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.

The 6-foot-9-inch author was also a screenwriter and filmmaker, earning producing and writing credits for the film versions of many of his titles. He also created the TV hospital series "ER" in 1994.

In recent years, he was the rare writer to get on well with President Bush, perhaps because of his skepticism about global warming, which Crichton addressed in the 2004 novel, "State of Favor." Crichton's views were strongly condemned by environmentalists, who alleged that the author was hurting efforts to pass legislation to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.

A new novel by Crichton had been tentatively scheduled to come next month, but publisher HarperCollins said the book was postponed indefinitely because of his illness.

"While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us — and entertained us all while doing so — his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," his family said.




http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081105/ap_en_ot/obit_crichton

Eeeya. . . .this man tried oo

Wrote prolly my fave whodunit. . . .A Case of Need

RIP

Just read about it, how sad

he was one of my fav writers

Awww

And I was talking about Him with one Pesin, few nights ago oooooh

Saw it on CNN. Great storyteller, his art of description is simply breathtaking.
Adieu, MICHAEL CRICHTON, rest in peace.

Gamine:

Awww

And I was talking about Him with one Pesin, few nights ago oooooh

who was that??

Doyin13,

where are u naa

Why do we have so many amebos on this NL

its amazing

oh my, he was my best author for years.
i got so enchanted by his writing style that ibought and read every of his book. my library is adorned by his book.
i have lost a great author.
may his soul rest in peace. amen.

I know I should have replied to this post days ago, but there were so MANYYYYYY other things to handle - like a day-job. I grew up on Michael Crichton, from Congo, through The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, down to Prey (which was the last I read before my life got too crowded for 24-hours novel-jacking). Crichton was a scientist, a REAL one, and that made his books an exception in the world of Sci-Fi novels. His last novel (for me, anyway ), PREY, which took a stab at the fast-developing science of Nanotechnlogy, aptly underscores this fact. But Michael Crichton was also more than a scientist he was a superb story-teller, one who had the gift of turning an eternally-boring Biology lecture into a fast-paced thriller - Jurassic Park.

Michael Crichton will be sorely missed by fans world-wide; we sure miss him here at Lit-Nlnd.

RIP.

kay9:

I know I should have replied to this post days ago, but there were so MANYYYYYY other things to handle - like a day-job. I grew up on Michael Crichton, from Congo, through The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, down to Prey (which was the last I read before my life got too crowded for 24-hours novel-jacking). Crichton was a scientist, a REAL one, and that made his books an exception in the world of Sci-Fi novels. His last novel (for me, anyway ), PREY, which took a stab at the fast-developing science of Nanotechnlogy, aptly underscores this fact. But Michael Crichton was also more than a scientist he was a superb story-teller, one who had the gift of turning an eternally-boring Biology lecture into a fast-paced thriller - Jurassic Park.

Michael Crichton will be sorely missed by fans world-wide; we sure miss him here at Lit-Nlnd.

RIP.

I thot his books on science were alrite i guess. . .but his social issue books were very controversial
I thought and of more interest to moi.

More than a few of my friends thought Rising Sun was inherently racist at worst or paranoid at best
as much as Disclosure was sexist

May his soul rest in peace

Yeah,

May he.

_{still spoke about him last night, i feel i killed him}

Gamine:

Yeah,

May he.

_{still spoke about him last night, i feel i killed him}

Yes, you killed him with your bad mouth.

Not fair

Hey, hey, c'mon girls, quit bickering; 'tis a literary legend we's talking bout here. Mickey's gonna roll over 6-feet down if he catches wind of what y'all are yacking.

Oya sorry for my disrespect. May he RIP.

I've seen this thread for three days now but only got the gumption to post. I'm all cried out now. I love this dude and frankly I thought the odds were that he'd outlive other authors of his calibre. What calibre sef? He's in a world of his own. I keep his books like I do textbooks. A real literary great. He's the only author I reall y wanna be like. It's just so sad.

spikedcylinder:

Oya sorry for my disrespect. May he RIP.

No sweat; just be a good girl, else. . .

@ V: Weep not child. . .

heya
anyhw sha MAY HIS SOUL RIP