Prey – A Novel By Michael Crichton

12th August 2010

While on the subject of heady, science fiction thrillers (see my Inception review)…

As we all know, I am a film maker and lover… You might call me a nerd… You could call me psychotically obsessive even (I have seen over 10,000 films in my life, most of them twice and I own nearly 3,000.) In fact a good portion of my earliest memories are of watching films. The language of cinema is so engrained in my psyche that I dream in widescreen (I’m talking 2:35 too, not no 1:78 crap.) So much of my life has been taken up by film that I have sort of become reticent towards reading (that and being forced through several absolutely wretched novels in my schooling years. Alas Babylon, anyone?)

In the past 10 years (or more), aside from the Michael Crichton novels I have devoured, the only books I have read have been film related. If Chins Could Kill Confessions of a B Movie Actor, by Bruce Campbell; My Word Is My Bond, by Sir Roger Moore; Bronson’s Loose! The Making of the Death Wish Films, by Paul Talbot; and Seagology A Study of the Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal, by Internet Film Critic Extraordinaire, Vern. (I will defend myself a little bit by saying that I am not completely without class and sophistication, as my all time favorite novel is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.)

What exactly is it then that draws me to the works of Michael Crichton? Quite simply, as many of his detractors AND supporters have pointed out, his novels are like screenplays. Not just any screenplays though. Screenplays for the most suspenseful, engaging and intelligent movies you can imagine. You can see the story as you read it. It is vivid and visceral, as if the pages are projecting a film directly into your brain. In fact many of Crichton’s works have been turned into great films, most notably Jurassic Park (and to a lesser extent Rising Sun and Disclosure.) I can’t say all of his novels have been translated successfully to the screen though (hello Congo and Sphere.) But THIS is what draws me to the works of Crichton, he writes in a very visual manner; so you can see, feel and hear the story, not just flip through some pages.

It also doesn’t hurt that Crichton was also a filmmaker himself (and a doctor to boot.) He wrote and directed the brilliant and terrifying Westworld (that was in essence a pre-cursor to Jurassic Park) about a theme park who’s attractions start killing the guests. Crichton also did an entertaining adaptation of his own novel The Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland. Then of course there is Looker, Physical Evidence and Coma all directed by Crichton. However, I was first exposed to Crichton as both a filmmaker and writer with his 1984 “robots gone amok” thriller, Runaway. Runaway is one of my favorite films of the 80’s. It is well acted and paced. The film has an accessible intelligence to it, but it is also action packed and quite thrilling.

So, needless to say I was exposed to the film world of Michael Crichton before the literary world. In a way I’m glad it worked out that way though. Had I read the novels his films are based on first I would have been ruined by that elitist “The book is better than the movie” attitude that so often proliferates reviews of screen adaptations. Most films based on Crichton’s novels and or written by Crichton are almost always (save for Congo and Sphere) far more enriching and intelligent than the bulk of Hollywood films. It is true however in the end, that the books are better than the films; but generally only by a slim margin.

The first Michael Crichton novel I ever read is the one I am reviewing today, Prey. A film has not been made of this novel (however the rights have been purchased), but it would make an excellent film. The novel features many of Crichton’s usual propensities; an average looking; flawed but relatable male protagonist with great intelligence. A beautiful, but foreboding icy blonde, career driven bitch of even greater intelligence. And, a story driven by the paranoia of technology or medical related science on the brink of destroying us all.

I am going to quote you the back of the novel and that is essentially all I wish to say about the plot, so as to not give away any twists or great shock moments (of which there are many, in great supply.)   “In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles- micro robots- has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.   It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.   Every attempt to destroy it has failed.   And we are the prey.”

To fully enjoy Prey, or ANY Michael Crichton novel it would help to either be a full on nerd or at least of average intelligence. Being a former Doctor, Crichton himself is well educated and it shows through in his works. All of the subject matter in his novels is meticulously researched. The technology and science on display in his books, while oft times slightly far-fetched, is believable and described in a frighteningly realistic manner. From the cloning elements of Jurassic Park, to the apes of Congo capable of sign language, the DNA patenting and organ selling of Next and the nano-particles of Prey, all of Crichton’s “science fiction” is laced with about 75% science fact.

This use of almost real (and for the most part, actually real) scientific and technological, facts, records and data give Crichton’s novels a sense of terrifying reality and overwhelming urgency. I have read Prey twice. The first time I read it I literally read it from start to finish in a single sitting. My reaction to it was immediate. It has a visceral intensity to it that makes you just keep turning the pages. The book makes you NEED to see what’s going to happen next.

In addition to the scientific and technological “near facts” on display Crichton also has a habit of writing in “archetypal” characters. People you can immediately gravitate to, or despise, depending on the needs of the story. Some may call this lazy, but I don’t. It makes the heady, cerebral and overtly intellectual aspects of the novel more accessible AND believable. There is no need for me to name the characters in Prey. The “heroes” and “villains” of Prey are written deep enough to understand their motivations, to connect to them and their feelings, without going too far under their surfaces.

Crichton’s novels aren’t about characters, they are about unfurling a horrifically plausible tale of unrelenting suspense, wrapped up in a stiflingly claustrophobic atmosphere that comes with the world of scientific and technological terrors he creates for us. And Prey is no exception. Aside from the ending being a bit anti-climatic, the whole novel is an edge-of-your-seat affair, it’s just page after page of breathless, overwhelming suspense. And Crichton makes it seem all too possible, all too realistic. By the end of the novel you won’t be thinking about how scary it would be if it did happen, you’ll be thinking about how scary it’s going to be WHEN it happens.

Yes, Crichton does tend to rely on playing off of basic human fears a bit too heavily. Yes, some of his works are a bit ham-fisted with personal opinion (like State of Fear.) And, yes, sometimes the “what if” scenario that serves as the basis of the novel and scientific “fact” that drives the novel are sensationalized and stretched in some extreme and unlikely directions (also State of Fear.) BUT when you are there in the moment and turning each page with a sweaty brow and shaky hands you won’t think about any of that.

In the end Prey is my favorite Crichton novel. It has the overwhelming sense of all encompassing dread of his earlier “classic” works. The stark technological and scientific “near fact” feeling of Jurassic Park and a well crafted “cinematic” pace that prevents you from being able to put the book down. Sure, it would have been nice to have a change of pace with the characters, dialog and humor. AND the ending could have been sent back for another edit. But as I said before, when you’re in the thick of it with the characters, surrounded by a dense black cloud of thinking, near sentient, man-made robotic death, fighting for your life, you won’t be thinking of that. You’ll only be thinking about what happens next.

Rating – 9/10 Killer Nano Particles

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