Andromeda Strain

Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

This is a good book... probably one of the first Crichton books that I ever read. My roommate Rosa got me into Crichton at Rutgers.

Andromeda Strain is the story of what happens when an extra-terrestrial organism enters Earth and has the ability to quickly kill humans. A satellite aircraft/probe was due to reenter the atmosphere, and when it did everyone in the town died quickly. The blood immediately coagulated with the exception of two survivors: an old man and an infant. A team of scientists assemble at a top secret government compound that was specifically built to analyze any extra-terrestrial microorganisms.

This book is just great science fiction fun. Fun because it feels so real - the emergency and the scientific data. Crichton was a great researcher! (Well, he was a doctor.) Anyway, many of his novels take on a pseudo-documentary, nonfiction reporting style. Studies are referred to, charts are displayed, etc. Crichton also spends quality time explaining how things work. And I love that! I loved the scene in Spiderman where the docent explains the genetically altered spider to the high school students. These scenes mirror my same love for makeover montages. I don't know if there's a connection, but I love them equally.

Grade: B+