He Was Crichton

[spectralbovine]

Michael Crichton died.

Jurassic Park came out when I was twelve years old. For as long as I can remember, I loved the hell out of dinosaurs-I wrote a book called The Disastrous Dino War in elementary school-so you can imagine how much I loved that movie. I saw it with my family in a San Francisco movie theater, having smuggled in Burger King

Comments

[allthelivesofme]

Aw damn. :-(

[spectralbovine]

Seriously. It's not like I...needed him to be alive to write more books or something, but this has eliminated the possibility of my ever seeing him and telling him how much I admired him and loved his books. Slim though it was. It's just nice to have people...alive and out there, you know?

[maka2000]

It is sad Michael Crichton died so suddenly. But it's wonderful you got such joy from his books, that's his legacy.

[spectralbovine]

I want a legacy.

[vanessagalore]

I just heard! He was definitely one of my major inspirations, along with John D. MacDonald (I know, I'm all about the low-brow), P.D. James, and Lee Child. I loved that Crichton made research and science sexy. I thought "Timeline" (the novel, not the film) was amazing for its ability to make history come alive with an intriguing modern plot. We're not talking literature here, but such an enjoyable read.

Did you ever read his autobiographical book, "Travels"? He was pretty out there, got into astral projection, as I recall. That book talks about his medical education and travels all over the world. He was a fascinating person as well as a great author.

[spectralbovine]

I loved that Crichton made research and science sexy.
Chaos theory! Virology! Sexual harassment laws! Virtual reality avatars! Underwater alien consciousnesses! Gorillas! DINOSAURS!

I thought "Timeline" (the novel, not the film) was amazing for its ability to make history come alive with an intriguing modern plot.
I enjoyed the movie! I'd like to read the book.

We're not talking literature here, but such an enjoyable read.
Right. His characters weren't terribly memorable (although I think Jurassic Park benefited greatly from the movie...I do have a sort of fondness for those characters), but the books were exciting and intriguing and fun.

Did you ever read his autobiographical book, "Travels"? He was pretty out there, got into astral projection, as I recall. That book talks about his medical education and travels all over the world.
I haven't. The books I listed are the only ones I've read. I bought The Great Train Robbery but never got around to reading it before it disappeared along with dozens of other books.

[harper47]

That's a great eulogy for a writer - to inspire someone. I'm sure somewhere he's thrilled with that comment. And I have no doubt that future generations will read and be challenged over and over and over again. He left a great legacy.

[spectralbovine]

I'm really glad you feel that way. I was unsure whether it was "cool" to love Michael Crichton since he was a bestselling author. And if you're popular with the masses, you can't be any good, right?

But he showed me that there was a path to becoming a writer that I could possibly follow. I also got into Robin Cook in high school, but he wasn't as good or creative. He was also a doctor-turned-writer, though, and I appreciated that.

[punzerel]

What a weird shock. I wouldn't say I loved Michael Chrichton's books, but I definitely enjoyed all the ones that I read, which I think is enough.

[spectralbovine]

It's the bare minimum one would hope for, at least!

Well, I guess the bare minimum would be finishing the book at all.

[punzerel]

Well, kinda. I mean, some books you sort of enjoy, you know? Crichton's books are all very fun to read - I never got that feeling of UGH CAN WE MOVE ON NOW PLEASE, you know?