Welcome to the land of wonders, where time travel is possible, space travel a reality, and "what ifs" come to life. Join me as I explore new worlds--and old ones--filled with scientific wonders, new civilizations, and strange new mysteries to consider.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
In 1979 the U.S. government approached psychologist Norman Johnson and asked him to construct an ideal team of individuals to make first contact with an alien species. He did so, but the government didn't like his suggestions. He shrugged and put the entire incident behind him. Now, six years later, that report has come back to haunt him. Somewhere in the waters far beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean there is a huge something that may be the first concrete evidence of sentient life in the universe besides that found on Earth.
Norman and the rest of his team descend to the ocean bottom and take up residence in underwater living modules. The excitement of the E.T. find is enough to overcome most trepidations, but Norman would still prefer being miles away. Down there in the depths of the Pacific, they are cut off from the rest of the world. At first things seem fine, but then some of the predictions Norman made in his report begin to come true. The close quarters sets everyone on edge, and the realization that there is no way to get back or even communicate with the surface--the support fleet fled the area because of stormy weather--doesn't help the situation. The team has no choice but to continue with their work. They muster up their courage and board the E.T. They do some exploring, make their observations, and return to base. Everything seems normal.
Then, strange things start to happen. Where before their region on the sea floor was devoid of life, luminous creatures begin to appear. These creatures are all new to science, and research shows that some could not possibly exist: their internal organs are too muddled to sustain life. Other specimens of the same creature suddenly have their innards sorted out and set into operable formats. What is going on? Then, they receive a message from the ship itself, where they thought they wouldn't hear a thing. Mysterious accidents start to happen, until it becomes evident that these are not accidents. Someone is plotting their deaths, but who? Why?
Michael Crichton needs no introduction. His bestelling novels had taken the nation by storm, and I'm sure it's gone beyond the borders in all directions. That's not counting how far movie adaptations of his novels had reached. My only regret is that I haven't yet seen the movie adaptation of this novel so I could compare the two. Of course, you know I'll do a movie review just as soon as it comes out on video. Count on it!
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