Prey - Softcover

Crichton, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061015725 ISBN 13: 9780061015724

Publisher: Avon Books, 2003

Synopsis

Deep in the remote Nevada desert, eight people are trapped inside of the Xymos Corporation, a state-of-the-art fabrication plant, by a self-replicating, rapidly evolving swarm comprised of predatory molecules that they themselves had created and that have massed together to form a powerful and intelligent organism that is targeting its creators. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

In Prey, bestselling author Michael Crichton introduces bad guys that are too small to be seen with the naked eye but who are no less deadly or intriguing than the runaway dinosaurs that made 1990's Jurassic Park such a blockbuster success. High-tech whistle-blower Jack Forman used to specialise in programming computers to solve problems by mimicking the behaviour of efficient wild animals--swarming bees or hunting hyena packs, for example. Now he's unemployed and is finally starting to enjoy his new role as stay-at-home dad. All would be domestic bliss if it were not for Jack's suspicions that his wife, who's been behaving strangely and working long hours at the top-secret research labs of Xymos Technology, is having an affair.

When he's called in to help with her hush-hush project, it seems like the perfect opportunity to see what she's been doing, but Jack quickly finds there's a lot more going on in the lab than an illicit affair. Within hours of his arrival at the remote testing centre, Jack discovers his wife's firm has created self-replicating nanotechnology--a literal swarm of microscopic machines. Originally meant to serve as a military eye in the sky, the swarm has now escaped into the environment and is seemingly intent on killing the scientists trapped in the facility. The reader realises early, however, that Jack, his wife and their fellow scientists have more to fear from the hidden dangers within the lab than from the predators without.

The monsters may be smaller in this book, but Crichton's skill for suspense has grown, making Prey a scary read that's hard to set aside. It's not without minor flaws: the science in this novel requires more explanation than did the cloning of dinosaurs, leading to lengthy and sometimes dry academic lessons. And while the coincidence of Xymos's new technology running on the same program that Jack created keeps the plot moving, it may be more than some readers can swallow. But thanks in part to a sobering foreword in which Crichton warns of the real dangers of technology that continues to evolve more quickly than common sense, Prey succeeds in gripping readers with a tense and frightening tale of scientific suspense. --Benjamin Reese

Review:

"TERRIFYING...IRRESISTIBLY SUSPENSEFUL."--New York Times Book Review

"INTRICATE PLOTTING AND FLAWLESS PACING...you won't be able to put it down."--Time magazine

"CRACKLING...MYSTERIOUS...."--Entertainment Weekly

"Just what his fans expect: A WILD, SCARY RIDE..."--Detroit Free Press

"Another PAGE-TURNING TRIUMPH"--Charlotte Observer

"INCREDIBLY SCARY and relentless"--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"PREY WILL KEEP YOU TURNING PAGES"--Chattanooga Times

."..so god-awful scary and relentless, it'll knock your head clear of whatever ails you."--St. Petersburg Times

"This is how to write a thriller ...Crichton's latest page-turning triumph."--Detroit Free Press

"Serious and scary..."--Washington Post Book World

"Crichton is a master storyteller."--Detroit News

.".. a harrowing tale of nanoparticles gone beserk."--USA Today

"A terrific novelist...He could make most readers lose sleep all night and call in sick the next day."--San Francisco Chronicle

"RELENTLESSLY ENTERTAINING"--Raleigh News & Observer

"A cross between Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain...."--Columbus Dispatch

"PREY delivers that expected Crichton charge."--Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Once again, Crichton has proved to be uncannily timely."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A TERRIFYING TALE...combining technological verisimilitude with heart-pounding suspense..."--The Oregonian (Portland)

"Crichton has proved he knows how to ratchet up the fear factor."--Denver Post

"Crichton writes superbly...the excitment rises with each page."--Chicago Tribune

"Crichton is a doctor of suspense."--Des Moines Sunday Register

"Readers turn to Michael Crichton's novels for entertainment with relentless drive."--San Antonio Express

"He is without peer."--Chattanooga Times

"Crichton's books [are]...hugely entertaining."--New York Times Book Review

"Crichton delivers."--USA Today

"One of the great storytellers of our age...What an amazing imagination."--New York Newsday

"Michael Crichton has written some of America's most fantastic novels."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

TERRIFYING IRRESISTIBLY SUSPENSEFUL. --New York Times Book Review"

INTRICATE PLOTTING AND FLAWLESS PACING you won t be able to put it down. --Time magazine"

CRACKLING MYSTERIOUS . --Entertainment Weekly"

Just what his fans expect: A WILD, SCARY RIDE --Detroit Free Press"

Another PAGE-TURNING TRIUMPH --Charlotte Observer"

INCREDIBLY SCARY and relentless --Minneapolis Star Tribune"

PREY WILL KEEP YOU TURNING PAGES --Chattanooga Times"

RELENTLESSLY ENTERTAINING --Raleigh News & Observer"

a harrowing tale of nanoparticles gone beserk. --USA Today"

A TERRIFYING TALE combining technological verisimilitude with heart-pounding suspense --The Oregonian (Portland)"

Serious and scary --Washington Post Book World"

This is how to write a thriller Crichton s latest page-turning triumph. --Detroit Free Press"

Crichton has proved he knows how to ratchet up the fear factor. --Denver Post"

so god-awful scary and relentless, it ll knock your head clear of whatever ails you. --St. Petersburg Times"

Once again, Crichton has proved to be uncannily timely. --St. Louis Post-Dispatch"

Crichton is a master storyteller. --Detroit News"

A cross between Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain . --Columbus Dispatch"

PREY delivers that expected Crichton charge. --Seattle Post-Intelligencer"

A terrific novelist He could make most readers lose sleep all night and call in sick the next day. --San Francisco Chronicle"

Readers turn to Michael Crichton s novels for entertainment with relentless drive. --San Antonio Express"

Crichton is a doctor of suspense. --Des Moines Sunday Register"

Crichton writes superbly the excitment rises with each page. --Chicago Tribune"

Crichton s books [are] hugely entertaining. --New York Times Book Review"

Crichton delivers. --USA Today"

He is without peer. --Chattanooga Times"

One of the great storytellers of our age What an amazing imagination. --New York Newsday"

Michael Crichton has written some of America s most fantastic novels. --Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"

..". a harrowing tale of nanoparticles gone beserk."--USA Today

..".so god-awful scary and relentless, it'll knock your head clear of whatever ails you."--St. Petersburg Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0061015725
• ISBN 13: 9780061015724
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 528