Sphere

=//Sphere//= Review by Michael Meyer

//Sphere// Michael Crichton 371 pages. Ballantine Books. $7.99

When Norman Johnson, a famous psychologist, is called by the government to assist survivors after an airplane crash, he assumes that it will be routine psychological work. Then he finds out there are no survivors because the crash site is at least 300 years old, and the “airplane” that crashed is actually an alien spaceship. At first, the investigation of the strange craft goes according to plan. But the crash site investigation team, composed of marine biologists, mathematicians, and UFO researchers, soon encounters problems inside the ship and out, from extremely poisonous jellyfish and a marauding giant squid to a hostile alien intelligence named Jerry. Soon the investigative journey becomes a battle for survival against time, the ocean, and dangerous 300-year-old technology that has reawakened.

In Sphere, a suspenseful sci-fi novel, Crichton cleverly blends science fact and fiction, combining wormhole science with fantastic stories of mind control. Crichton’s explanation of advanced scientific facts is simple enough to be understood by practically any reader. Even so, his explanations seem not to lose the credibility and grounding of real science, and the topics he writes about are advanced enough to keep sci-fi veterans interested. Although Sphere doesn’t have as much scientific fact as some of Crichton’s other books, it still has enough science to make the plot seem plausible. For example, Crichton incorporates biological fact into this passage: “…squid aren’t radially symmetrical. An octopus is. And, like an octopus, squid have a round circle of tentacles, but squid [are] bilaterally symmetrical, with a matching left and right side, the way we have.”  Crichton’s integration of scientific, historical, archeological, and political explanation into his stories is often used, as in this case, to show a character’s intelligence or reinforce the character’s knowledge base. Other characters, like physicists, know enough science and math to make their characters believable. Crichton also uses science to create intriguing plots and devices: the alien spacecraft is full of realistic technology, and its travel method of wormhole jumping is plausible, according to some scientific theories. Crichton’s use of creative science fiction technology is illustrated in the following passage, describing a holographic instrument panel on a spaceship: “[S]uddenly the beige console surface took on depth, and appeared to contain instruments, screens. All the instrumentation was somehow within the surface of the console, like an optical illusion, or a hologram.”  Crichton’s characteristic blending of fact and fantasy makes such descriptions all the more intriguing. Similar three-dimensional holographic technology is actually being developed today: recently, in fact, Ford Motor Company created a life-size hologram of a new car design to show to investors. Although we are still a while away from holographic instrument panels and buttons, Crichton’s extrapolation and development of real technologies creates interesting features and devices in his novels.

The suspenseful sequences in Sphere add a lot to the book. Written by a less masterful author, especially one not so skilled with suspense and psychological writing, this book would not be so interesting. However, Crichton’s writing infuses the book with a suspenseful, mysterious urgency. When and how will the characters next be attacked? How can they survive? What is the sphere, and who is Jerry, the mysterious alien intelligence trying to kill them all? All these questions will necessarily be asked by readers as they trawl this deep-sea novel, and the answers to some of them are certainly designed to surprise. The mystery of the attacks prompted by Jerry, the sphere and its shifting metallic patterns, and the damaged underwater base will hold readers in suspense for the entire book.

The attacks by sea creatures controlled by Jerry are the most significant part of that action. One of these intensely action-filled scenes involves an assault by one of these creatures, a giant squid, on one of the pods where the team lives. As the main character tries to escape by climbing the cylindrical habitat, the squid pursues him by extending its tentacles into the habitat. The passage that follows is one of the most dramatic in the book: “He came to the bunks, a narrow space near the top of the cylinder. No place to hide, he thought. No weapons, and no place to hide. The tentacles reached the top of the cylinder, slapped against the upper curved surface, swung sideways. In a moment they would have him.” The nail-biting suspense of the scene continues to build, while the character struggles to find some way to escape the squid. Crichton’s writing draws readers into the heart of the action, placing them in the shoes of the character and encouraging them to read on.

Sphere’s action, suspense, and scientific fact make it a great choice for anyone interested in a well-written book with a science fiction plot. Crichton has a great writing style and Sphere utilizes it fully to create a mysterious story that practically anyone will enjoy.