History Creator / MichaelCrichton

* ''Literature/JurassicPark1990''

* ''Literature/{{The Lost World|1995}}'' (1995)

* ''Literature/{{Next|2006}}'' (2006)

* DecoyProtagonist: His books' first one or two chapters often follow a person, only to then switch to and introduce the ''real'' protagonists. Usually because they are killed or harmed (i.e. in ''Literature/TheAndromedaStrain'', the protagonists of the 1st chapter quickly die; in ''Literature/JurassicPark'' they are attacked by dinosaurs).

In 1990 he released his most successful work, the novel ''Literature/JurassicPark'', about a theme park where dinosaurs are created using genetic engineering. Not only did it sell millions of copies worldwide and get adapted into a [[Film/JurassicPark1993 massively successful film]] by Creator/StevenSpielberg (in fact, the highest-grossing ever made at the time), it sparked a renewed interest in Crichton, his older books getting reprinted and bought on a large scale, including ''A Case of Need'', the nonfiction ''Five Patients'', and the John Lange-era ''Literature/{{Binary}}''. Film adaptations of Crichton's works also became suddenly commonplace, including adaptations of ''Film/{{Congo}}'' and ''Literature/{{Sphere}}'', although all but ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' were met with mostly negative reactions.

Crichton realized that ''Literature/JurassicPark'' provided him with significant ProtectionFromEditors, and took advantage of this to begin writing more controversial fare: ''Literature/RisingSun'', which analyzed US–Japanese relations; most specifically the statement that "Business Is War". Those versed in economics point out that he [[ArtisticLicenseEconomics broke several laws of the universe]] (including making the standard "export good, import bad" mistake) in order to [[StrawCharacter set up the Japanese]] as the BigBad poised to conquer the world, though this did not seem to detract from its popularity at the time. The point was rendered moot with the collapse of the Tiger economy, making Crichton seem rather paranoid in the process. He followed that up with ''Literature/{{Disclosure}}'', [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale a gender role reversal of a typical sexual harassment case]] set in an early-'90s technology company.

* ''Literature/JurassicPark'' (1990)

* ''[[Literature/TheLostWorld1995 The Lost World]]'' (1995)

His first novel under his own name was ''Literature/TheAndromedaStrain'', a very spare science fiction thriller about a team of scientists isolating and analyzing an extremely deadly single-celled organism of extra-terrestrial origin. It was a surprising runaway success, establishing Crichton very rapidly. He compounded his success with popular novels such as ''Literature/TheGreatTrainRobbery'', a somewhat fictionalized historical novel about the Great Robbery of 1885, and ''Literature/{{Congo}}'', a modern take on old-fashioned African adventure stories, as well as the less popular ''Literature/TheTerminalMan'' and ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior''. All of the aforementioned were snapped up by Hollywood, although ''Congo'' and ''The 13th Warrior'' were not filmed until the 1990s. Nonetheless, by the end of the 1970s Crichton was a very wealthy man.

** A common complication of placing his novels on the [[SlidingScale/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness sliding scale of sci-fi hardness]] is his approach to cutting edge theories and technologies. In other words, it's not so much that [[Film/JurassicPark1993 velociraptors didn't really look like that]] and so ''he's'' wrong, it's more that he's writing from the perspective that [[ScienceMarchesOn deinonychus is actually a misidentified fossil of a mature velociraptor]]. As a consequence, his OneBigLie is often either an untested or somewhat fringe scientific theory that would have interesting and fantastical consequences if it were true, such as the theory that [[Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior isolated neanderthal populations survived into modern history]] or [[Literature/{{Sphere}} closed timelike curves are possible and traversable]].

** ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'' - A work of real historical ethnography, Ahmad inb Fadlan's account of traveling the "lands of darkness" and encountering Volga Vikings, is expanded to send him to their homeland on a [[{{Demythification}} pastiche of Beowulf]]. Ambiguity in the archeological record is exploited for OneBigLie: The titular eaters of the dead that the [[MarketBasedTitle also titular]] thirteen warriors battle are a lost tribe of neanderthals.

* ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'' (1976)

His first novel under his own name was ''Literature/TheAndromedaStrain'', a very spare science fiction thriller about a team of scientists isolating and analyzing an extremely deadly single-celled organism of extra-terrestrial origin. It was a surprising runaway success, establishing Crichton very rapidly. He compounded his success with popular novels such as ''Literature/TheGreatTrainRobbery'', a somewhat fictionalized historical novel about the Great Robbery of 1885, and ''Literature/{{Congo}}'', a modern take on old-fashioned African adventure stories, as well as the less popular ''Literature/TheTerminalMan'' and ''Literature/EatersOfTheDead''. All of the aforementioned were snapped up by Hollywood, although ''Congo'' and ''Eaters of the Dead'' were not filmed until the 1990s. Nonetheless, by the end of the 1970s Crichton was a very wealthy man.

