the book is not yet dated. The book's message, to us humankind, is about the dangers of inventions when Biotech and Nanotech converges with Computer Programming and AI.
Suggested reading, at least once. :)

Buddy read with Asha (who I’ll tag lataaaaa)

Michael Crichton’s “Prey” is a skilful blend of science fiction and thriller, showcasing his incredible research and attention to detail. Crichton has a unique ability to take complex scientific concepts and present them in a way that appears comprehensible and logical, making his narratives exceptionally gripping and satisfying.

I believe Crichton’s writing style sets him apart from many other science fiction authors. While some may require readers to blindly accept the fictional elements of their stories, Crichton ensures that his scientific premises are thoroughly grounded, making the experience more immersive and the story all the more terrifying and plausible. This approach prevents the alienation that can occur when the gap between our world and the fictional one becomes too vast.

In "Prey," Crichton immerses the reader in a world where a team of scientists has created a deadly predator: self-replicating nanoparticles. By merging genetic engineering, computer programming, and nanotechnology, he introduces these micro-robots and explores their evolution and behaviour, drawing comparisons with our natural world and the Predator-Prey relationship.

Although nanotechnology doesn’t particularly excite me, the story also focuses on family and workplace relationships and dynamics, which gives the story extra body and makes the characters, Julia and Jack Forman, more three-dimensional. This focus on interpersonal relationships adds a layer of realism and emotional depth, making the novel resonate on multiple levels beyond its scientific premise.

As with many of Crichton’s novels, it is easy to imagine “Prey” playing out on the big screen. It is action-packed and thrilling, with a cinematic quality, keeping you on the edge of your seat with its enemy chases, explosions, fire bombs and helicopter rescues.

Although I don’t always rate Crichton’s books five stars, I keep returning to his books because they are consistently good. Sometimes, when I’m stuck in a ‘bad-book’ rut and need to break the cycle, I reach for Crichton. In the case of “Prey,” I was not let down. I found this to be a great read and highly recommend it to those interested in both the science fiction and thriller genres.

On the final page, the book concludes with the unsettling words:

“It kept going, kept evolving.
And they let it.
They didn’t understand what they were doing.
I’m afraid that will be on the tombstone of the human race.
I hope it’s not.
We might get lucky.”

This ending sits uneasy with me. It feels less like part of the story and more like a direct commentary from Crichton about our own reality and scientific advances. This final note left me pondering its implications, adding an eerie aftertaste to an already intense narrative.

U uvodu autor opisuje kako će se nano tehnologija, molekularna biologija i umjetna inteligencija (kompjuterski programi koji sami uče) spojiti i tako će doći do stvaranja novog oblika života čije ponašanje i daljni razvoj ne možemo unaprijed predvidjeti. Upozorava da moramo biti vrlo pažljivi i unaprijed odrediti pravila za kontolu. Što bi se dogodilo da se takav život razvije prije nego li definiramo pravila i ograničenja? Tu kreće zaplet ovog romana.

Početak je obećavao. Događaje pratimo očima glavnog lika koji je nepravedno otpušteni kompjuterski programer sada u ulozi stay at home dad (nisam siguran koji je domaći sinonim). Ubrzo primjeti da mu se žena drugačije ponaša. Ostaje duže na poslu i tušira se čim dođe. Da li ga vara? Dobro, ovo sad zvuči kao sapunica, no uklopljeno je u radnju i dobiva se uvid u psihu glavnog lika. Crichton je htio spojiti obiteljsku dramu sa glavnim zapletom, ali nažalost drugi dio romana mijenja tempo i rekao bih žanr pa postupno iz ozbiljnog znanstveno utemeljenog trilera prelazi u akcijski SF B kategorije s elementima trasha. I tu je problem. Trebalo je biti ili jedno ili drugo. A više bih volio da je prvo.

“We think we know what we are doing.
We have always thought so.”

“They didn't understand what they were doing.
I'm afraid that will be on the tombstone of the human race.”

Ova dva citata sumiraju ono što je Michael Crichton htio reći ovim romanom. Dobra je to poruka ali smeta me što je ju je išao tako pojednostaviti i što je podredio radnju i likove tome. Svakako je mogao barem izostaviti pojašnjenje na kraju - kao da je bio problem povezati radnju. Da je samo upakirao svoja promišljanja u scenarij koji je uvjerljiviji te pustio da sami složimo kockice i izvučemo svoje zaključake roman bi bio puno bolji i imao jači efekt.

Šteta, bilo je tu potencijala, ovako jedva trojka.

Prey is my very first Michael Crichton book. Before this book, the only experience I had with Crichton was the film adaptation of Jurassic Park, a movie I had never seen until my girlfriend urged me to watch it. I was intrigued by the movie and could definitely see why it's considered a classic in the world of cinema. A Crichton novel has to be even better, right?

Oddly enough, I can't find the novel version of Jurassic Park without paying more than five bucks (sorry, but when I buy old books I want to get 'em cheaper than that) -- even more for the few hardcovers I've stumbled across online. Therefore, as a way of satisfying my Michael Crichton urge in the meantime, I decided to read Prey. Like Park (and several other Crichton titles), Prey is about science gone awry and causing terror in the lives of the scientists involved as well as their families, i.e. normal folks. The star of the show is Jack Forman, an unemployed software programmer who was fired for discovering an internet scandal. Now a stay-at-home dad, he is the husband of Julia, vice president at nano-robotics company Xymos. Julia begins spending more and more time at work, claiming she is working on something "revolutionary" and time-consuming. Jack is convinced she is cheating. It is not until he, too, gets hired on at Xymos as a consultant that he sees what Julia and her team has been up to and how big of a risk they are all facing.

Going into this novel, I didn't think Crichton would pull off making nano-robots scary, but his creations are quite terrifying. A certain scene in a storage building (you know the one, and if you don't, you will when you read this book) had me on edge, flipping the pages as quickly as I could. There are brutal deaths aplenty here, as well as destruction and blood and vomit. Crichton never goes overboard, but he certainly tests his limits a few times.

There isn't a whole lot more I can say without spoiling important parts of the book, and no one wants that. Crichton has written a pretty strong technothriller -- one that, despite being published in 2002, doesn't feel too dated or cheesy by any means. It feels very modern and like something that really could happen out west in a hidden laboratory. Sure, at times the science is a bit wonky and the characters aren't exactly fully-formed beings, but that's not what this story is about. Like the rest of Crichton's work (or so I assume based on the research I've done!), this is a cautionary tale, showing what can happen when humans try playing God. It's about action, not character work. The author mixes horror and sci-fi pretty well here, and I couldn't put it down. A full 4 stars.

A very informative book about nanotechnology

Not bad, the great fear of the nanobot age is upon us....and independent uncontrolled swarm of nanobots is loose! Will everything be converted to the "gray goo" we've all heard about. How will the nanobots act and react, what can be done about them...how did the swarm get out of the lab?

These and other answers will be revealed as you read....Prey!

(You'll have to imagine the dramatic music)

Not a bad read, I went with three stars.

(Review to come)