Book description
In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticlesâmicro-robotsâhas 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, becomingâŚ
Why read it?
2 authors picked Prey as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Highly relatable domestic strife sucked me into the stay-at-home dadâs plight before ratcheting up into world-shattering stakes.
I love how grounded in reality the suspense is. First, in the characterization, then in the technology, which never became too technical. This all confirmed for me why Michael Crichton is the master of the techno-thriller.
The chilling premise is just as big as Jurassic Park, but given this yearâs advances in artificial intelligence, much more credible to me and all the more worrisome.
To me, Crichtonâs strength was taking scientific knowledge/achievements and crafting stories that showed how they could impact us.
Yes, he took those to extremes (DNA sequencing to create dinosaurs, robots that revolt against their human masters, and so), but thatâs the job of a writer. Prey is not his best-known work but is mesmerizing in terms of the type of future that could exist. His story uses a mix of swarm technology, biology, and AI to craft a cautionary tale, with a main character who has to fight to save his loved one.
Crichton uses biology as part of hisâŚ
From Michael's list on a future we probably want to avoid.
If you love Prey...
Didn't Get Frazzled
Didnât Get Frazzled captures with distressing accuracy the gauntlet idealistic college grads must face to secure an MD and, against the odds, come out of it a better human being.
Medical student Seth Levine faces escalating stress and gallows humor as four years of medical school shatter all preconceived notionsâŚ
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