Book Review: Prey

Author: Michael Crichton

My Rating: 3/5

What does humanity do, if the very technology that we developed for the betterment of the human race turns on its creators? Sounds familiar? Well, if it doesn’t, then you are not a fan of science fiction or you live on some other planet where mundane topics such as invasion attempts by machines are not part of your daily science fiction. For those familiar with this scenario, random words like Skynet and Matrix might pop up in some obscure corner of your mind.

Michael Crichton’s Prey deals with a similar concept. Except, instead of hulking T-800’s travelling back in time and Octopus-like sentinels trying to break into Zion, human race has to contend with nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Now the problem about writing this review is that, I can’t really go in to details about the story here; because that would kill the suspense created by Crichton in the beginning, and render the first 20-30 % of the novel irrelevant.

The story deals with an imaging technology developed by Xymos, a nanotech company, which can scan the interior of the human body using nanobots. Except that the medical experiment is just a front for a much larger scheme. When things begin to go wrong, Xymos call in Jack Forman, an unemployed software engineer who specializes in distributed programming and agent-based computing. Jack was fired by his previous company (MediaTronics) for exposing an internal scandal. Incidentally, Xymos use the PredPrey product developed by Jack and his team for their new technology. Thus when Xymos need their problem solved, they turn to MediaTronics, who, in turn, approach Jack with the intention of rehiring him. Jack, on the other hand, is facing problems of his own. His youngest daughter Amanda develops a strange rash that proves incurable until she is put in an MRI machine, which, inexplicably, cures her. Jack’s wife Julia is the VP of Xymos; and Jack suspects, based on her erratic behavior during the previous few weeks, that she is having an affair. And the day that Jack gets the offer to rejoin MediaTronics, Julia is involved in a serious accident. Thus, Jack goes to the desert in Nevada, where the Xymos production facility is situated, looking to find answers. Once there, he discovers things which take him, and us, through a rollercoaster ride.

The book is written in typical Crichton style. A lot of new concepts such as distributed programming, agent-based computing, emergence, nanotechnology, artificial life, genetic algorithms, etc. are introduced. Yet, he has taken care to explain each and every concept in such a manner that it does not intrude with the flow of the story. At the same time, he tries to push through his message that one needs to keep human arrogance and shortsightedness aside while dealing with new technology or else it can produce dire consequences.

On the flipside, the story takes some time to develop. It does not get boring, but you feel initially that Crichton could have done away with a few details. And I was a bit disappointed with the end. It’s a little ambiguous, which worked in favor of Sphere, but somehow gave me a feeling of being let down after he had constructed such a great story. Another aspect of this story was that Crichton left a few questions unanswered. Most of these are questions pertaining to his children’s health (again, I can’t really disclose many details without giving away the main plot).

All in all, while the book is good, it’s not as good as Jurassic Park or Sphere. I would rate it 3 out of 5.