A Case of Need by Michael Crichton
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Book Reviews of A Case of Need
Book Review: Dad's Opinion
Summary: 5 Stars
A marvelously contrived plot. The reader can learn a lot of medical processes and terminology as well. Well worth the reader's time. But it's by Michael Crichton -- need I say more?Book Review: Misery begets misery
Summary: 5 Stars
I rarely read true stories, but after this one, Crichton has redeemed himself. It's interesting, informative and breathtaking. I love it!!!
(^u^)
Book Review: Well Done Early Novel by Crichton
Summary: 4 Stars
Michael Crichton was only 26 years old when he wrote A CASE OF NEED in 1968. This book, although not perfect, is a very well written medical thriller that holds up pretty well nearly forty years later.
A CASE OF NEED deals with the subject of abortion, and an abortion doctor who has been wrongly framed for a botched operation. It probably won't have much appeal for the anti-abortion crowd, although it's interesting to read a book that deals with the subject before the Roe v. Wade court decision took effect.
Like all of Crichton's books, this novel has a lot of interesting information about science. In particular, Crichton does a good job of explaining how doctors do their jobs, and what life was like for young doctors in the late 1960s. If you're interested in the medical profession, this book has a lot of fascinating material.
The major weakness of this A CASE OF NEED is the large number of characters, and the fact that several of them are not fully fleshed out. I occasionally had to flip back the pages to remind myself who was who. I also felt the hero of this book was essentially uninteresting -- Crichton has never been very good at creating strong central characters in his novels.
All in all, though, A CASE OF NEED is a solid medical thriller. It's one of Circhton's better novels.
Book Review: A different kind of Crichton book
Summary: 4 Stars
This Crichton book is a far cry from his later thrillers. Some of these later books, like Jurassic Park, I find very engaging, but others seem too shallow and hastily written. I think that in this book, Crichton really had a passion for his subject matter (he almost became a doctor) and in this context, the details and footnotes that some find too in-depth for a supposedly quick read are actually helpful and intriguing in my opinion. I actually liked learning what all the medical lingo meant, and the fact that it was written and set during the 60's gave it an extra dimension to consider. The many different descriptions of doctors, hospitals and medical stories were an interesting departure from my average read. The only thing that did bother me about the book was that the plot did not seem like the most engaging medical subject--abortion is controversial, but the actual circumstances of death and investigation did not seem very fascinating to me. However, the book still kept my interest with the general medical stories and details, and it should be noted that Crichton was 26 when he wrote it, and not practiced yet. Generally I enjoyed it.Book Review: A good "Robin Cook type" novel!
Summary: 4 Stars
The main character of this book, Dr. John Berry, seems a heck of a lot like Robin Cook's Jack Stapleton. In fact, this book is a lot like a Cook novel except the conspirators that are usually after the hero as he methodically pieces together the clues, are noticeably missing from this book.
Berry is investigating the death of a rich college co-ed who died from an apparent botched abortion. Berry's friend who clandestinely does abortions (this is the pre-Roe vs. Wade era) is the main suspect. Berry uses his medical credentials and general ability to intimidate people to interview everyone that might have known the co-ed or who could be a lead to where she went to have her procedure done.
The author gives a lot of explanation to many medical terms and the book is a fairly quick read. I would have rated it higher but I felt that the lack of the suspense that normally exists in a Robin Cook novel where the main character has to fight the bad guys, slightly detracted from the book.