(1987)Michael Crichton
Finished reading: 01.2009
The first time I read this Crichton classic was about eight to ten years ago during a time when I was reading all the titles on this author's diverse resume (and my reading did not extend beyond, but fully encompassed nearly every work by John Grisham, Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton). Having moved into deeper literature from the somewhat shallower pool of John, Tom and Mike in recent years, a look at this old friend was a welcome retreat). With Crichton's recent passing, I remembered fondly this well worn paperback and brought it down from my shelf for a look.
Crichton's work as a whole is intrinsically tied to the current technology, news and science of the day it was written, and so I expected to have a few smiles and roll my eyes at this outdated "present day technology" from over 20 years ago. However, this sci-fi techno thriller based in an underwater world of submarines, submerged science stations, and pre-Windows computers, did not seem any stranger than buying a low mileage used car from the dealer down the street. Perhaps the submarine technology is obsolete but not enough for this land lubber to notice.
My disappointment from lack of Andromeda Strain cultural shock aside, (referring to the 1969 Crichton novel which portrays the then avant-guarde scientific technology as hopelessly ancient and simple to the modern reader, but now 40 years removed) I think Sphere is good for its suspense and use of technology but lacks character development and follow-up.
A collection of scientists and a psychologist are called down to a mystery object discovered deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, and make base camp in a pressurized underwater Naval station. Unknown to these non-combatants, they are about to stumble upon a spacecraft mysteriously stuck beneath heavy layers of coral. It turns out the craft is not from where they hoped (or feared) or from when they thought (or thought possible). In the process of exploring the submerged vessel, they discover a large non-human sphere and a strange presence eminating from within. They try to work beyond their differences and increasingly untimely demises, to learn the knowledge of and then survive a perplexing but dangerous monster who likes numbers, word codes and killing.
I was interested in how Crichton develops the characters by way of their diverse basic types. Norman is level-headed and diplomatic, Harry is intelligent and arrogant, Ted is a good natured opportunist, Beth is gentle yet sometimes combative, Harold is the Navy through and through, and Tina is quiet and proficient. They are men and women, whites and minorities, some fit and some out of shape. Even though these simple descriptions could lead to obvious conclusions, the author explores how these stereotypes actually interact in a situation of peril, and who comes out ahead in the competition for life.
For the most part the characters are only explored shallowly in ways that directly apply to the story at hand, and as for follow-up, some characters are killed off too suddenly without enough reflection or fear from the surviving characters. We see the inhabitants of the submersed station psychologically through the eyes of Norman Johnson, and so we see the world as he wants it to be.
We are shaped by our environment, and our literary minds are shaped by our chosen author's written environments. Having read much higher fiction recently, it is difficult to make strong statements from the text, and too easy to ask for more detail and change of heart. However, Sphere performed well for what it is - an entertaining page-turner with suspense and thrills at every chapter.
