The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

I consider the Chinese New Year week as my most productive holiday ever because I managed to finish 3 books within that week.

But since I’m such a lazy slog, I’ve decided to pen my thoughts on the books one after another; taking my own sweet time of course

With my mp3 player blasting “Second Chance by Shinedown”; here I am penning my next review on a book entitled “The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton”.

Yes, the book is old. As old as I don’t know since when :-P I’m lazy to Google for the publication detail :-P

Anyway, here’re my thoughts on the book:

Book review
I guess most would have read the book.

So I will keep the review as simple as possible. It is a nice fast paced read compared to some of the books from Michael.

The plot revolves around the recovery activity of military satellite which crash landed on a small town in none other than USA (Piedmont, Arizona).

It purportedly carries with it some extra-terrestrial microorganism which quickly clots the blood of exposed life form on Earth.

This triggers a covert operation called “Wildfire” (manned by 5 selected individuals; each expert in their own field) on top of the already covert operation to retrieve, identify and neutralize the threat before it spread.

Their only hope lies on identifying the natural body resistance of two surviving inhabitants of Piedmont known as Peter Jackson and Jamie Ritter.

So, did they succeed in their quest while remain stuck in ultra secretive, ultra-secure underground facility?

After much actions and nail biting suspense, it was discovered that the extra-terrestrial microorganism changed into benign form and did not harm any lives in the end.


P/s: I finally Google-ed about the book and found out that I read the book 41years late :-D

It was published in 1969 and I think it was probably written during the height of Cold War/Space Race between USA and USSR :-)

Personal rating: 7 out of 10

Cons:
1) N/A

Pros:
1) Fast paced read. A real page turner :-)

2) Description of the ultra secure facility is a real eye opener, especially on the methods taken to ensure no contamination of subsequent secure chambers