Michael Crichton is excellent at what he does -- entertaining readers. By accepting his illusion of reality through his dramatic style of mixing scientific research with fantasy, he continues to amaze me with his stories.While I tend to prefer earlier Crichton works (The Great Train Robbery is my favorite) I do enjoy the current stuff. Nowadays, he seems to write more as a starting point for the screen play to the next movie. Therefore his books do not seem to spend as much time on doing detailed character development or plot that wouldn't lend itself to an onscreen presence.Don't get me wrong -- the book was entertaining, thought provoking, etc... I highly recommend for the next rainy-day-curled-up-on-the-couch afternoon you have...