46. The Andromeda Strain. Michael Crichton. 1969. 327 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, adult science fiction, science fiction, thriller]
First sentence: A man with binoculars. That is how it began: with a man standing by the side of the road, on a crest overlooking a small Arizona town, on a winter night.
Premise/plot: In an introduction to Fahrenheit 451, speculative fiction was explained simply focusing on three statements:
What if . . . ?
If only . . .
If this goes on . . .
The Andromeda Strain explores the 'what if' aspect of if an alien organism (entity? substance? lifeform? something) made it through the atmosphere. Is that an absolutely horrendous description? Yes, yes, it is. So "Scoop" is a super secret hush hush scientific project that is purposefully seeking to "scoop" stuff from the atmosphere for study, for science, for military purposes. When the satellite? capsule? (something or other) becomes unstable in orbit and falls to earth unexpectedly, it crashes in a super small town in Arizona. The results are devastating and catastrophic--for that town. But are there implications for the whole world? Maybe. Maybe not. But Project Wildfire isn't about taking risks--intentionally. They are also super secret hush, hush, all the classified. These scientists will be studying the TWO SURVIVORS (a baby and an old man) and the capsule itself.
My thoughts: This one is extremely super science-y and technical. I skimmed those bits. It isn't so much a thriller thriller. It is dry, technical, the opposite of action-packed. I think it could have gone a different direction, BUT, it didn't. And this direction is good for the fictional world. There isn't really a "climax" just scientists doing science-y things like experiments with a few going incredibly wrong here and there.
My first Crichton was Jurassic Park. There is no comparison. This one wasn't as action-packed or interesting or entertaining.
The Andromeda Strain explores the 'what if' aspect of if an alien organism (entity? substance? lifeform? something) made it through the atmosphere. Is that an absolutely horrendous description? Yes, yes, it is. So "Scoop" is a super secret hush hush scientific project that is purposefully seeking to "scoop" stuff from the atmosphere for study, for science, for military purposes. When the satellite? capsule? (something or other) becomes unstable in orbit and falls to earth unexpectedly, it crashes in a super small town in Arizona. The results are devastating and catastrophic--for that town. But are there implications for the whole world? Maybe. Maybe not. But Project Wildfire isn't about taking risks--intentionally. They are also super secret hush, hush, all the classified. These scientists will be studying the TWO SURVIVORS (a baby and an old man) and the capsule itself.
My thoughts: This one is extremely super science-y and technical. I skimmed those bits. It isn't so much a thriller thriller. It is dry, technical, the opposite of action-packed. I think it could have gone a different direction, BUT, it didn't. And this direction is good for the fictional world. There isn't really a "climax" just scientists doing science-y things like experiments with a few going incredibly wrong here and there.
My first Crichton was Jurassic Park. There is no comparison. This one wasn't as action-packed or interesting or entertaining.
© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
