I’ve read this before. Even knowing the outcome didn’t diminish the excitement. Great read and very thought provoking.
I loved the science too.
The Andromeda Strain
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 7,122 ratings
Price: 17.5
Last update: 11-14-2024
About this item
First published fifty years ago, The Andromeda Strain redefined the science fiction genre, and immediately established Michael Crichton as one of the brightest voices in contemporary literature worldwide.
"I love anything Michael Crichton writes." (Stephen King)
A military space probe, sent to collect extraterrestrial organisms from the upper atmosphere, is knocked out of orbit and falls to Earth. Twelve miles from the crash site, an inexplicable and deadly phenomenon terrorizes the residents of a sleepy desert town in Arizona, leaving only two survivors: an elderly addict and a newborn infant.
The United States government is forced to mobilize Project Wildfire, a top-secret emergency response protocol. Four of the nation’s most elite biophysicists are summoned to a clandestine underground laboratory located five stories beneath the desert and fitted with an automated atomic self-destruction mechanism for cases of irremediable contamination. Under conditions of total news blackout and the utmost urgency, the scientists race to understand and contain the crisis. But the Andromeda Strain proves different from anything they’ve ever seen - and what they don’t know could not only hurt them, but lead to unprecedented worldwide catastrophe.
Top reviews from the United States
nicole kennelly5.0 out of 5 stars
sci-fi thriller. or is it?
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2024Light C.4.0 out of 5 stars
fun quick read
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2022
I have had this book on my read list for years and finally got around to it. Now maybe I’ll even watch the movie.
It’s a good story. It’s quick, fast paced and though there is a lot of scientific data thrown at you, it’s fairly easy to comprehend what they are talking about with it.
I especially enjoyed that this was set in the 60’s. The explanations of the newest scientific methods of the time were being used, though maybe not as thorough as they hoped they’d were. Introductions of medicines, treatments, not to mention what the normal populace considered using, even being told it was detrimental to their health - such as a bottle of aspirin a day and using ‘squeeze’. I’d heard of people using Sterno this way, but it was the first I’d heard of how it was done. Sounds horrible, but it amazes me what people will choose to do, if it works for them, in the short term. I liked how the medical doctor just took this information in stride, even contemplating if it was part of the cure in some way.
The science and drama in this story were superbly done and kept me interested in reading. I started and finished this book in a 24 hour period. That’s not uncommon for me, but it does mean it was a good read, otherwise it would have taken a day or two longer. I didn’t want to put this down.
The only issue I had with the writing was minor. The story read as happening currently as it was written just set in the 60’s. Then the author would post foreshadowing comments, such as saying one of the scientists of the project would fail to notice something until so much later. I don’t mind foreshadowing, but I prefer a more subtle approach. If this is supposed to be read as a report after the fact, it doesn’t start that way or through many sections throughout.
Still a great read and a fun story.
It’s a good story. It’s quick, fast paced and though there is a lot of scientific data thrown at you, it’s fairly easy to comprehend what they are talking about with it.
I especially enjoyed that this was set in the 60’s. The explanations of the newest scientific methods of the time were being used, though maybe not as thorough as they hoped they’d were. Introductions of medicines, treatments, not to mention what the normal populace considered using, even being told it was detrimental to their health - such as a bottle of aspirin a day and using ‘squeeze’. I’d heard of people using Sterno this way, but it was the first I’d heard of how it was done. Sounds horrible, but it amazes me what people will choose to do, if it works for them, in the short term. I liked how the medical doctor just took this information in stride, even contemplating if it was part of the cure in some way.
The science and drama in this story were superbly done and kept me interested in reading. I started and finished this book in a 24 hour period. That’s not uncommon for me, but it does mean it was a good read, otherwise it would have taken a day or two longer. I didn’t want to put this down.
The only issue I had with the writing was minor. The story read as happening currently as it was written just set in the 60’s. Then the author would post foreshadowing comments, such as saying one of the scientists of the project would fail to notice something until so much later. I don’t mind foreshadowing, but I prefer a more subtle approach. If this is supposed to be read as a report after the fact, it doesn’t start that way or through many sections throughout.
Still a great read and a fun story.
Christian D. Orr5.0 out of 5 stars
More relevant than ever.
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2020
Eerie, frightening, suspenseful......and (even though the book is overly 50 years old now), in this day & age of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, more relevant than ever.
RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:
—p. 19: “At the time of Andromeda, there had never been a crisis of biological science, and the first Americans faced with the facts were not disposed to think in terms of one.” Prescient vis-a-vis COVID-19 novel Coronavirus?
