18. Next (was very confused the whole time; the stitched-together plotlines was very weird to follow along; ultimately couldn't tell if I was supposed to be taking anything seriously or not)
17. State of Fear (had some good tension and action sequences, but as an environmental I could not get behind the message of this book; I will concede that it was interesting reading the mindset of the opposite side of the issue)
16. Prey (good mystery, but mostly I just felt existential dread from the fear of nanobots taking over…)
15. Sphere (again, good mystery; great tension; but I was disappointed by the end; didn't think the payoff was really worth it)
14. The Terminal Man (decent read, not too long; liked the protagonist, felt bad for Benson, but the ending was way too abrupt; didn't even have an epilogue)
13. Rising Sun (probably the best mystery so far; loved Crichton's take on a police drama, but the themes revolving around Japan have not aged well at all)
12. Congo (liked the protagonist's dynamic with Amy; good action; but ultimately the decisions of a certain character in the end really irritated me)
11. Micro (awesome rated-R take on Honey I Shrunk The Kids! truly didn't know what to expect at all, loved the action and how nobody was safe; only downside was the romance was a little forced)
10. Disclosure (very interesting business drama; while this might not've aged too well like Rising Sun, it was interesting to read a story themed around double standards even if it could've been portrayed better)
9. Dragon Teeth (really enjoyed this one; not much of the Bone Wars in media today; Johnson's character development was awesome to read!)
8. Airframe (Casey easily became one of my favorite Crichton protagonists; really interesting to read about the engineering of planes, makes them feel safer)
7. Timeline (never been a fan of time travel, but this one somehow fixed it for me!; enjoyed each of the protagonists; action and tension were great; loved how the history was portrayed and written)
6. The Great Train Robbery (all around great read; cool seeing the heist planned out, carried out, and what ultimately befell the characters; was also interesting to read about Victorian England)
5. Eaters of the Dead (loved Crichton's take on Beowulf! loved how the Norse world was portrayed and how Crichton made the story more grounded in the real world)
4. Pirate Latitudes (this felt like Game of Thrones meets Pirates of the Caribbean and it was all-around awesome! Still waiting for that film adaptation we're supposedly getting…)
3. The Andromeda Strain (I mean, how could I not rank this one high? Classic Crichton, read this so many times; short but so so good!)
2. The Lost World (biased because I loved Jurassic Park; has some issues being Crichton's first and only sequel (Andromeda Evolution doesn't count), but I still love it!)
1. Jurassic Park (again, very biased; read this book so many times I've lost count; I'm a nerdy JP fanboy and always will be)
Again, this is all my own personal opinion and you will undoubtedly have different tastes in your books than I do. Feel free to leave your own rankings down below, talk about your favorites/least favorite ones, and which choices I made made you agree or disagree!
by TemporarilyOOO
36 Comments
I didn’t realize, A case of Need, was re released under his name.
Oh, Sphere is my number one favorite book by any author. You say you were disappointed by the end, but I wonder if you misunderstood it. >!All three of them retained the power. I think it’s common for people to catch that Beth kept it, but the clues are there that Norman and Harry did too.!<
Surprised you rated Prey and Sphere so low, I think they’d both probably crack my top 5 Crichton books.
Interesting. You don’t highly rate many of the books I think of as stereotypical Crichton stylistically – the relatable quasi-science “thriller” (Prey, Sphere, Airframe, Timeline, Andromeda Strain, JP). I haven’t read micro, but betting it falls here too. Congo and LW are adjacent to these, but I wouldn’t argue if you put them in this category. You’ve kind of splashed this grouping all over your ranking, which is different than I’d expect. (For anyone looking for more like this category; I’d recommend AG Riddle as a budget Crichton if you have kindle U).
Like you, I’m not a huge fan of the most recent work, and unlike you I’m not as enraptured by the more experimental fiction. Neat to see a list in this order, thanks!
Wait a second, Michael Crichton used a pen name? TIL
Nice rankings. I love Crichton. Timeline is 1 for me though, set my imagination on fire as a 13 year old and the blend of science and history was just *chefs kiss*
Certainly interesting order. I agree with the number one, but that’s it :).
The lost world, your number 2, is at the bottom of my list, mostly because I was so disappointed in the quality difference between this and its prequel.
My order for the books I read:
Jurassic Park
Andromeda Strain
Sphere
Prey
Airframe
Congo
The lost world
Since you’re a huge Jurassic park fan, have you read *Fragment* by Warren Fahy?
