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mrsmollyh's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
lalawoman416's review against another edition
4.0
Mysteriously, a satellite crash lands in the middle of nowhere Arizona. Military scientists head out to retrieve the wreckage when they come upon a biological disaster. It seems an alien bacterial life form has hitched a ride. Project Wildfire is commenced for containment. Told in a documentary style - it recounts the 5 days following the crash landing and the near disaster that ensued.
The Andromeda Strain was much more science-y than I expected - which was a good thing. At times, the explanations could be a bit much and a bit dry, but it added to the realism of the story. None of the characters were particularly sympathetic, but mad scientists rarely are. I also liked the fallibility of the scientists further heightening the tension of the story.
The Andromeda Strain was much more science-y than I expected - which was a good thing. At times, the explanations could be a bit much and a bit dry, but it added to the realism of the story. None of the characters were particularly sympathetic, but mad scientists rarely are. I also liked the fallibility of the scientists further heightening the tension of the story.
katiescho741's review against another edition
3.0
This was an odd book. Not in a bad way, just not the storytelling I expected. It's written in a sort of non-fiction type way as if it's a government document but with a dash of fiction-type style in there too. This does mean it's dry as hell in some parts with way too much science jargon BUT it works surprisingly well and it kept me interested.
I liked the different approach to an approaching disease apocalypse, even though the book is from the 60's, the storytelling POV didn't really catch on in the pandemic genre.
It's a short book too, which is just as well as I don't think this would have worked as a longer book. The ending was a little bit of a letdown but I can see what Crichton was doing with it
A good read overall, and it doesn't feel that dated either for a book from 1969.
I liked the different approach to an approaching disease apocalypse, even though the book is from the 60's, the storytelling POV didn't really catch on in the pandemic genre.
It's a short book too, which is just as well as I don't think this would have worked as a longer book. The ending was a little bit of a letdown but I can see what Crichton was doing with it
Spoiler
I guessed he was trying to show how close the world comes to apocalypse diseases getting out, but through scientific work, they are thwartedA good read overall, and it doesn't feel that dated either for a book from 1969.
_gisele_'s review against another edition
5.0
Um artigo científico ficcional disfarçado de livro.
.
Pelos comentários que vi, muita gente se confundiu com o Andrômeda do título pensando que fosse algo relacionado com a constelação, não tem absolutamente nada a ver com a bendita.
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O livro é uma obra de ficção sobre um microorganismo alienígena, que entra em contato com a Terra após a queda de um satélite contaminado. Esse evento causa a morte de todos os habitantes da cidade onde caiu, sendo as únicas excessões um idoso e um bebê.
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Assim, o protocolo Wildfire é ativado e quatro doutores com diferentes especialidades são acionados e recrutados pelo exército americano para fazerem parte da equipe investigativa e descobrirem sobre a biologia desse microorganismo.
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Até que isso ocorra eles irão passar por diversas dificuldades, se deparar com barreiras e contar com um golpe de sorte.
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Essa é a quarta obra escrita por Michael Crichton que leio e a que mais se aproxima de sua formação médica.
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A narrativa é totalmente carregada de termos, procedimentos e protocolos técnicos e científicos, e o autor se desculpa por isso logo nos agradecimentos do livro. É quase um artigo científico mesmo.
.
Como Biologia é minha área de formação, simplesmente amei essa leitura e o livro entrou para os meus favoritos.
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Não será uma leitura que agradará a todos, portanto se você não gosta ou não se interessa pelo assunto, é melhor passar batido.
.
Pelos comentários que vi, muita gente se confundiu com o Andrômeda do título pensando que fosse algo relacionado com a constelação, não tem absolutamente nada a ver com a bendita.
.
O livro é uma obra de ficção sobre um microorganismo alienígena, que entra em contato com a Terra após a queda de um satélite contaminado. Esse evento causa a morte de todos os habitantes da cidade onde caiu, sendo as únicas excessões um idoso e um bebê.
.
Assim, o protocolo Wildfire é ativado e quatro doutores com diferentes especialidades são acionados e recrutados pelo exército americano para fazerem parte da equipe investigativa e descobrirem sobre a biologia desse microorganismo.
.
Até que isso ocorra eles irão passar por diversas dificuldades, se deparar com barreiras e contar com um golpe de sorte.
