Sphere

The first 100 pages were brutal. The psychologist who chose the civilian crew could not have picked a bigger bunch of head cases if he had tried. I know Crichton did this to enable his plot but this guy was apparently totally professionally incompetent. And he emerges as the hero, yet. Add to this paragraph after paragraph of scientific lectures and its pretty bad. They all should have died.

Very much yada yada, humanities vs natural sciences and a wasted plot idea with far too less action and twists. I still remember how boredom and disappointment grew, after the first few chapters showed the setting and some suspense was built up and then it got lengthy and neither the psychological in......more

First, an overlong apologist's review of Michael Crichton. Then, a very short review of Sphere. (Life update: I am procrastinating). In my opinion, you can only truly rate a Michael Crichton book by a) the depth and originality of the concept and b) the lucidity of the monologue/essay that will alwa......more

Back in 1993, after reading Jurassic Park (see review of that book HERE), I was like in Crichton-mode actived! ;) So, my next novel had to be by Michael Crichton! I went to the bookstore and this one was the first book that I checked and after reading the premise, I found it promising. ;) So, I bou......more

I had some idea what to expect when I picked up the late Michael Crichton's sci-fi thriller Sphere because I'd seen the movie years ago -- a movie I love by the way despite a lot of lambasting from the critics and grumbling from the book's fans. Sure it isn't perfect (with its moments of cheese and......more

2.5 stars. Was debating whether to give it a 2.5 or a 3, with the number changing throughout the book. Man, this was... Lukewarm? Lackluster? Disappointing, definitely. What I liked • Interesting premise that held my attention up until the middle of the book, where improbable things start happening......more