* ''[[Literature/EatersOfTheDead Eaters of the Dead]]'' (1976)

** A common complication of placing his novels on the [[SlidingScale/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness sliding scale of sci-fi hardness]] is his approach to cutting edge theories and technologies. In other words, it's not so much that [[Film/JurassicPark1993 velociraptors didn't really look like that]] and so ''he's'' wrong, it's more that he's writing from the perspective that [[ScienceMarchesOn deinonychus is actually a misidentified fossil of a mature velociraptor]]. As a consequence, his OneBigLie is often either an untested or somewhat fringe scientific theory that would have interesting and fantastical consequences if it were true, such as the theory that [[Literature/EatersOfTheDead isolated neanderthal populations survived into modern history]] or [[Literature/{{Sphere}} closed timelike curves are possible and traversable]].

** ''Literature/EatersOfTheDead'' - A work of real historical ethnography, Ahmad inb Fadlan's account of traveling the "lands of darkness" and encountering Volga Vikings, is expanded to send him to their homeland on a [[{{Demythification}} pastiche of Beowulf]]. Ambiguity in the archeological record is exploited for OneBigLie: The titular eaters of the dead that the [[MarketBasedTitle also titular]] thirteen warriors battle are a lost tribe of neanderthals.

As this backlash annoyed his editors, he followed this up with ''Literature/{{Next}}'', a relatively comedic look at genetic research, technology and copyright issues. Unfortunately, his tendency to run off on author tracts remained, as he spent a full page talking about a Washington journalist named Mick Crowley who was on trial for raping a baby and "had a small penis". This character just happened to share the same name and profession as a journalist who had been critical of Crichton's ''State of Fear'', was [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment entirely unimportant to the plot]], and [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never appeared again]].

* ''Literature/{{Next}}'' (2006)

In 1990 he released his most successful work, the novel ''Literature/JurassicPark'', about a theme park where dinosaurs are created using genetic engineering. Not only did it sell millions of copies worldwide and get adapted into a [[Film/JurassicPark massively successful film]] by Creator/StevenSpielberg (in fact, the highest-grossing ever made at the time), it sparked a renewed interest in Crichton, his older books getting reprinted and bought on a large scale, including ''A Case of Need'', the nonfiction ''Five Patients'', and the John Lange-era ''Literature/{{Binary}}''. Film adaptations of Crichton's works also became suddenly commonplace, including adaptations of ''Film/{{Congo}}'' and ''Film/{{Sphere}}'', although all but ''Literature/JurassicPark'' were met with mostly negative reactions.

* {{Reconstruction}} - Many of his works (read: the ones that [[MostTropersAreYoungNerds got trope pages first]]) are SpeculativeFiction reconstructions of classic pulp concepts, tales, or genres. Literature/JurassicPark is Literature/TheLostWorld, Literature/{{Sphere}} is a CosmicHorror take on Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea. Literature/TheTerminalMan is a cyborg slasher story. Literature/{{Timeline}} is Literature/AConnecticutYankeeInKingArthursCourt. Literature/TheAndromedaStrain started this trend, being a [[TruthInTelevision (frighteningly)]] scientifically plausible version of an alien invasion story.

** A common complication of placing his novels on the [[SlidingScale/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness sliding scale of sci-fi hardness]] is his approach to cutting edge theories and technologies. In other words, it's not so much that [[Film/JurassicPark velociraptors didn't really look like that]] and so ''he's'' wrong, it's more that he's writing from the perspective that [[ScienceMarchesOn deinonychus is actually a misidentified fossil of a mature velociraptor]]. As a consequence, his OneBigLie is often either an untested or somewhat fringe scientific theory that would have interesting and fantastical consequences if it were true, such as the theory that [[Literature/EatersOfTheDead isolated neanderthal populations survived into modern history]] or [[Literature/{{Sphere}} closed timelike curves are possible and traversable]].
** The other complication is his cynicism about [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer media reporting on scientific research]], a commonly held pet peeve of scientists and science writers. Often times a story's conceit will rest on (Literature/TheAndromedaStrain, Literature/JurassicPark) or be in resistance to (Literature/StateOfFear, Literature/{{Airframe}}) the hypothetical version of a scientific story that the media might report instead of the reality.

