RIP Michael Crichton

Better than Tom Clancy? Ted Geisel?

 

I'd be remiss here if I didn't offer a farewell to Mr. Crichton. Whatever one thought of his writing, he was an undeniable bestseller. Which means a great deal to me personally - because we wrote for the same publisher. The millions he brings in for them allows them to gamble on the hundreds of little literary fry like me.

For every Crichton - or Collins or Grisham or Clancy - there are scores of young novelists and poets and essayists who owe their modest advances, and their careers, to Crichton's blockbuster successes.

So, even though his latest hardcover was always crowding the rest of us out of the display cases down in the lobby, I say thank you Michael, may you find a writer's rest.

 

Wow. Had no idea he was sick. RIP. There's a bunch of his books I want to read. Have read most of his early stuff, but havent read anything of his after Airframe.

 

Good career move.

 

I've read just about all of his books, but I have to give him props for the movie "Looker," for which Susan Dey removed her clothes.

RIP

 

Tom Clancy is a hack, albeit a rich one. His sentences are the literary version of Chinese water torture

 

But just the same Ted Geisel has strung together some of the finest sentences written.

 

FWIW, Crichton was one of the great debunkers of climate change out there.

 

Before we veer into a climate-change threadjack, I'll make note that my favorite of his books is one of his most forgotten -- The Great Train Robbery. (To be sure, I've only read a handful of his books.)

 

Totally forgot about that one ... the Connery/Sutherland movie based on his book is one of my favorites.

 

the one he did that was anti=global warming was a big pile of steaming dog crap. debunk that!

 

Ah hell, here we go. A thread about an author dying is about to turn into a global warming debate. Only on the Internet.