A Case of Need by Michael Crichton
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Book Reviews of A Case of Need
Book Review: Early-period Crichton
Summary: 3 Stars
Crichton's development as a writer is clearly evident to me in his books, though I've not read them all. "A Case of Need" is unique among the Crichton books that I have read - it's more of a medically-themed detective story than the technological thrillers that Crichton is best known for. His writing style is more antiquated: more formal and less intended to quickly hook the reader and reel him/her in. It is also peculiar in that it is written in the first person, severely limiting the reader's perspective. The plot is slow, consisting of mostly conversational interviews, lacking the slasher dinosaur scenes of "Jurassic Park" or even the heart-stopping germ scenes in its closer sibling "The Andromeda Strain".
Overall, it's a good mystery story, but it lacks most of the features that have drawn me back to Crichton novels again and again. I like Michael Crichton because he can write an intriguing, fast-paced, easy-to-read novel while still incorporating themes - fun novels that make you think. "A Case of Need" is not as fun, and its intentions seem clouded and confused. It's still a worthwhile read, but Crichton has since written better.
Book Review: Decent, but don't expect much
Summary: 3 Stars
This was an okay book to read. It was entertaining, however, very forgettable. Having finished the book last night, I had already forgotten the main characters name. Crichton deals with abortion in an evenhanded manner. What the story lacks however seems to be any real substance. The story seems very trite and easy to predict each turn that it will take. It does keep you interested while you read it, but only to confirm what you figured out early on. All in all three stars for the lack of depth found in this novel (unlike most Crichton novels.)Book Review: Reading with Tequila
Summary: 3 Stars
A Case of Need was Michael Crichton's first novel and it showed. The book was decent, but it lacked the polish of his later work. I was interested, but not engrossed and could have put it down and never missed finishing it. Forgettable.Book Review: How did this book win an award?
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a fan of Michael Crichton's. Having said that, I felt that the writing style of this particular book was incredibly choppy, and that certain characters were not well developed at all (e.g. the wife!)
The basic premise was very interesting and the book was suspenseful; it moved along at a fast pace. However, Crichton added too many characters, and made the book too dense. I had to skim the last several chapters because I wanted to know what happened at the end, but I was getting extremely bored.
Obviously, he has come a long way since this book :-)
Sigrid
Book Review: Didn't like it much
Summary: 2 Stars
In my opinion, this book is Michael Crichton's most boring novel I've ever read. I had trouble understanding this book. But judging from my memories, I think this would've been a better book if I understood it better, but who knows? I just didn't like it that much the time I read it plus the trouble-understanding, so it's 2 stars for me. Some memories also kick back to me that I almost fell asleep reading it or yawned. (But these are just my views.)