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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I haven’t seen the movie and I haven’t read the actual book. I doubt I’ll see the movie and I should have read the book. What I did do was listen to the abridged version of this story read by Edward Asner. Yes, good ol’ Ed. Problem was, there’s nothing good about this.
It did start out promising but quickly dissolved into a poorly edited, poorly read, poor attempt at a psychological thriller. While I did like the final answer to the puzzle Crichton poses throughout the story, I was not satisfied with his ending. It seemed too unreal; too untrue to the characters he’d made us get to know.
I hope the book was better. Based upon the reviews on Amazon it appears to be at least somewhat decent. I enjoyed Crichton’s Jurassic Park years ago and his Timeline wasn’t too bad either. I only hope I can quickly forget this one. Would I recommend Sphere by Michael Crichton to my friends? No.
It did start out promising but quickly dissolved into a poorly edited, poorly read, poor attempt at a psychological thriller. While I did like the final answer to the puzzle Crichton poses throughout the story, I was not satisfied with his ending. It seemed too unreal; too untrue to the characters he’d made us get to know.
I hope the book was better. Based upon the reviews on Amazon it appears to be at least somewhat decent. I enjoyed Crichton’s Jurassic Park years ago and his Timeline wasn’t too bad either. I only hope I can quickly forget this one. Would I recommend Sphere by Michael Crichton to my friends? No.
Preliminary rating of 3.0. Might be lower. I was a bit disappointed with this book, especially once it took the turn it did in the last major section of the book. Even with the initial twist, it had a lot of potential; it just didn't make use of it. The result was a book that fell flat for me.
SPOILER AHEAD
******
******
I can't quite put my finger on it just yet, but something is bothering me about the particular use of characters in this book and the underlying suggestions about how trauma or systemic abuses lead to corruption within those who are abused once they have power themselves.
SPOILER AHEAD
******
******
I can't quite put my finger on it just yet, but something is bothering me about the particular use of characters in this book and the underlying suggestions about how trauma or systemic abuses lead to corruption within those who are abused once they have power themselves.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars rounded up. Now, let's get to the actual review (with some spoilers).
Sphere takes the abandoned spaceship trope, dumps it onto a seabed, and then asks the question: "In the case of first contact, is mankind ready to deal with an alien civilization leaps and bounds beyond us?" Many novels have done the theme of first contact and its effects, but Sphere tries to go with a different approach -- how humanity would face it psychologically.
That psychological bent drives the entire plot. The protagonist is a psychologist called Norman, and the crew is selected based on his recommendations of who to pick in the event of first contact (which is driven by who's least likely to crack under pressure). And of course, what they end up discovering. I'm nowhere near well-versed in the field of psychiatry, so I can't really judge how good Crichton was with his medical science. However, I didn't find it that distracting, except for 1 glaring issue (which I'll mention later).
In terms of setting, Sphere doesn't stand out that much, but takes a 'if it ain't broken approach instead. The ocean depths are a really good place to 1) find a long-lost spacecraft, and 2) provide the reader a sense of isolation, while still giving you something that isn't just space and the infinite starscape. For the most part, the characters stand out as well. They're not particularly complex or nuanced, but each of them has an unique voice, and that was a breath of fresh air after the calamity of Six Wakes and its toneless conversations.
What about pacing? I'd say that pacing is probably the strongest part of Sphere. I finished it in a day, and nowhere did I feel that the book overstayed its welcome, or spent too much time talking about scientific technobabble. Everything contributed further to the story, and that made it a real page-turner.
Unfortunately... this book does have blunders. Two big ones, in fact. First of all, Beth becomes a feminist caricature, thanks to some really shitty pop psychology.. It was incredibly frustrating, and to be honest, seemingly a hallmark of more 'dated' science-fiction novels -- there's always some form of sexism, whether implicit or direct.
The second is the ending, where? I think Crichton really dropped the ball with that ending, and it's a shame as until then, it was a pretty solid read, Beth aside.
Would I say it's worth reading? I think unless you're specifically looking for abandoned spaceship stories with horror themes, probably not -- there's a lot of good sci-fi out there if you're not looking for something specific. But it's not the worst book to have ever been written, and it's a quick read, so if you do pick it up, it's not a bad idea.
Sphere takes the abandoned spaceship trope, dumps it onto a seabed, and then asks the question: "In the case of first contact, is mankind ready to deal with an alien civilization leaps and bounds beyond us?" Many novels have done the theme of first contact and its effects, but Sphere tries to go with a different approach -- how humanity would face it psychologically.
That psychological bent drives the entire plot. The protagonist is a psychologist called Norman, and the crew is selected based on his recommendations of who to pick in the event of first contact (which is driven by who's least likely to crack under pressure). And of course, what they end up discovering. I'm nowhere near well-versed in the field of psychiatry, so I can't really judge how good Crichton was with his medical science. However, I didn't find it that distracting, except for 1 glaring issue (which I'll mention later).
In terms of setting, Sphere doesn't stand out that much, but takes a 'if it ain't broken approach instead. The ocean depths are a really good place to 1) find a long-lost spacecraft, and 2) provide the reader a sense of isolation, while still giving you something that isn't just space and the infinite starscape. For the most part, the characters stand out as well. They're not particularly complex or nuanced, but each of them has an unique voice, and that was a breath of fresh air after the calamity of Six Wakes and its toneless conversations.
What about pacing? I'd say that pacing is probably the strongest part of Sphere. I finished it in a day, and nowhere did I feel that the book overstayed its welcome, or spent too much time talking about scientific technobabble. Everything contributed further to the story, and that made it a real page-turner.
Unfortunately... this book does have blunders. Two big ones, in fact. First of all, Beth becomes a feminist caricature, thanks to some really shitty pop psychology.
Spoiler
It's revealed that she too, entered the alien sphere and obtains reality-warping powers, and is unable to control it because as a woman, she feels powerless and victimized, and wants power at any/all costs. And somehow, despite the various incidents of sexism she does find herself in, Norman decides 'nah it's her fault for feeling too victimized', with a side of 'she just needs a man to keep her in check', which is portrayed by her becoming super sexy and seductive, for some reasonThe second is the ending, where
Spoiler
the three survivors decide 'okay, we need to use our reality-warping powers to forget everything that happened, including our powers so the US government won't try and weaponize our abilities'. Okay, fair enough, but did you forget there's still the remains of a spacecraft on the seabed? Or that others were privy to what your mission entailed, like the President? Or it doesn't make sense to have several people living underwater on a sea bed just to investigate an ordinary plane crashWould I say it's worth reading? I think unless you're specifically looking for abandoned spaceship stories with horror themes, probably not -- there's a lot of good sci-fi out there if you're not looking for something specific. But it's not the worst book to have ever been written, and it's a quick read, so if you do pick it up, it's not a bad idea.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
