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pondojames's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
defaultnamespace's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
compassrosa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
inkster95's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I have been reading and reviewing for over a decade, and in that time, I have grown and changed a lot. My views in the following review reflect the person I was when I wrote them and may not reflect who I am today - for better or for worse. While I would love to be able to reread and update my reviews to reflect who I am today, I think my time is better dedicated elsewhere. If you choose to read this review, please bear in mind this attitude.
Plot:
Norman Johnson, a psychologist, is hauled to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to preside over a supposed plane crash. What he learns is that he is actually a part of a mission to explore a crashed spaceship hiding underwater for around 300 years and this mission is based on a report he gave to the secretary of the United States on contacting Unknown Life Forms.
Norman, along with Ted Fielding, astrophysicist, Beth Halpern, zoologist, Harry Adams, mathematician, Harold Barnes, USN Captain, and four other Navy personal travel down to a deepsea underwater habitat to investigate this spaceship. Inside the ship resides a sphere. Quickly things turn downhill as the sphere unleashes its alien power.
Good:
I think the book is much clearer about what is happening than the movie was. There are not as many confusing, unexplained occurences. Of course, this is in part due to the inability to show as much in a movie as in a book, but part of it is the fault of the movie.
Further, Michael Crichton is great at his characters. It is nice that Norman is a normal human being, scared out of his wits, making stupid mistakes, and not some young, hunky, smart aleky guy. The people in this book are just that: people. Not supermodels or fakes. Real live people.
Also, the whole idea is absolutely original (to me at the time I initially read this in 2007). Instead of meeting aliens who may or may not be friendly, the team meets an empty spaceship with an alien object in it.
Crichton steadily builds the tempo of this novel. He starts out somewhat slow almost lazy, but it gets more and more intriguing the further you get into the book. By the last 100 pages, I had a hard time putting it down.
Bad:
While not as confusing as the movie, it is difficult to tell which manifestations originated from which person. Did Norman manifest the jellyfish or Harry? Was Beth's seduction Norman's or Beth's? Other than this, there is not much to lament about (other than one of my favorite characters dies...)
Overall:
An immensely intriguing book and an enjoyable ride to the bottom of the sea. Well worth the money I spent for it. After reading this book, I definitely want to check out more of Michael Crichton's works.
Spoiler
Here is yet another novel made into a movie and my first from Michael Crichton. I become more and more surprised at how Hollywood takes extreme artistic licensing in transforming the book to the movie. Situations are similar, most of the cast are the same, but there are distinct differences between the movie and the book that greatly make a difference in interpreting.Plot:
Norman Johnson, a psychologist, is hauled to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to preside over a supposed plane crash. What he learns is that he is actually a part of a mission to explore a crashed spaceship hiding underwater for around 300 years and this mission is based on a report he gave to the secretary of the United States on contacting Unknown Life Forms.
Norman, along with Ted Fielding, astrophysicist, Beth Halpern, zoologist, Harry Adams, mathematician, Harold Barnes, USN Captain, and four other Navy personal travel down to a deepsea underwater habitat to investigate this spaceship. Inside the ship resides a sphere. Quickly things turn downhill as the sphere unleashes its alien power.
Good:
I think the book is much clearer about what is happening than the movie was. There are not as many confusing, unexplained occurences. Of course, this is in part due to the inability to show as much in a movie as in a book, but part of it is the fault of the movie.
Further, Michael Crichton is great at his characters. It is nice that Norman is a normal human being, scared out of his wits, making stupid mistakes, and not some young, hunky, smart aleky guy. The people in this book are just that: people. Not supermodels or fakes. Real live people.
Also, the whole idea is absolutely original (to me at the time I initially read this in 2007). Instead of meeting aliens who may or may not be friendly, the team meets an empty spaceship with an alien object in it.
Crichton steadily builds the tempo of this novel. He starts out somewhat slow almost lazy, but it gets more and more intriguing the further you get into the book. By the last 100 pages, I had a hard time putting it down.
Bad:
While not as confusing as the movie, it is difficult to tell which manifestations originated from which person. Did Norman manifest the jellyfish or Harry? Was Beth's seduction Norman's or Beth's? Other than this, there is not much to lament about (other than one of my favorite characters dies...)
Overall:
An immensely intriguing book and an enjoyable ride to the bottom of the sea. Well worth the money I spent for it. After reading this book, I definitely want to check out more of Michael Crichton's works.
jennakay09's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mcloonejack's review against another edition
3.0
Rating this a three is maybe a little unfair if only because this was the kind of mildly thrilling pulpy read I expected, but here we are.
There are some truly stunning moments and this, and the twists and turns toward the end are pretty fun, if predictable. The characters were in many ways annoying plus often stereotypical, but Crichton played with it enough to keep it from being too untenable.
If you like Crichton, you’ll probably at least find something to enjoy here. Good low-effort subway read.
There are some truly stunning moments and this, and the twists and turns toward the end are pretty fun, if predictable. The characters were in many ways annoying plus often stereotypical, but Crichton played with it enough to keep it from being too untenable.
If you like Crichton, you’ll probably at least find something to enjoy here. Good low-effort subway read.
frasersimons's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I always thought that the movie was underrated. As flawed as it was, it’s still an interesting question at the heart of it about humankind, which is what the best science fiction does. Underwater thrillers are usually more interesting as space too, since it’s as foreign, but teeming with life, and feels somehow more pertinent.
The book is simultaneously better and worse than the movie. The ending is more complicated and the characters more fleshed out, less Hollywoodized. The best parts of the film are mostly from the book. But because it does try to do more, the incredulity of some of the outcomes come into play. The movie fixes this by having everything occur at a subliminal level. Without this luxury, a few of the plot beats become really questionable, and feel really indulgent toward the characters and their specific arcs, and final outcome. An ending much better fleshed out and here, and far less cheesy.
The book is simultaneously better and worse than the movie. The ending is more complicated and the characters more fleshed out, less Hollywoodized. The best parts of the film are mostly from the book. But because it does try to do more, the incredulity of some of the outcomes come into play. The movie fixes this by having everything occur at a subliminal level. Without this luxury, a few of the plot beats become really questionable, and feel really indulgent toward the characters and their specific arcs, and final outcome. An ending much better fleshed out and here, and far less cheesy.
unexplainabl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
5.0
LOVED this book. Such a great author. The writing is fantastic and the last ''chapter'' really pulls everything together well.