Author Michael Crichton Dies

[Chovexani]

Source: CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Crichton, a best-selling author, died in Los Angeles on Tuesday, his public relations firm said in a news release.

He "died unexpectedly," the release said, "after a courageous and private battle against cancer."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/11/05/obit.cricht...

---

Entertainment Tonight has the full press release. He was 66. http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/11/67369/

[demokatgurrl]

1. Good Lord- how old was he?

[bean fidhleir]

37. only 66 - 2 yrs younger than me, almost to the day (nt)

[Blue_Tires]

2. wow...r.i.p.

didn't even know he had cancer...

[babylonsister]

3. What-t-t? I didn't even know he was sick. How sad. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. !!!

[Twillig]

5. God Damn Cancer.

I'd say that for anybody.

[evilkumquat]

21. Hey Cancer? FUCK YOU!

Not strong enough...

[brentspeak]

6. RIP, Mr. Crichton

[Dennis Donovan]

7. Damn... Cross gently, Michael.

A great author, by any measure.

[Kelvin Mace]

10. Unless you count the fact that

he became a spokesman for global climate change denial.

[Dennis Donovan]

11. That doesn't take away from him being a great author...

He was wrong about global warming, granted...

[yellowcanine]

31. It does tarnish his rep though - he essentially wrote a propaganda book disguised as fiction.

And the question is why? If he did it for the money that makes him a whore, doesn't it?

[aquart]

8. Now that shocks me.

[HereSince1628]

9. A loss to Sci-Fi but I really disliked his book on climate change.

[ellenfl]

12. dang! i loved his writing! eom

[jimlup]

13. Sorry to do a dance but...

I've hated Crichton since the whole "State the Fear" thing. That work was such a farce and falsehood.

[elocs]

16. You know, it's always surprised me that people can toss out the term "hate" so casually.

That's kind of sad.

[jimlup]

34. It isn't casual...

I read his stupid book and yes... I HATE the man. Kinda like the same way I HATE W but not as much.
There is nothing speical about this guy. He was a rightwing enviromental BIGOT. And by the way, he wasn't a particularly good auther. Most of his books are pretty lame. Certainly most were not quality 'classic' science fiction with the possible exception of ANDROMEDA STRAIN.

[Drunken Irishman]

45. Hate is pretty powerful.

Seriously, I don't know if there is a person I've ever really hated.

I'm not sure I even hate Sarah Palin.

But let's not forget that even though he was a global warming skeptic, he was still a Democrat.

[brendan120678]

25. Over a dozen excellent books, and you hate him...

because of one that happens to disagree with your view on Global Climate Change?

[Mudoria]

44. This is the norm on DU

Hate is word tossed around very lightly here by the purists.

[Hawkeye-X]

14. sad. I liked his work with ER and some books.

[pinerow]

15. I guess now

he may know the truth about global warming...RIP

[mikelgb]

17. was a big fan of most of his work...

a shame

rip

[Chovexani]

20. Me too

I didn't care for his politics for his views on global warming but back in the day he was really talented.

[ExPatLeftist]

18. Great writer. "The Andromeda Strain" is a favorite. RIP :( n/t

[Kalifornia.Kid]

19. R.I.P. Mr. John Lange, Mr. Jeffery Hudson, Mr. Michael Crichton, M.D.

Your work lives forever.

[Kali]

22. wow

he was just on some npr show I can't ever remember the name

[edbermac]

23. Made the movie Coma too.

All those bodies hanging from wires, very creepy movie.

[keepCAblue]

24. He was a notorious misogynist...can't say I'm saddened by his passing. n/t

[Psephos]

33. Only to those who see literature as politics, and think dissenting views cannot be tolerated

To the other 99% of us, he was no such thing.

[entanglement]

43. He was a very talented man, but I wouldn't describe his works as literature

His prose was sterile, reading almost like a government report at times, his characters absolutely lacking in warmth or complexity and likely drawn from half-a-dozen stereotypes. To his credit, his works were excellently researched, well paced, full of seemingly plausible surprises and usually quite consistent logically.

I repeat, a great entertainer, not a literary figure. Moving to real life, his attempts to play expert in an area very far removed from his own (medicine) were laughable. He was involved in the scientific enterprise, after all(a year of post-doctoral work at the Salk Institute), and he should have known better.

Condolences to his family and other survivors.

[AsahinaKimi]

26. omg no!

I loved his books..


Jurassic Park was my favorite book..

[Stargazer09]

27. That's sad news

I liked his older work. Jurassic Park was my favorite.

I didn't even know that he had cancer. He certainly kept it quiet.

R.I.P. Mr. Crichton

[jmowreader]

28. I always thought he was anti-science

He wrote thrilling sci-fi books, but the underlying message in all of them appeared to be "science is bad."

[SharonAnn]

29. Hmmm, I took them as cautionary tales. Science neither good nor bad, but can be misused.

[Phoonzang]

30. Now that we believe in sciene again, can we cure cancer? Please? Hurry. nt

[cobalt1999]

32. I never liked his books. They were shallow and predicatable.

However, cancer is a crappy way to go.

[bikebloke]

35. A heavy smoker

In his travel book, while walking up Kilimanjaro, the guides were placing bets as to whether he'd make it or not do to his smoking.

[Ian David]

36. That sucks. I was hoping he'd drown to death from Global Warming. Oh, well. n/t

[Javaman]

38. mr. global warming denier wrote a couple of good books way back when..

but then he chose to drink copious amounts of kool-ade and well, we know the rest...

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. Author Michael Crichton, 66, dies of cancer

Source: KC Star

Michael Crichton, the million-selling author of such historic and prehistoric science thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said.

He died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after a long battle with the illness.

Chrichton was a brand-name author, known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or dinosaurs running amok in "Jurassic Park," one of his many books that became major Hollywood movies.

"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/876601.html

[JI7]

40. very sad, i didn't know he was sick

[Democat]

41. So young, so sad to see him go!

RIP Mr. Crichton.

[entanglement]

42. A popular entertainer & storyteller, though his prose was sterile and his attempts to play expert

in areas other than medicine somewhat silly. His books were well researched, but something of the man's right-wing views leaked into his works occasionally. He was undoubtedly the king of the page-turning techno-thriller genre. Condolences to his family.