It’s more speculative evolution, but I loved it and it gave me similar feelings.
Wow. I’d forgotten about Timeline.
I’ve only read it once about 20 years ago as I borrowed it from the library, but it’s surprising how much I can remember of the plot all these years later.
Thanks for your effort, it will now be easier to figure out what to read and what not to.
My favorite is Timeline.
Airframe seems like an incredibly timely read given the collapse of the Boeing company.
This is probably identical to my ratings. I’ve read all of them at least twice and your comments are right on my opinions.
Good list.
Andromeda Strain will always hold a special place in my heart, because I still remember it as the first adult level novel I ever read. Not sure why, but infectious disease books seemed to be really popular around that time. I remember several friends and I reading The Hot Zone around the same time, too.
I actually loved Next – I know some storylines interact, but I viewed it more as an anthology which helped tease out the potential outcomes and dangers of genetic engineering.
I also really liked that, at least in the version I read, he had an epilogue laying out how to allow for genetic research in a responsible way; not allowing patenting of genes, limiting what subjects can be experimented on, how research can be funded and profited from, etc.
Try Travels. It’s a memoir about his days in medical school and his adventures with spirituality, including learning to bend spoons with his mind.
I think the Japan stuff is fascinating in rising sun. It’s amazing to see how fearful everyone was of Japans economic rise, and to know it was all wrong.
I think about it a lot when people talk about China today.
I picked up *Micro* because it was co-written by one of my favorite authors. I need to sit down and finish reading it. So far I’ve enjoyed it.
Great list … remembering so many of these – read between 15-20 years ago. I remember I carried Airframe with me during one of my first flight journey 🤣
I would put Micro in my top 5 instead of Andromeda but otherwise we agree on quite a lot! I really love Richard Preston, who finished Micro, so that puts it a bit higher for me. I also highly recommend Preston’s book The Cobra Event, if you like the outbreak aspect of Andromeda. Although fair warning, it’s graphic and about a major viral pandemic, so….
I’m currently doing the exact same exercise chronologically, though I’m also reading his books under John Lange. Once I’m done I’ll probably post my list as well and see how it compares to your list.
After all that work, you should read Travels. I liked it.
Surprised to see Prey so low on your list. So cool you read em all.
Crichton always has space on my shelf. Thanks for sharing.
I actually loved State of Fear. To me it was never about anti climate change. Its about how much propaganda we receive in the west and how many people are unaware.
Pirate Latitudes is one of the best novels I’ve ever read. And the fun thing is that it doesn’t really revolve around “pirates”, but still it is great.
Awww….never read any of his books but I know he’s meant to be one hell of a boy !!
I thought I had read every book by him – no I idea how I missed Micro.
My takeaway- I need to reread Sphere
Nice list! I have read all but #10,13, and 17. I agree with Micro being a R-Rated Honey I Shrunk the Kids, I thought it was cool. I also agree with Next being confusing, I had the some issue. It would be my current lowest of his.
I’ve read the vast majority and our lifts are very different. I think dragon teeth sucked pretty hard and the JP books rank really low for me as well. Loved Sphere.
Nice to see a little love for The Great Train Robbery.
One thing that I really like about Pirate Latitudes is that it gives us a window into Crichton’s writing process. Because it was one of his rough drafts that got discovered after he died, had some minimal polish and editing before being published.
You can see how he creates his story and his characters, but many of the Crichton-esque things you can see in his other writing, even his earlier stuff are missing. Especially his attention to certain details regarding science/physics. You can see where he probably would have expanded on certain things when he was editing the book but because he put it away and never finished it, we get the story draft. I don’t know, it’s just really interesting to me as a wannabe author.
Interesting list. I would put Sphere and Congo much higher, and Timeline lower. Timeline is the only book of his I have ever DNF’d.
Unlike you, I actually enjoyed State of Fear, but it’s not one of his best books. Mid-range for me.
I’ve read exactly half of these. I also didn’t like Sphere as much as other Crichton fans seem to, but I liked Prey and Rising Sun way more than you did. Even though sci-fi is my favorite genre and Crichton is best known for his sci-fi works, I’d honestly say Rising Sun was my favorite of his books. I remember thinking it was elegantly plotted.
Sphere and Congo are way too low and Pirate Latitudes and Lost World are way too high. But you loved Eaters of the Dead too so I can’t complain.
I’m the only Crichton fan on Earth who considers Jurassic Park one of his weaker books.