Drug of Choice

I liked this book. Mr. Lange shows that you don't need to have over the top dramatics or lots of violence to produce a good book. Although, I did feel like the intensity level was only turned half way. There could have been a bit of a bigger punch. However, considering the time period when this book was written, it is appropriate for that time period.

Dr. Clark shows that curiosity can almost kill the cat. He found himself in over his head. The scariest thing about this book is the experiments that were taking place on the island. What with all of the "fad" diets and such that people are joining; I can see some people signing up to be part of the experiment. Drug of Choice is worth your choice for something to read.

“What turned urine blue?” And how is it tied in to the Advance company? Dr. Roger Clark has to find out before it’s too late - for him! And the island of San Cristobal may hold some answers. May…

This is a really quick read, with a fast-paced plot! It's about the pharmaceutical industry, mind controlling drugs, and big corporations and their greed. There is almost a "Matrix" like quality to it all. When the character Cypher says in that movie "You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss." Substitute mind controlling drugs for the Matrix, and you have this book!

And by show more the way, this book was finished in January of 1969. Matrix came out in 1999. So... show less

Another early Crichton, published under a pseudonym, now reissued by Hard Case under his name. Again, there's an interesting crime thriller in here somewhere, but Crichton piles on this bizarre conspiracy on top of it, and the twists and turns ultimately take away from the story. You can see how Crichton's medical background informs this one, as there is a lot of talk about drug trials and that sort of thing. It's also interesting because of it's take on Big Pharma, making it somewhat relevant today. Again, an enjoyable quick read, better than some of his later stuff.

This one started out pretty good. A doctor notices some bizarre side effects in a couple of his patients, determines there's some kind of new drug out there, and investigates. The trail leads to a shady corporation running a mysterious resort on a secret island. In the second half it seems to lose focus, however. Turns out none of that stuff is really the point of the mystery. Still, it was never boring, and I plan to continue with these Crichton/Lange books.

A Thriller

Even at a young age, Michael Crichton presented the world with engaging, exciting novels.
It's interesting to watch his progression from "John Lange" to his later body of works.
Drug of Choice is nicely put together, his characters are very believable. The scenario of corporations taking over the world by drugging people is actually scary in its predictions.
I highly recommend this book.

Now young writer Michael Crichton is a five-star book writer. "5-Stars--The book accomplished all of its storytelling goals and more, WOW" Drug of Choice took me on such a ride that I did not care about character development. This book is like, well, a Michael Crichton book. It's even better than some of his later work because it's not weighed down in a lot of scientific detail. It's run, run, run! Great job. Bravo!

John Lange was one of the early pen names of Michael Crichton, best known for The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park. While enrolled at Harvard Medical School, Crichton began publishing a number of novels. This is one of a number of Crichton's early novels that have recently been re-released by Hard Case Crime. The others are Scratch One, Zero Cool, Easy Go, The Venom Business, Odds On, Grave Descend, and Dealing. I have read a number of these already and, while not perfect, they are fun, light, fast reading that I have found worthwhile. I haven't read any of Crichton's more famous works, but I will note that these early novels compare favorably to many of the bookstand pulp/adventure/crime novels that could be found in the late sixties show more and early seventies and these books should be read in that context.

While a light easy read, Drug of Choice is not on par with the other early Lange books. It's easy to see the genisis of many of Crichton's later ideas, but this book is a lot more amateurish. There are three basic parts to the book. In the first part, The doctor encounters two patients, one a Hell's Angel biker and one a movie star, both of whom appear to be in deep comas with no apparent cause and both piss blue urine. The movie star finds the doctor interesting and they start dating or at least spending the night together. In the second part, the doctor and the movie star vacation together on a secret island whose exact location no one knows and where your every vacation fantasy comes true. It's the best resort in history. In the third part, the doctor happily conducts experiments for an amazing corporation.

There are themes here of drug addiction, scientific experimentation, mind control, secret corporations, consumerism, and psychosis. There are certainly the seeds here of Crichton's later work but the whole story loosely hangs together. show less