obits

Author Michael Crichton died today at the age of 66. While not explicitly labelled as a science fiction writer, he certainly wrote a number of books that would qualify as genre fiction - Jurassic Park, The Lost World, The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are a few of his science fiction thrillers that most people are familiar with, mostly through their movie adaptations.

He's one of those figures that polarizes readers. You love him or hate him. I have only read The Andromeda Strain so I can't offer much of an opinion on his books. It was an entertaining summer read, but hardly high art. Would I read more of his books? Probably not. I've seen the movies and don't think the books would tell the stories any better.

Some people dislike him not because of his books, but for some of his outspoken opinions, especially on the subject of environmentalism which he calls nothing more than a religion and his disdain for people's belief in the man-made causes of global warming. He's also debated other groups such as SETI researchers so he's managed to piss off plenty of people with his opinions.

What are your opinions about Crichton as a writer or on his views of science?