Before starting Michael Crichton’s Micro (2011), I was unaware that it was a posthumous publication, finished by Richard Preston following Crichton’s death from lymphoma in 2008. Other novels published posthumously were:
- Pirate Latitudes (2009), which his survivors found on his computer, unpublished
- Dragon Teeth (2017), which he apparently wrote in 1974 but never published
- Eruption (2024), an incomplete manuscript that James Patterson finished
What Drove Me to the Book
(Despite My Inhibitions)
I have a troubled history with Michael Crichton that I won’t rehash here, as my other posts get into that. Suffice it to say, I view him as a hit-and-miss author, a guy who’s written some masterpieces as well as some major flops. That being said, I chose this book for 2 reasons.
First, during a recent stay in Laos, I decided to break from my studies and writing to rent a motorcycle and see the countryside. It only cost me $11 for the whole day—fuel included!—and I needed an audiobook to entertain me as I navigated over potholes and sometimes through mud-puddles 2 feet deep.
In fact, I was so into this story that for lunch, I stopped at a restaurant and ordered their plate of fried crickets (pictured). While the characters were digging into the fatty tissue of a katydid, I was crunching on pretty much the exact same thing. It was pretty wild.
Second is that I’ve never outgrown my interest in the concept of shrunken humans, and I thank Honey I Shrunk the Kids for that! In fact, the first chapter-book I ever wrote as a kid held this theme, “The CD Adventures”—still unpublished, or at least until I become posthumous!
Other “micro” stories I’ve reviewed include:
- The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1952)
- Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov (1966)
- Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine by Jay Williams (1971)
- The Minpins by Roald Dahl (1991)
- The Lightlings by R.C. Sproul (2006)
- “From the Pit”, a short story by Ben Shapiro in What’s Fair? (2015)
Story Summary of Micro
Like most other Crichton novels, Micro includes an out-of-control science experiment that threatens humanity—but on a smaller scale than Jurassic Park. When a company discovers the technical methods of shrinking objects and people for the sake of medical research, one company leader hopes to capitalize on the technology and is willing to kill anyone and everyone to get what he wants.
The story follows a team of graduate students invited to Honolulu to experience this new technology for themselves, but when one discovers a murder cover-up, the entire team is force-shrunk, dumped in the Hawaiian rainforest, and left for dead. Fighting insects, microbes, and a version of “the bends” (not to mention their human hunters from the corporation), these tiny humans must find their way back to the lab to unshrink themselves.
A Few Notes
This fast-paced novel brings Crichton back into my good graces. The story at least approaches plausibility (unlike Sphere), and it maintains its quick pace from one major challenge to the next.
Of course, this book also contains the standard curse words that befit this genre, but not nearly as much as I’d expected. It also lacks the incessant religious cursing (unlike The Andromeda Strain), which was a relief. I’d not have finished it otherwise.
With so many characters involved at the outset, I didn’t know which we were supposed to know well. Once in the rainforest, characters kept dropping like flies, so it was an interesting exercise, getting close to a character only to watch his head getting ripped off by an ant in the next chapter.
Conclusion
Reading Micro was a pleasant experience, drawn unintentionally and through happenstance, simply because the book popped up in my Libby search results.
Pop-novels like this add nothing important to my life, except the occasional healthy mind-break. It’s like grabbing an afternoon cookie or an evening Pepsi. Or, if I’m in Laos, a midday plate of crickets.
©2025 E.T.
Read More from Michael Crichton:
- The Andromeda Strain (1969)
- Congo (1980)
- Airframe (1996)
- Sphere (1998)
- Micro (2011)