Sphere
is written by Michael
Crichton
published by Pan Books
Sphere is one of Crichton's best sci-fi novels. Once you start reading it, you just can't put it down.
Sphere
is written by Michael
Crichton
published by Pan Books
Sphere is one of Crichton's
best sci-fi novels. Once you start reading it, you just can't put it down.
The US navy has found a large
300- year- old spaceship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They believed
that the ship is surely of alien origin since man did not have such technology
300 years ago and even now.
Rushed to the scene are a
team of 4 experts. Together they and a navy crew descend into the depths
of the sea, living in an underwater habitat, to investigate this astonishing
find.. It is suspected that something may be alive inside. With the help
of a robot, they enter into the ship. To their amazement, the control panel
has buttons marked in English! Besides this, they also found a large metallic
sphere and tried to open it but was in vain. And then, things began to
happen...
The surface of the ocean which
was previously devoid of any life is suddenly full of new species of creatures.
Then, something or someone began transmitting coded messages onto their
screen. A matimatician worked day and night anf finally, he manages to
decode the messages.The message was, "HELLO. HOW ARE YOU? I AM FINE. WHAT'S
YOUR NAME. MY NAME IS JERRY." However, the messages became increasingly
hostile. All of a sudden, a gigantic creature appeared and threatens to
destropy their underwater habitat... And people started to disappear...
A psychologist named Norman
got curious and started snooping sround, researching on the background
of each member. Things were not what they seemed to be, one of the experts
has a dark and dangerous secret ...
Setting
This story takes place deep down in the middle of Pacific
Ocean. The experts and the crew members lives in a underwater habitat which
is like a normal dwelling place on land. A distance away, a huge spaceship,
1,000 feet beneath the surface, rests on the ocean surface.
Plot
Structure and Developement
It starts with keeping you
in the dark by not mentioning about the spaceship and the sphere at all.
Then, as the story developes, small little details were given that will
slowly leads you to the end of the story. Like that Harry, the mathematician,
made a big mistake in decoding the message. Instead of the name Jerry,
the name was actually Harry. There are a couple of twists in the story.
The first one was the discovery of the threats were actually not from an
alien being but someone whom they known. The second one was when they thought
they have caught the culprit and were safe, they were wrong. There was
not one but two culprits.
Mood/
Atmosphere
Throughout the whole book,
it is full of suspense and mystery. There was no one moment where everything
was made clear. Not even towards the last word of the book.
(
" You know, Beth," he said, " you look lovely."
Beth did not seem to hear, but then she turned toward him slowly." Why,
thank you Norman," she said.
And she smiled.
)- This is the abstract of the last 3 paragraphs of the book. The smile
was kind of sinister and it gave the impression that she had something
to hide.
Being kept in the dark from
time to time, generates tension and fear of the unknown. This urges one
to carry on reading to find out what was going to happen next.
Style
of Writing
There is quite a lot of bombastic
words and scientific terms used in the story. The story is written in a
very intense way and there are moments where emotions were portrayed very
strongly. It is quite complicated as there are a few twists in the story.
Every paragraph has to be digested properly in order to fully understand
the storyline.
Characteristic
The characters are very realistic
as each one has its own flaws and weaknesses. The characters also portrays
prejudice such as bias against the female which could be seen in the society.
An astounding combination of action, suspense and science. It probes the darkest corners of the mind where man's deadliest enemy lurks. It is rather believeable as it is known that in everyone there is a monster within. And those who were overcome by this monstrous behaviour were known to do some very inhuman thing. Though reading maybe tedious, it is very enjoyable as this is a unique storyline I have never read before. It also slightlytouches on prejudice. After reading the book, I was gasping for breathes and yearning to read more of Michael Crichton's books.
I find the attitude of Norman, the psychologist, during danger was very admirable. He was calm at all times during the attacks of the creature. Thanks to his clear-headed, he was able to find out the truth and prevent a possible destruction of Earth.