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November 7, 2008
For Michael Crichton a great obituary headline
Builder of Windup Realms That Thrillingly Run Amok
Like most genre fiction, the Crichton novels are windup toys of a sort, and in memory it's hard sometimes to keep them all straight. We recall them by their themes and issues -- the plague book, the gorilla story, the train-robbery one, the airplane thriller -- and not for their characters or their fine writing. But they are nevertheless toys that require a fair amount of craftsmanship. Despite their way of latching on excitedly to the latest new thing, they often gleam with old-fashioned polish.
And I had no idea Crichton was so tall! 6'7"! I don't think I've read one of his novels in 30 years, but you can't avoid his stories.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at November 7, 2008 7:05 AM