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The Andromeda Strain

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The Andromeda Strain

Written by: Michael Crichton
Narrated by: David Morse
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About this listen

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.

©1969 Constant c Productions, Inc.; Copyright renewed 1996 by CrichtonSun LLC (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Fantasy Fiction Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Suspense Technothrillers Thriller Scary

What listeners say about The Andromeda Strain

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Meh. (Reserving the rights to change my mind).

I’ve been on a Michael Crichton kick recently - and had super high hopes for this one, given how Jurassic Park is in my top 10 fave books of all time AND it’s currently a global pandemic. (Another book in my top 10 is The Stand...and I’m very well versed in the apocalyptic/pandemic genre).

The Andromeda Strain did not measure up to my expectations. Not enough “scare” or stress. Not enough paranoia, or social implications of the discovery of an alien “virus”...if that’s what it was. What would the military be planning - or doing - if contact is the case? How would the media be suppressed or the story leak out after a town is (to quote Stephen King) “cancelled” to control an outbreak? What HAPPENS with the alien cells once the mechanisms are discovered? What about the families of the scientists who up and go? Do they care their spouses are gone with a phone call? Do the scientists care?

These questions are not answered in this book.

This book was like being a fly on the wall where a handful of scientists, who lack any charisma or wit or camaraderie run a bunch of experiments and discover...something.

What comes out of it, I didn’t really care by the end.

I’m not returning this book - because I wonder if the Andromeda Evolution answers some of my questions...and it was an okay read.

Just don’t expect Jurassic Park. (And - read Jurassic Park. It’s stellar.).

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great read

Enjoyed this book ,
Didn’t realize it was written so long ago .
Well worth its time !

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Some science with not much fun

I recall when the book and movie first came out, 1969 & 1971 respectively and never read or watched either. Perhaps my inner book nerd knew that this work was not going to do it for me. I was right. I am sure some folks will love and enjoy it. Very decent narration by David Morse.

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I always enjoy how scientific Michael Crichton books are

I enjoyed this novel but if you are not into an overwhelming amount of scientific descriptions this book is not for you.

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Fascinating Premise

The premise is really intriguing, especially in light of recent past. This book brings two of my favorite genres together blending apocalyptic with extraterrestrial themes.

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    3 out of 5 stars

good story but anticlimactic

The book was very technical and interesting put overall the end of the book was anticlimactic

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good audiobook EXCEPT...

The book is very interesting and the narrator is great, except some portions of the book do not translate to the audio format very well at all. The narrator reading the times on transcripts for every sentence is very annoying. But good book all the same.

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A timeless listen

What really distinguishes this audiobook, besides the great writing, is the excellent, measured narration. It is with a deep patient voice that narrator commands your attention.

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Crichton at his best

Classic piece of science fiction literature. The narrator did a very classy job as well!

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pure techno thriller

This is a well written book with lots of action, suspense and intrigue. Anyone with a biotech or tech background will be impressed with the level of detail afforded their assessments of the virus and precautions to contain. I think Clive Barker should write a follow-up about the tiny universe contained within the specimens, something akin to Weave World.

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1 person found this helpful