** Literature/JurassicPark - The search for genetic data untouched by regulatory or patent restrictions drives In-Gen to seek out pre-historic DNA. Realizing the opportunity, they combine it with modern reptile DNA to create a theme park for dinosaurs.
** Literature/TheTerminalMan - A cranial implant is used to treat an epileptic with slight electric pulses. Classical conditioning instead makes his brain go into epileptic fits more frequently and violently, turning him into an unstoppably ferocious murderous android.
** Film/{{Westworld}} - A theme park company seeks to use precision robotics not merely in building their animatronic entertainment robots but also in designing them. AI turns out to be better at designing AI than humans are, and as a consequence robot cowboys and knights go on a rampage.
** Literature/EatersOfTheDead - A work of real historical ethnography, Ahmad inb Fadlan's account of traveling the "lands of darkness" and encountering Volga Vikings, is expanded to send him to their homeland on a [[{{Demythification}} pastiche of Beowulf]]. Ambiguity in the archeological record is exploited for OneBigLie: The titular eaters of the dead that the [[MarketBasedTitle also titular]] thirteen warriors battle are a lost tribe of neanderthals.
** Literature/{{Timeline}} - Quantum Computing finally works out. A tech company tries to make a "[[{{Teleportation}} 3d fax machine]]" only to discover the hard way why it's called space-time. Subsequently, they use it as a time machine with the intention of researching past events to make more accurate historical recreations and [[RunningGag theme parks]].
** Literature/ElectronicLife - A non-fiction series of essays on [[TechnologyMarchesOn then-modern computing]] speculates on the future implications of AI, not just in [[{{Zeerust}} "the future" but "right now"]]. A key sister work to Literature/TheTerminalMan.

* ''Film/{{Coma}}'' (1978) - Wrote and directed the film adaptation.

* ''Dragon Teeth'' (2017) [[note]] Originally written in the 1974, but was not published until its manuscript was discovered. [[/note]]

** Literature/ElectronicLife - A non-fiction series of essays on [[TechnologyMarchesOn then-modern computing]] speculates on the future implications of AI, not just in the future but [[Zeerust "right now"]]. A key sister work to Literature/TheTerminalMan.

** ScienceHero: Attentive readers will notice, however, that it is actually the ''exploitation'' of science by big business or government before new developments are fully understood that is being decried. Many of his heroic characters are scientists who refuse to sell out.

John Michael Crichton, M.D. (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was a bestselling American writer, most commonly working in the science fiction genre. He is known for his [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness extremely technical]] writing style which [[ShownTheirWork openly favored scientific detail over character development]] and could be somewhat formulaic. The overall thrust of his books was the threat posed by [[ForScience blundering scientists who toyed with nature]]. Toward the end of his life, his stories were becoming more political and thus controversial.

** ScienceIsGood: Attentive readers will notice, however, that it is actually the ''exploitation'' of science by big business or government before new developments are fully understood that is being decried. Many of his heroic characters are scientists who refuse to sell out.

* ScienceIsBad: A common perception of his novels, where new technology running amok is often a theme. Attentive readers will notice, however, that it is actually the ''exploitation'' of science by big business or government before new developments are fully understood that is being decried. Many of his heroic characters are scientists who refuse to sell out.

* ''Film/{{Looker}} (1981) - Wrote and directed.
* ''Film/{{Runaway}} (1984) - Wrote and directed.

* ''Film/Westworld'' (1973) - Wrote and directed.

* ''Series/ER'' - (1994-2009) - Creator, writer and executive producer

His Protection thus restored, he wrote the most controversial novel of his career, the ClimateChange-critique ''Literature/StateOfFear'', which [[BrokenBase severely divided his fan base]]. The controversy over this novel continues to this day.

** ''Literature/{{The Lost World|1995}}'': Malcolm's daughter does cheerleading. She uses these skills to defeat a dinosaur.

His Protection thus restored, he wrote the most controversial novel of his career, the GlobalWarming-critique ''Literature/StateOfFear'', which [[BrokenBase severely divided his fan base]]. The controversy over this novel continues to this day.

Fun facts: He stood 6'9" (about 206 cm) tall. Before his illness, he was noted to [[OlderThanHeLooks look much younger than his actual age]] (In the page image, he was sixty years old). He has an uncredited cameo in the 1971 movie ''Film/TheAndromedaStrain'' as a doctor standing in the back of the operating room when Mark Hall is pulled from performing an appendectomy. He also climbed to the top of Mount Everest.

[[quoteright:226:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Michael_Crichton_1838.jpg]]

Fun facts: He stood 6'9" (about 206 cm) tall. Before his illness, he was noted to [[OlderThanHeLooks look much younger than his actual age]] ([[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MichaelCrichton_2.jpg here he is at 60]]). He has an uncredited cameo in the 1971 movie ''Film/TheAndromedaStrain'' as a doctor standing in the back of the operating room when Mark Hall is pulled from performing an appendectomy. He also climbed to the top of Mount Everest.

* ScienceIsBad: A common theme in his novels - Malcolm in ''Literature/JurassicPark'' in particular. Attentive readers will notice, however, that his arguments against science are often more about the exploitation of scientific discoveries by [[CorruptCorporateExecutive big business]], rather than science itself.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: A lot of it, but computers in particular. A lot of time is dedicated to discussing the incredibly powerful mainframe computers of the 70's and early 80's, and their capabilities - none of which could hold a candle to the processing power and capability of your average modern mobile phone.

* CriticalResearchFailure: ''Literature/StateOfFear'' is considered a novel-length version of this by climatologists, who accuse the book of being a giant collection of LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics, half-truths and cherry-picking. See [[https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/solutions/fight-misinformation/crichton-thriller-state-of.html here]] for a rebuttal from experts.