Prey

by Michael Crichton

Book Overview

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles--micro-robots--has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive. It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour. Every attempt to destroy it has failed. And we are the prey. As fresh as...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0066214122
• ISBN13: 9780066214122
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This is one EXHAUSTING 24-hour story!

I would like to say that this is science fiction at its finest ... but the "fiction" part is becoming fact. If I knew more (or anything at all) about AI - or A-life - I'd probably say that there are some cautionary tales here. The book is heavy going with scientific detail, but worth reading word for word. Skimming sections could confuse the plot. I did find the computer programming / animal kingdom connections fascinating. Maybe "Prey" is pretty far-fetched. Maybe not. I thought this was one of Crichton's more compelling reads.

THEY'RE HERE...

This is the Spanish text edition of "Prey", another fast-paced, bio-tech thriller by this author. Expertly weaving his narrative, the author grips the reader with his tale of nanotechnology gone wrong. While the book is wholly plot driven, with little attention paid to any character development, this lack does not unduly detract from the enjoyment of the book, as the plot is so gripping. The plot revolves around stay at home dad, Jack Forman, who was a whistle-blower about some high-tech espionage going on in the company for which he worked. Unfortunately, he revealed what he had discovered it to the wrong person and, consequently, was fired for his pains. While at home, he notices that his wife, who is a mover and a shaker for a bio-tech firm, has been acting a little odd and suspects her of an illicit affair. When her company wants to hire him to check out some programming problems at their Nevada facility, Jack jumps at the opportunity. He then discovers that the firm has engaged in an experiment that has gone out of control. A swarm of nanoparticles, designed as micro-robots and programmed to act as one mind, has escaped from the environs of the firm's desert laboratory. Programmed to be predatory, the swarm is deadly and evolving into something even more sinister with every passing moment. Moreover, he notices that it isn't only his wife that is acting a little odd. Others at the facility with the swarm problem are also acting a little strange. All is definitely not what it seems. The only question is whether Jack, with the help of the scientists at the facility, can take control of the swarm before the swarm overwhelms and controls them. This book keeps the reader riveted, despite the fairly predictable, formulaic plot. It is a highly enjoyable book, as are so many other of the author's books. It also presents some serious ethical and moral issues for consideration by the reader, and the author himself gives a fairly detailed, cautionary foreword on the dangers of nanotechnology.

best techno thriller to date

Mike does it again. Even more suspensful than timeline, and more thought provoking than the andromena strain, Prey scares the reader with a combination of biology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence manipulating humans.

Absolutely thrilling his Best since Jurassic Park!!

Michael Chrichton has done it again with the amazing and hearpounding book prey! i could NOT put this book down. i finished it in about 3 days. i practically read nonstop. anyway i highly recommend this book. ENJOY :)

Great Suspense!

For two days, I could barely put this book down. This time Crichton's plot revolves around nano computers and an unemployed father of three, Jack, who believes his wife is having an affair. Jack's real problems begin the instant his infant daughter wakes up screaming in the night from a mysterious rash but in short order he's called upon to save the world from uncontrollable swarms of deadly nano computers. (Luckily Jack's an unemployed computer code writer, and it's his code on predator and prey behavior that the tiny computers are running on.) Prey reminds me both of The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, with a great balance of story and science. The concepts in Prey are quite realistic and terrifying and the suspense in the last half of the book is incredible. (Plus, Michael Crichton was years ahead of his time with the misuse of cloning theme used in Jurassic Park, so I think that adds an element of credibility to his ideas.) I admit that there are a couple of too convenient contrivances, and the ultimate outcome is somewhat sudden and movie-ish (Without a doubt there will be a movie version) but Prey remains a great story. I enjoyed it immensely and can't wait for Crichton's next!

Among Crichton's Best

Just as "Jurassic Park" was a cautionary tale for the dangers of tampering with the genetic code, so to is "Prey" a warning. This time, Michael Crichton has chosen to explore the potential and hazards of nanotechnology; the fashioning of robots at the molecular level. The power of these machines is that they are small enough to go anywhere, and their capabilities are limited only by human creativity. However, since they are so small, they need to be able to apply adaptive learning in order to accomplish their assigned tasks, and that's where the trouble starts.The novel begins with Jack Forman, stay at home dad, and long time, but currently unemployed software engineer, shopping for placemats. This touch of normalcy sets up an environment where Crichton can rapidly ratchet up the tension, as an all-American home life turns distinctly scary. Moreover, Crichton has written the book in the first person, so the reader really has the opportunity to roam around Jack's head. As a result, Jack may be the best character Crichton has written to date. His emotions leap off the page, and his thought processes allow Crichton to seamlessly integrate necessary expository elements into the flow of the novel.Of course, Jack doesn't remain the house-husband for long. It turns out that there are problems at Xymos Corporation, where his wife is a vice-president. It seems that they've lost control of some of the nano-particle swarms that they were working on, and they need Jack to help bring them back into the fold. As it turns out, Jack wrote an early version of the software (which is based upon predator-prey relationships) that is being used as the brains behind the swarm. As an added level of intrigue, Jack suspects that his wife is having an affair with one of the people at Xymos' fabrication plant.I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining the plot, but as one would expect, the situation quickly spirals out of control in typical Crichton-esque fashion. Specifically, I think I can say without giving anything away, that he does a superb job of imbuing what are essential machines with an incredible sense of malice. Anyone who thinks that tiny machines acting in groups aren't scary will quickly have their minds changed by this novel.As with all of Crichton's best work "Prey" leaves you not only entertained, but feeling like you learned something as well. At the same time, unlike "Jurassic Park" and "Timeline" which employed technically possible, but functionally questionable technology, nanotechnology is on its way, and is already here to a degree. Already there are microchip sized laboratories that can perform dozens of experiments on a single drop of blood, and there are exotic materials custom built for specific functions from the molecular level. It is entirely likely, even probable, that within ten or twenty years, we will see some crude version of the technology that plays the central role in the novel. As a result, Crichton writes with