The Who2 Blog

Yikes! Author Michael Crichton Dead at 66

Startling but true: Michael Crichton has died of cancer. “Unexpectedly,” says The Hollywood Reporter, putting it mildly.

He was 66 and had been battling cancer for some time, according to the BBC.

Crichton’s 1969 book The Andromeda Strain is one of the great sci-fi delights of all time, full of realistic top-secret clearances and creepy bio-security procedures that are as thrilling as the villainous organism itself. It’s all the more astounding for having been written while Crichton was a student at Harvard Medical School.

Later he was famous as the author of Jurassic Park, still later as the creator of the TV series ER, and later yet as a bit of a crank about global warming. Too bad about the latter, but he had earned his place at the public table long before.

66 seems awfully young. Happy travels, Mr. Crichton, wherever you are.

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