Early Michael Crichton is the best, and none come better than 1969's The Andromeda Strain. Taut, chilling, and totally believable -- Crichton's breakout science fiction/techno/medical thriller holds up over forty years after it was written. Crichton presents the story as a false document, which is one reason it doesn't feel dated despite revolutions in biology and medicine. It reads like a bio-nightmare from another time, yet its horrors are just as scary and relevant today. Robert Wise's excellent film adaptation holds up equally well (forget about the TV remake, trust me). I once watched the Wise film in a bar in Grinnell, IA with a couple of townies after I had finished my final exams early. A great way to unwind. I haven't seen Soderbergh's Contagion yet. But, as far as bio-terror fiction goes, it will be hard to top the Crichton/Wise efforts for style, tension, and pure entertainment.
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Andromeda Strain
Early Michael Crichton is the best, and none come better than 1969's The Andromeda Strain. Taut, chilling, and totally believable -- Crichton's breakout science fiction/techno/medical thriller holds up over forty years after it was written. Crichton presents the story as a false document, which is one reason it doesn't feel dated despite revolutions in biology and medicine. It reads like a bio-nightmare from another time, yet its horrors are just as scary and relevant today. Robert Wise's excellent film adaptation holds up equally well (forget about the TV remake, trust me). I once watched the Wise film in a bar in Grinnell, IA with a couple of townies after I had finished my final exams early. A great way to unwind. I haven't seen Soderbergh's Contagion yet. But, as far as bio-terror fiction goes, it will be hard to top the Crichton/Wise efforts for style, tension, and pure entertainment.
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