Michael Crichton dies -- relatively young...

[Darren Dirt]

...considering how long folks like Paul Newman survived. In both cases, sadly, it was from cancer.

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/American_author_Michael_Crichton_dies_at_age_66

Oh, and no Jurassic Park "cloning" jokes, okay? This man had a lot of amazing sci fi ideas and I'm glad so many of his stories got to mainstream audiences (perhaps piquing their interest in better and/or lesser known sci fi writers...)

[Mr. Analog]

Tragic...

[Melbosa]

Doh!

[Mags]

Yeah this is rather sad, I loved his early work.

[Tonnica]

That's a real shame. I have a lot of fond memories around Michael Crichton's works. :<

The work he's done will survive him for centuries simply because so much of it is timeless.

[Darren Dirt]

The work he's done will survive him for centuries simply because so much of it is timeless.

I agree, similar to RAH and PKD, a lot of the enduring sci fi classics may have "tech" in the stories that might seem dated or even silly nowadays, but the stories themselves involve PEOPLE and the decision they face, the emotions they experience, the fears and hopes that motivate them to press on in their journeys, etc. etc. if well-written, these stories are timeless (heck, even HG Wells same can be said of his literary offerings!)


^ also the reason the original Star Trek series, and to a lesser extent ST:TNG (and even ST:V to some degree) are re-watchable 10-40 years later. It's all about "what does it mean to be human, what would YOU do in their situation?" kinda sociological/philosophical introspective pondering mixed into exciting science-centered stories! It's not strange to recognize that from the same mind of Crichton came "Next", "Airframe", "Disclosure", and "Congo" (possibly prescient, considering this news article). Hard to read those stories (or watch movie versions of them) without putting yourself "into" the story, and being a changed person by the end of it!

Wikipedia's summary of "Sphere" sums it up, why these novelists have such generation-spanning appeal:

The novel begins as a science fiction story, but quickly transforms into a psychological thriller, ultimately exploring the nature of the human subconscious.

To quote Henry Rollins again, "What's your life!?"