Andromeda Strain: Part 2

The team of scientists hunker down in their underground installation, hoping to discover more about this deadly organism. They are equally confused about the two survivors they found in the town that was first exposed to the disease. Two completely opposite people, a sickly old man and a newborn infant, somehow had fought off the disease. The scientists observe them and perform tests on them, yet there is no connection to the disease. The symptom of the disease is the rapid clogging of all the blood in the body, leading to immediate death. Yet the scientists cannot determine the cause of the mysterious phenomenon. They can only wait and hope, knowing that if the disease got out, a nuclear bomb attached to the facility would obliderate anything before it can escape. That bomb would turn out to be a fatal error later on. The book has many twists and turns, but the ending is somewhat unsatisfactory. The reader is lead to believe that the disease would eventually escape the lab and destroy the world, but in the end, nothing happens. Not the best book I have ever read.

The Andromeda Strain: Part 1

The target landed in the middle of the desert, seemingly harmless. But the military serveillence team that was supposed to monitor it encounters something very strange. The object had been carried into a neighboring town, and now all the people are dead. Everyone except for a man in a white robe. The team itself expires after entering the town. Only through pictures and video obtained by a spyplane was the situation fully understood. High ranking leaders in the government had been notified and the mechanisms of a secret project came to life. Probes had been sent into space in an attempt to collect interstellar bacteria and viruses. The most recent one to come back was not carrying something friendly. A lab had been prepared for the eventual discovery of new life, and now this lab, along with many notable scientists was being activiated and mobilized. Everyone hoped to contain the infection just to the case zero town, but that was just wishful thinking. To deal with something so dangerous that it would kill in a matter of minutes was not what people were remotely prepared for. Another michael Crichton novel, the Andromeda Strain explores the possiblities of world catastrope via the introduction of interstellar life. Written in a captivating manner, this science fiction book is a good read for anyone.

Michael Crichton's The Great Train Robbery

Set in 19th century Victorian England, The Great Train Robbery is a fast paced novel focused on the planning and execution of an ambitious plot to steal 12,000 British pounds worth of gold, an enormous sum in those times. The main character, Edward Pierce, is a wealthy gentleman, seemingly harmless and ordinary. His background, however, is ambiguous and shady at best, and his demeanor is one big facade. With quick reactions and a flair for devising plots to rob various institutions, Pierce assembles a motley crew of like-minded criminals to carry out his grand scheme. During the first two parts of the novel, the plot focuses entirely upon the preparation and planning that Pierce's group carries out. Their plan seems simple and ingenious, but a whole host of unexpected changes to the environment as well as major setbacks force Pierce to improvise and make his plot much more elaborate and complicated, almost to the point that it seems highly likely that he will fail and be arrested. Yet he seems to elude every effort, intentional or not, to deter him. Will he be successful? Or will fate catch up with him? Michael Crichton is a great author whose novels are highly captivating and advance the storyline in a rapid manner. This is a great book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read about 200 pages of good writing.

The World Without Us

So what if every human just suddenly disappeared from the Earth? What would happen? The worldwide effect of our disappearance will be profound: nature will begin to reclaim what people have so painstakingly carved out of the primeval wilderness, endangered species will return, and the countless tons of pollution that humans have dumped into their environment will slowly dissipate. The World Without Us covers many aspects of exactly what would happen to the planet if humans didn't exist, both in the past and future. With stories mixed in as well as many scientific information, The World Without Us explains complex ideas in a simple but effective manner. I would recommend this book to whoever would want to read a non-fiction book. It may be one of my favorite non-fiction books I've ever read so far.

The Stand

Another good Stephen King novel, The Stand takes the reader into a completely altered world. A secret US military project code-named "Project Blue", a super flu, is accidentally released, and kills most of the population of the earth. The few survivors face huge hardships, due to the complete devastation of society and the loss of any form of authority. Wandering around, the survivors eventually form bands. The first part of the book follows the endeavors of three bands; Stu's, Larry's, and Nick's. Through shared dreams and visions, they work to converge in Boulder, Colorado. This area would seem to be the least affected by the disease. They also seek the guidance of a very old woman they call "Mother Abigail". With her help, they set up a democratic society, called the "free zone". Yet there are problems between members of the newly-formed society. Stephen King's apocalyptic novels do not fail to impress, and despite their fictitious nature, are a enjoyable read.

Congo: Part II

As the group treks further into the jungle, they encounter stranger and stranger events. The jungle itself seems to not want to let the escape with their lives. Munro has agreed to lead the expedition, and they need every bit of his experience to make it to their destination. From hippos to native attacks, the group narrowly escapes death. Yet, there is disturbing news. The rival consortium has made it to the site first. Munro pushes the group on as they have already travelled this far. What they discover is not what they expected; every member of their rival group is found killed, their camp decimated. And most puzzling is the way they died: they all had their skulls crushed. Munro and Ross decide to camp out to continue their mission, find the blue diamonds. The first night goes uneventful. On the second night, they realize something is out there, observing them. The third night is when the creatures attack. I will leave the story at there in order to not spoil the ending. It was a great book that became very fast paced near the end with many twists and turns along the way.

Congo

Michael Crichton's Congo is a science fiction novel based in the late 1970's. An expedition sent deep into the Congo rain forest by the ERTS to look for rare diamonds gets slaughtered by a mysterious being. The only evidence there is is the video feed of the camp, which captured the expedition's last moments, as well as a fuzzy image of what seems to be gorilla. ERTS rushes another team into the jungle in order to continue the first team's mission, to find rare diamonds before other exploration companies could. The diamonds themselves have a blue coloration, making them very useful for electronics, hence the very intense competition to get to them first. Equipped with the latest in technology, the group, led by Karen Ross, hurries to Africa. But this group has two unusual members; Amy, a gorilla who knows ASL, American sign language, and her trainer Peter Elliot. They need the guidance of Munro, a shady guide who knows the area well, but he is deciding between them or the rival company.
This book is fast paced and interesting. As an action-thriller-mystery-sci fi kind of book, there are various creative aspects the author includes in the book, including the subtle hints about the future as well as carefully integrated fiction with reality, so to make it not seem too unreal. I'm about halfway through the book.