I read the recent news of Michael Crichton's death with equal measure of shock and sadness. I had not heard that he was ill, and despite the fact that many of his novels were written before I was 10 years old, I viewed him as a young man. Indeed 66 years old is young in this day and age. Still, it seemed like an untimely end to one of the greatest writers of our time. While I can't boast of having read each and every one of his novels, Crichton's work has certainly influenced me as a writer and a human being, and I am sad to learn that I won't be surprised or thrilled by any new Crichton novels after his last posthumous publication.
I can remember the first time I read Jurassic Park. In 1990, when the book was released, I was nine. About a year later, just as I was entering the 6th grade, a friend of my father's sent me a copy to read. My parents had some reservations about the subject material and it's appropriateness for a ten-year-old, but decided to encourage me. While I had ventured from the children's section into adult literature a few times already, Jurassic Park had a scientific flavor that I had not encountered in other books. I was fascinated with the detailed descriptions of the cloning procedures and Ian Malcom's pontifications on chaos theory and paradigms. With a father who had raised me on chemistry sets and computer science, I was drawn to the technicality presented in the material, even if only to realize later that it was intelligent fiction, but still fiction.
I'm sure I didn't fully comprehend every concept or detail in the novel the first time I read it, but I poured through it quickly, devouring the details anxiously to see if the characters could survive the moral of the story. I was satisfied with the ending, even with the the death of seemingly well-intentioned John Hammond, who I felt embodied the phrase "good intentions pave the road to hell." The book represented a shift for me from children's literature to the adult section at the library. More than that, it introduced me to the ethics of adulthood. As a child, it was so easy to think that everyone who "grew up" became moral in the process of becoming a productive member of society. That those who became gainfully employed, got married and had children were automatically decent. Jurassic Park was a wake-up call that let me know that morals were optional, even with an education - and that in fact, an education simply made the immoral more dangerous.
Three years later, I was asked to read Jurassic Park as part of coursework for my 9th grade AP English class. This was also a fascinating experience as it allowed me to compare my perceptions of the novel with other students my age. It was definitely a telling moment to hear others talk about the work. Many glazed over the details and came out with a rough understanding of the general point, and some just saw a story about dinosaurs. Our teacher took pleasure in awakening our critical eye for literature by drawing connections to other works about the dangers of playing God. I took pleasure in discussing the details of the work with him, in that shy, blushing sort of way.
I would later go on to read other novels by Crichton, my favorite of which was Sphere. His scientific detail made it all the more realistic and appealing, while his artful use of suspense drew me into the story. I never minded being manipulated by his literary devices because they were so wonderfully executed. If you've seen the movies and never read the books, I promise it would be worth your while to pick up a copy. The movies are wonderful, but they never could capture the magnificence of his writing.
Needless to say, he has influenced me as both a reader and a writer. I can't say I am a die-hard fan, or a serious follower, but I do know that every time his named popped up on the Best Seller list or any time I came across a new work of his, my interest was instantly piqued. I'm very sad to know that those days are over.
Goodbye Michael Crichton, and thank you for the part you've played in my life and work.
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