I think I read this when I was in junior high at my Dad's recommendation. I really liked it and ended up being a fan of Michael Crichton's books for a while. I've probably read most of them. I have to say though, for some reason, this is still my favorite by him. I started feeling like every book he was writing was written so it could be made into a movie. It was almost as if he was constructing shocking, suspenseful action scenes that would make a movie exciting while keeping dialog simplistic so it could be more easily translated into a script. I don't know...all in my head? He still does a great job of researching new areas and topics for his books. I've always appreciated that.