The Andromeda Strain (Andromeda, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Dec 31, 2019 fleurette rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, science-fiction

This is not a book of the genre I usually read (that is, I read thrillers but rather not with such strong science fiction elements). The more I am surprised how much I liked it.

What makes this book so good is in my opinion its strong realism. This story does not seem like fiction, but like a report of real events. And that's really something! Ultimately, we have here elements typical for science fiction - contact with an alien form of life from space. This topic is very difficult to classify as The Andromeda Strain

This is not a book of the genre I usually read (that is, I read thrillers but rather not with such strong science fiction elements). The more I am surprised how much I liked it.

What makes this book so good is in my opinion its strong realism. This story does not seem like fiction, but like a report of real events. And that's really something! Ultimately, we have here elements typical for science fiction - contact with an alien form of life from space. This topic is very difficult to classify as realistic, but the author managed to do it. It is the realism of the whole situation that keeps you in suspense. And let me say in very high suspense.

The author managed to achieve all this thanks to the unusual form he used. This year I read several longer reports or memoires written by journalists and this book reminds me such a report. The events are described from the perspective of a person who knows how it all ended, who points to mistakes made by scientists from the perspective of later findings, etc. This is a very interesting way of writing. This writing style, combined with fictitious research results and a strong support in scientific works gives the whole history this unique, fantastic realism.

Of course, the plot itself is also very interesting. I'm not a fan of science fiction books, but I read a few thrillers with such elements. And this one is definitely one of the better ones. Although the very idea of contact with an extraterrestrial life form that kills almost all the inhabitants of a small American town may not be that unique, all the events described in the book together create a very interesting story. I really liked the human aspect of the whole situation. And again this realism, paying attention to details, for example small technical faults that no one detected in time, which would certainly appear if the situation were real.

After reading the book, I discovered with amazement that it was written in the late 1960s. I don't feel it at all, it seems so modern. I thought it was written in the late 90s or even later. This book has not grown old. It shows how good this story is. On the other hand, I am not surprised that it was written during the Cold War, it has something from those times.

This is my first book by Michael Crichton but of course I've heard about him before. I am sure I will read some of his other books one day. I hope they are as good as this one. I also know that a film was made based on this book. It may be interesting, I may watch it. It also seems to me that a continuation of this story was recently released, I need to check it out. ...more

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