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Nov 12, 2017baldand rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The novel is written as a cautionary tale on the risks involved in nanotechnology and programming machines based on predator-prey algorithms and distributed intelligence. However it isn’t a dry read by any means. It really is one of those books that once you start reading it you can’t put it down. It hasn’t been made into a movie yet as far as I know but it read almost like a novel written with an eye to selling the movie rights. Apparently 20th Century Fox bought them. There are the ethnic characters in the mix that conform to ethnic stereotypes, Rosie the hot Latina, Mae the shy cerebral Oriental woman. SPOILERS AHEAD! The hero (and heroine) destroy the menacing swarms against all odds, but in real life faced by such a menace any rational person would have brought in the authorities. This might not have made for such a page-turner of a novel, but it certainly would have made for a more believable one. Although Crichton keeps repeating how rapidly self-reproducing swarms may evolve and advance the developments he shows defy belief. The chapter at the end that is supposed to wrap up all the loose ends doesn’t really do so. We never find out why Jack’s wife Julia had her car accident; it seems it was just a device thrown in to keep her away from the Nevada fabrication plant until the climax of the book. Nevertheless, I would recommend the book. Crichton has a delightful sense of humour. I particularly liked Julia’s reference to a pair of high heels as her f—k me shoes.