—p. 20: MAJ Manchek is an Army officer, nor Air Force, yet he keeps getting posted at Air Force bases (Wright-Pat, Vandy) and specialises in spacecraft??
—p. 31: “A mathematician once joked that binary numbers were the way people who have only two fingers count.”
—p. 38: “Mrs. Stone was annoyed: she had been raised in official Washington, where one’s second cup of coffee, offered pointedly without cognac, was accepted as a signal to go home. Unfortunately, she thought, academics did not follow the rules.” Ha, absent-minder professors and academic stuffed-shirts!
—p. 44: “Physically, Stone was a thin, balding man with a prodigious memory that catalogued scientific facts and blue jokes with equal facility.” Haha, bully for the blue jokes!
European Economic Community, wow, the predecessor of the EU.
—p. 49: “Barely two years after his letter to the President, Stone was satisfied that ‘this country has the capability to deal with an unknown biologic agent.’ He professed himself pleased with the response of Washington and the speed with which his ideas had been implemented. But privately, he admitted to friends that it had been almost too easy, that Washington had agreed to his plans almost too readily.” Prescient? Is life imitating art now with COVID-19?
—p. 52: “Vandenberg is used for west-to-east orbits, as opposed to Cape Kennedy, which launches east-to-west;” hmmm, interesting, I wonder if this is still true?
—p. 53: Ah, back in the day when the Indian city was still called Bombay and not Mumbai.
—p. 54: “though he could not balance his own checkbook, mathematicians often came to him for help in resolving highly abstract problems.” Haha, sounds like my own Dad (God rest his soul)
—p. 58: “As he grew older, however, Leavitt had stopped traveling. Public health, he was fond of saying, was a young man’s game; when you got your fifth case of intestinal amebiasis, it was time to quit.” Gadzooks!
—p. 78: “It gave him a strange feeling to see the wrist and leg sliced open, the chest exposed—but no bleeding. There was something wild and inhuman about that. As if bleeding were a sign of humanity. Well, he thought, perhaps it is. Perhaps the fact that we bleed to death makes us human.” Yep, as opposed to octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, which evidently don’t bleed no matter how thoroughly you slice ‘n’ dice ‘em.
—p. 95: “A guard in the corner was making a telephone call; he had a machine gun slung over his shoulder.” Um, as in submachine gun or automatic rifle? Because a true full-sized machine gun is not meant to be casually slung over one shoulder unless you’re built like Hulk Hogan.
—p. 100: “Hall found himself looking at nine of the largest German shepherds he had ever seen.” Okay, but were any of them solid black GSDs? ????
—p. 107: “Stone was there, standing stiffly erect and alert, as if he had just taken a cold shower.” Um, any double-entendre intended?
—p. 109: Hudson Institute!
—p. 116: “Then Stone lay down on one of the couches and fell instantly asleep. It was a trick he had learned years before, when he had been conducting experiments around the clock. He learned to squeeze in an hour here, two hours there. He found it useful.” Hmmm, similar to Demo Dick Marcinko’s concept of the “combat nap?”
—p. 181: “‘He’s a book-learning fool, you know. Lawyer. Talks real big, but he hasn’t got the sense God gave a grasshopper’s behind.’” Haha, good one!
—p. 191: Um, a Major is supposed to address a Colonel as “Sir,” not the other way around.
—p. 192: “Goddard Spaceflight Center, outside Washington.” Hey, some kind of good omen job-wise, perhaps?
—p. 243: “SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL ONCE SAID that ‘true genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.’”
RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:
—p. 19: “At the time of Andromeda, there had never been a crisis of biological science, and the first Americans faced with the facts were not disposed to think in terms of one.” Prescient vis-a-vis COVID-19 novel Coronavirus?
—p. 20: MAJ Manchek is an Army officer, nor Air Force, yet he keeps getting posted at Air Force bases (Wright-Pat, Vandy) and specialises in spacecraft??
—p. 31: “A mathematician once joked that binary numbers were the way people who have only two fingers count.”
—p. 38: “Mrs. Stone was annoyed: she had been raised in official Washington, where one’s second cup of coffee, offered pointedly without cognac, was accepted as a signal to go home. Unfortunately, she thought, academics did not follow the rules.” Ha, absent-minder professors and academic stuffed-shirts!
—p. 44: “Physically, Stone was a thin, balding man with a prodigious memory that catalogued scientific facts and blue jokes with equal facility.” Haha, bully for the blue jokes!
European Economic Community, wow, the predecessor of the EU.
—p. 49: “Barely two years after his letter to the President, Stone was satisfied that ‘this country has the capability to deal with an unknown biologic agent.’ He professed himself pleased with the response of Washington and the speed with which his ideas had been implemented. But privately, he admitted to friends that it had been almost too easy, that Washington had agreed to his plans almost too readily.” Prescient? Is life imitating art now with COVID-19?
