Michael Crichton’s latest (?) book is pretty loaded with hard-to-understand scientific stuff–nanoparticles, agent programming, and molecular manufacturing is all my brain could digest. However, I never fail to be amazed at that man’s range of knowledge, and the effort he devotes in making them intelligible to the lay reader.

His theme in Prey is in the predictable fashion of science fiction: triumph of uncontrollable forces over man’s arrogance. In this, Crichton returns to his familiar turf of Jurassic Park and Lost World.

An experiment aimed at manufacturing nanoparticle-based cameras for the US Department of Defense goes wrong in the remote Nevada desert. The protagonist’s wife happens to be the vice-president of the company that has been contracted by the Department of Defense. Realizing that it takes a long time to manufacture molecules in a lab setting, the scientists there manufacture them using a strain of the E-coli bacteria, and release these nanoparticles into the atmosphere. All hell breaks loose, and the protagonist, Jack, is called in to help, as they have used his agent-based program, PREDPREY in their manufacturing process. He is assigned the task of somehow destroying or controlling the swarm of nanoparticles.

The swarm has memory and intelligence programmed into them, and is modelled on the predator-prey behaviour. Slowly, it multiplies itself and begins to attack. It feeds on anything–rodents, rabbits, and even humans.

However, as Jack begins on his quest to understand the problem, he uncovers, layer by layer, a more startling fact. It would be unfair of me to reveal the suspense, but I’ll just say that it is a worthy read. Crichton has tried to simplify complex scientific concepts and theories, but the average reader lacks the background to understand many of these. However, that should not deter you from reading the book from the sole perspective of an engaging suspense story.

The build-up of events is nice, and the climax fairly unpredictable. Overall, you cannot stop until you reach the finish.