.
Essa é a quarta obra escrita por Michael Crichton que leio e a que mais se aproxima de sua formação médica.
.
A narrativa é totalmente carregada de termos, procedimentos e protocolos técnicos e científicos, e o autor se desculpa por isso logo nos agradecimentos do livro. É quase um artigo científico mesmo.
.
Como Biologia é minha área de formação, simplesmente amei essa leitura e o livro entrou para os meus favoritos.
.
Não será uma leitura que agradará a todos, portanto se você não gosta ou não se interessa pelo assunto, é melhor passar batido.
koehneisland's review against another edition
2.0
In fairness, a lot of the 2-star rating is due to my having experienced this novel via audiobook. Though I don't think David Morse did a poor job of reading, it was easy for my mind to wander during the exposition, particularly during the epistolary bits of the book. These pieces of documentation are something I ordinarily love about Crichton novels, but when long strings of numbers and percentages are read aloud to you, they don't necessarily have the same impact they do when you're visualizing them on the page.
In short, I think this is a worthwhile read, but I'd recommend steering clear of any audiobook versions. This book is probably best experienced the old-fashioned way.
In short, I think this is a worthwhile read, but I'd recommend steering clear of any audiobook versions. This book is probably best experienced the old-fashioned way.
ncteisen's review against another edition
4.0
Fast-paced action sci-fi at its finest. The story is very contained: 5 main characters, 5 days, 1 underground lab. Lots of hard science fiction. The book is structured as a write-up that occurred after the events of the novel, which leads to good foreshadowing and clues. Very quick read.
kennethhill0729's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.75
tiffanynoel's review against another edition
3.0
The story line of this book is really awesome! But all the science stuff totally confused me when I read it in 6th grade.
elcolonel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ihateprozac's review against another edition
3.0
Not gonna lie, I was expecting more from this book, and I actually enjoyed the recent tv miniseries much more. The TV series was much scarier, and even though there was a lot of emotional relationship bullshit thrown in there to supposedly appeal to the audience, I felt it was just better and provided more closure about the Andromeda Strain.
I really didnt like the vague way that Crichton dealt with the strain in this book. It was a supposedly terrifying extraterrestrial microorganism that would either kill you instantly or turn you insane- and it was such a mystery for a large portion of the book, but then it felt like the author couldnt be bothered to come up with a logical answer. So instead he just said 'oh it mutated and its safe now, dont worry'
UGH. >=|
In the tv miniseries, the Messenger theory is expanded upon, and its found that the Andromeda strain actually has a message encoded in the cells, and its sent from a futuristic/extraterrestrial civilisation. I wish that had been what happened in this book, but the end solution was so similar to other half-arsed alien invasion stories, where the organism eventually just dies off or leaves because it cant tolerate our atmosphere.
The tv miniseries also allows for the viewer to monitor the havoc being wreaked outside of Wildfire - the Andromeda strain spreads a lot further than Nevada/Arizona, and it really is quite terrifying. Overall, I prefer the tv miniseries better (as a purist, I'd usually consider that statement quite blasphemous XD), but I'll continue to read some more of Crichton's more famous texts.
I really didnt like the vague way that Crichton dealt with the strain in this book. It was a supposedly terrifying extraterrestrial microorganism that would either kill you instantly or turn you insane- and it was such a mystery for a large portion of the book, but then it felt like the author couldnt be bothered to come up with a logical answer. So instead he just said 'oh it mutated and its safe now, dont worry'
UGH. >=|
In the tv miniseries, the Messenger theory is expanded upon, and its found that the Andromeda strain actually has a message encoded in the cells, and its sent from a futuristic/extraterrestrial civilisation. I wish that had been what happened in this book, but the end solution was so similar to other half-arsed alien invasion stories, where the organism eventually just dies off or leaves because it cant tolerate our atmosphere.
The tv miniseries also allows for the viewer to monitor the havoc being wreaked outside of Wildfire - the Andromeda strain spreads a lot further than Nevada/Arizona, and it really is quite terrifying. Overall, I prefer the tv miniseries better (as a purist, I'd usually consider that statement quite blasphemous XD), but I'll continue to read some more of Crichton's more famous texts.