—p. 52: “Vandenberg is used for west-to-east orbits, as opposed to Cape Kennedy, which launches east-to-west;” hmmm, interesting, I wonder if this is still true?
—p. 53: Ah, back in the day when the Indian city was still called Bombay and not Mumbai.
—p. 54: “though he could not balance his own checkbook, mathematicians often came to him for help in resolving highly abstract problems.” Haha, sounds like my own Dad (God rest his soul)
—p. 58: “As he grew older, however, Leavitt had stopped traveling. Public health, he was fond of saying, was a young man’s game; when you got your fifth case of intestinal amebiasis, it was time to quit.” Gadzooks!
—p. 78: “It gave him a strange feeling to see the wrist and leg sliced open, the chest exposed—but no bleeding. There was something wild and inhuman about that. As if bleeding were a sign of humanity. Well, he thought, perhaps it is. Perhaps the fact that we bleed to death makes us human.” Yep, as opposed to octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, which evidently don’t bleed no matter how thoroughly you slice ‘n’ dice ‘em.
—p. 95: “A guard in the corner was making a telephone call; he had a machine gun slung over his shoulder.” Um, as in submachine gun or automatic rifle? Because a true full-sized machine gun is not meant to be casually slung over one shoulder unless you’re built like Hulk Hogan.
—p. 100: “Hall found himself looking at nine of the largest German shepherds he had ever seen.” Okay, but were any of them solid black GSDs? ????
—p. 107: “Stone was there, standing stiffly erect and alert, as if he had just taken a cold shower.” Um, any double-entendre intended?
—p. 109: Hudson Institute!
—p. 116: “Then Stone lay down on one of the couches and fell instantly asleep. It was a trick he had learned years before, when he had been conducting experiments around the clock. He learned to squeeze in an hour here, two hours there. He found it useful.” Hmmm, similar to Demo Dick Marcinko’s concept of the “combat nap?”
—p. 181: “‘He’s a book-learning fool, you know. Lawyer. Talks real big, but he hasn’t got the sense God gave a grasshopper’s behind.’” Haha, good one!
—p. 191: Um, a Major is supposed to address a Colonel as “Sir,” not the other way around.
—p. 192: “Goddard Spaceflight Center, outside Washington.” Hey, some kind of good omen job-wise, perhaps?
—p. 243: “SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL ONCE SAID that ‘true genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.’”
Frank Donnelly3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good, But Not Great Science Fiction Story, Sometimes Slow Moving
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2020
"The Andromeda Strain" is a decent science fiction story authored in the late 1960s and set in the western United States. The story starts out in a fairly interesting manner. There are times it bogs down and moves slowly. There is a lot of scientific terminology and lengthy descriptions of tests and procedures that may slow things down for a reader not really interested in going too deep "into the weeds" of science. On the other hand a student of biology or medicine might like some of the detail.
This novel,is of medium length. Generally I do not like reading condensed or abridged versions of novels. This novel is an exception. This novel could be condensed by perhaps one third and most of the story would remain intact for the average person simply seeking an entertaining light reading experience.
As described above, the novel is of medium length with a good deal of scientific jargon and procedures. On the other hand there is little character development. I really did not care about various characters. Also there were some tangential incidents that were more or less glossed over that could have been more interesting to me than the heavy scientific chapters. That is all a matter of taste and it really comes down to what one is looking for in a novel.
I liked the novel and am glad that I read it, but except for a few episodes I was not really enthralled by the novel. It was OK. At this particular time in American History, I have often thought about this novel and wondered why it was not being mentioned more. Having now read it, I can see why. It is a pretty good, but not great novel that seems more of a scientific fiction than a science fiction.
Thank You....
This novel,is of medium length. Generally I do not like reading condensed or abridged versions of novels. This novel is an exception. This novel could be condensed by perhaps one third and most of the story would remain intact for the average person simply seeking an entertaining light reading experience.
As described above, the novel is of medium length with a good deal of scientific jargon and procedures. On the other hand there is little character development. I really did not care about various characters. Also there were some tangential incidents that were more or less glossed over that could have been more interesting to me than the heavy scientific chapters. That is all a matter of taste and it really comes down to what one is looking for in a novel.
I liked the novel and am glad that I read it, but except for a few episodes I was not really enthralled by the novel. It was OK. At this particular time in American History, I have often thought about this novel and wondered why it was not being mentioned more. Having now read it, I can see why. It is a pretty good, but not great novel that seems more of a scientific fiction than a science fiction.
Thank You....