RealityEquation

∗ Michael Crichton’s ‘Prey’: A Reviewette

I just finished reading Michael Crichton’s 2002 technothriller Prey and loved it so much I wrote a quick review. Unlike 2006’s Next (about commericalized genetics), which I couldn’t bother finishing, Prey is up there with 2004’s State of Fear (about politicized science):

Nanoparticles smaller than the smallest strand of hair, programmed as predators: learning, evolving, reproducing. And out of control. This is the world that Michael Crichton throws readers in in ‘Prey’, a terrifying story of what can happen if nanotechnology, biotechnology and distributed computing coalesce with consequences beyond our imagination. Much like ‘Jurassic Park’ was a warning against misuse of genetic research and ‘State of Fear’ against politicized science, so Prey warns of the dangers of dealing with artificial distributed intelligence without truly understanding the science and its consequences. And it does so with a beautifully-crafted story that shreds protagonist Jack Forman’s stay-at-home life apart and propels him to a technological nightmare so deftly, the pages fly by as you hold your breath.

Crichton, as usual, weaves cutting-edge scientific research (still so, after six full years) with characters that are likable and easy to relate to, which makes the story just that bit more frightening. It’s interesting how Forman, a software engineer trained in the sort of agent-based programming that models biological processes and swarm behavior, is able to explain complex scientific scenarios to readers while fighting and struggling for his life in a cave with swarms of millions of biological predators without at all getting out of character. It’s discomforting how the same guy who, at the start of the novel, is at a store buying placemats and thinking about dinner, ends up fighting a failed experiment gone so horribly wrong that the lives of every single living human is at risk. Its worrying how real the threat might be, and how, suddenly, a world so new (to most readers) can suddenly be a world so frightening.

Prey jolts you hard with the deep, underlying implications that run parallel to the story; you can’t put it down, and you can’t not be worried.

Definitely recommended!