Best books and movies by Michael Crichton
A writer and filmmaker, John Michael Crichton was one of the most famous American authors of the late 20th century. His works have sold more than 200 million copies across the globe, with more than a dozen of them adapted into movies and TV series.
Most of Michael Crichton’s work revolves around science fiction. His books utilize the so-called techno-thriller and medical fiction genres, in which his characters are part of major catastrophes caused by human failure to control biotechnology.
As mentioned, most of Crichton’s novels were adapted into film and TV. Nevertheless, his books are also in audiobook form, with many of them available right here on Speechify. So, let’s check out who Michael Crichton was and why you should listen to his novels.
Who is Michael Crichton?
Although a doctor who finished Harvard University, Michael Crichton never practiced medicine. Instead, his choice was to focus on writing, which turned out to be a great career path for him. At first, he wrote under different pen names but would eventually start using his real name.
Before his death in Los Angeles in 2008, he wrote 26 novels, some of which include The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, The Great Train Robbery, Congo, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Airframe, Prey, and State of Fear.
After his death, many of his unfinished books were released as manuscripts. One of the more popular ones was Pirate Latitudes. There was Dragon Teeth, which was actually written way back in the 70s but was never previously released.
Nevertheless, it’s a less-known fact that Michael Crichton directed movies. During the 70s, he worked as a screenwriter and directed Westworld, a film that got its big-budget TV series adaptation in 2016. He also directed Looker and Runaway during the 1980s.
A review of Michael Crichton’s background and early contributions to writing
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Michael Crichton is one of the more interesting figures when it comes to American writers and filmmakers of the last several decades. He was raised in New York, and he showed great interest in writing from an early age.
Crichton studied at Harvard College, where he wanted to major in English literature but changed it to biological anthropology, graduating summa cum laude in 1964. By the late 60s, he became a visiting lecturer at Cambridge, after which he enrolled in Harvard Medical School. Later on, he did a postdoc study at the Salk Institute in California.
While at Harvard, Crichton began to write extensively. He released several pseudonymous novels under the name John Lange. The first one was Odds On, which came out in 1966 with moderate success, leading him to continue a series of novels under the pseudonym.
Later on, he would use another pen name, Jeffrey Hudson, under which A Case of Need came out in 1968. Interestingly, Jeffery Hudson was a 17th-century court dwarf and Crichton was 6 ft 9 in, making them both isolated from the rest due to their physical appearance.
The 70s proved to be a prolific period for his writing. Eaters of the Dead turned out to be a best-selling novel. Nevertheless, during the 80s, Crichton worked on early video games. Namely, he was behind a graphic adventure game titled Amazon that was closely related to his book Congo, but he had to change the name and setting due to copyrights.
Michael Crichton’s most recognized novels
Although Michael Crichton wrote many novels, we can’t talk about him and not mention his most famous work. With Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, and Congo, he made some of the most thrilling works of literature in the sci-fi genre in the last 50 years. So, let’s check them out.
Jurassic Park
Coming out in 1990, Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park is a modern classic in the science fiction genre. At its core, it is a warning about genetic engineering and humans playing God. After scientists succeed in cloning dinosaurs and placing them in an amusement park, the long-lost animals escape due to human error and start terrorizing the visitors.
Jurassic Park is probably now best known for its movie adaptation that took special effects to a new frontier and its sequels, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World Dominion, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but it’s the book that set the ball rolling.
Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain is a story about a group of scientists working in a super secret military facility, examining a deadly virus from—you’ve guessed it—outer space. Of course, like in most Michael Crichton novels, something goes wrong, and the consequences of messing around with nature and bio-engineering endanger the rest of humanity.
Congo
Published in 1980, Congo is another sci-fi novel by Michael Crichton. It’s the fifth book to be released under his real name, and it tells a story about a group of people in search of diamonds in the rainforests of Congo. However, the group that came before them didn’t make it, which raises the stakes even higher.
Michael Crichton’s most successful films
Michael Crichton’s first outlet into film-making came in the late 70s and lasted until the end of the 80s. His work on The Great Train Robbery won him numerous nominations and an award from the Mystery Writers of America. He also wrote, produced, and directed numerous films. Some of them include Pursuit, Twister, Westworld, Coma, Looker, Runaway, Physical Evidence, The 13th Warrior, and Timeline. Let’s check out three of his best works in the movie business.
Westworld
After a robot goes defunct in a high-tech amusement park meant for adults, all hell breaks loose and visitors need to figure out how to escape alive. The movie was a moderate success, earning 10 million at the box office. Nevertheless, Westworld made an even bigger impact on the audiences in 2016 when it came out as a big-budget HBO/Warner Bros TV show.
Coma
Although based on Robin Cook’s book, Coma was directed by Michael Crichton and is a horror/thriller. It follows a doctor who starts suspecting something isn’t right when she starts seeing a number of comatose patients. The movie had a great cast, including Genevieve Bujold, Michael Douglas, Tom Selleck, and Ed Harris.
Twister
Michael Crichton was an executive producer for Twister. Although not highly rated on IMDb, it’s a cult classic. The movie follows storm chasers, Ben and Jo, who need to postpone their divorce so that they can save Oklahoma from a number of terrifying tornadoes. Twister has a stellar cast comprised of Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Listen to more audiobooks with Speechify’s audiobook platform
In case you’re a fan of Michael Crichton, Speechify is the place for you. In its collection, you can find a number of audiobooks that explore similar themes of technological advancements that don’t always benefit humans as they spiral out of control.
Besides a vast collection of audiobooks, Speechify also works on all popular devices and platforms. You can download it for your iPhone or Android device, or use it on your Mac or Windows computer, anywhere and at any time.
FAQs
What caused Michael Crichton’s death?
Michael Crichton died of cancer in 2008, aged only 66.
What was the last book Michael Crichton wrote?
Next was the last complete novel by Michael Crichton. It came out in 2006.