Thoughts on Michael Crichton
First Studs Terkel. Then Tony Hillerman. Now, Michael Crichton.
I think my heart is a book, or a library, and there are gifted writers who make up the chapters or shelves. They have even unbeknownst to ME, influenced my love of writers and writing.
When I heard on NPR this morning that Michael Crichton had died at the age of 66, I felt like I'd lost a friend. My discoveries of Studs Terkel and Tony Hillerman were discoveries of my adulthood. I heard of Studs Terkel listening to A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday evenings; he was a regular guest with sharp observations and quick wit. Tony Hillerman I began reading voraciously after seeing a PBS adaptation of his book Skinwalkers. I was fascinated by the inherent mystery of the American Southwest, Hillerman's obvious respect and admiration for the Navajo, and the sometimes contentious relationship between Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.
Michael Crichton was a discovery of my childhood. The first science fiction novel I'd ever read was The Andromeda Strain. I was about 12 years old. I'd seen sci-fi on television (I was raised on Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica, and Space 1999) and I remember sitting in the movie theater watching the original Star Wars with my Dad and my brother, gasping at the demise of such a cool character as Obi Wan Kenobi, consciously wondering if there is such a thing as "The Force." But Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain was the first science fiction NOVEL I'd immersed in, and it galvanized my love of science fiction and science fact.
I've read so many outstanding science fiction novels since then, that I think that's why I hesitate to try and write any -- I can't possibly do the genre justice. I'm content to just read it and love it...to watch it and love it. It's like admiring your favorite movie star -- if I know too much it'll take the shine off. So I'm content to read and watch it and let it sparkle.
Thanks, Michael, for engaging my 12-year-old brain in the world of science fiction and for encouraging me to wonder "what if?"
I think my heart is a book, or a library, and there are gifted writers who make up the chapters or shelves. They have even unbeknownst to ME, influenced my love of writers and writing.
When I heard on NPR this morning that Michael Crichton had died at the age of 66, I felt like I'd lost a friend. My discoveries of Studs Terkel and Tony Hillerman were discoveries of my adulthood. I heard of Studs Terkel listening to A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday evenings; he was a regular guest with sharp observations and quick wit. Tony Hillerman I began reading voraciously after seeing a PBS adaptation of his book Skinwalkers. I was fascinated by the inherent mystery of the American Southwest, Hillerman's obvious respect and admiration for the Navajo, and the sometimes contentious relationship between Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.
Michael Crichton was a discovery of my childhood. The first science fiction novel I'd ever read was The Andromeda Strain. I was about 12 years old. I'd seen sci-fi on television (I was raised on Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica, and Space 1999) and I remember sitting in the movie theater watching the original Star Wars with my Dad and my brother, gasping at the demise of such a cool character as Obi Wan Kenobi, consciously wondering if there is such a thing as "The Force." But Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain was the first science fiction NOVEL I'd immersed in, and it galvanized my love of science fiction and science fact.
I've read so many outstanding science fiction novels since then, that I think that's why I hesitate to try and write any -- I can't possibly do the genre justice. I'm content to just read it and love it...to watch it and love it. It's like admiring your favorite movie star -- if I know too much it'll take the shine off. So I'm content to read and watch it and let it sparkle.
Thanks, Michael, for engaging my 12-year-old brain in the world of science fiction and for encouraging me to wonder "what if?"