The Terminal Man

Well, on the one hand, the human brain is far more complex than an interconnected set of deterministic circuits which can be treated as independent entities, that is obvious. The difficulty of recreating it on a computer is also underestimated, even for a work of fiction from the seventies. On the other hand, this text is nowadays still interesting as light reading. From time to time, one may find already in the novel some brilliant early thoughts by the young Crichton.

There are reviews divided between saying that it is dated, and conversely, that it is ever presently meaningful. However, what I think most reviewers have missed is the storyline of how Harry Benson's fear of the loss of self is misunderstood by everyone around him, including Janet Ross who believes herself to be on his side and against his surgery. This is referenced in a final recollection of hers, of an earlier patient who had eventually committed suicide. The strongest theme in this novel for me was the debate of loss of self. The concerns of the other players in the book is how to reconstruct a good life for Benson, which in his mind is no life at all.

Well, I will give Michael Crichton his due...this is much better than The Andromeda Strain. While that book's plot can be summarized as "Everyone thought there was a deadly emergency but it turns out there wasn't", this book is much more of a straightforward thriller. It spends much less time on philosophy and technical digressions, and he tries really hard to develop his characters. Unfortunately, that's where his novels continue to not work for me. As hard as he tries to give them personalities, they still all feel very flat to me. There are three primary male doctor characters in this novel, and I would challenge anyone, if their dialogue was taken out of context, to be able to identify who said it. There's just nothing particularly show more memorable about any of it. That's his greatest weakness as a writer, and it's what holds his novels back from being great. show less

The Terminal Man is a by-the-numbers Crichton novel. Reckless doctors rush a new procedure into use that has scary implications (and for extra scariness, it is powered by a plutonium implant). A wise Cassandra-like protagonist warns against the new procedure, but is ignored. The procedure is performed, and disaster ensues. People die or get horribly injured. The heroic protagonist, with the help of a love interest quality police captain, tracks down the villain and ends the threat.

The story would have been helped if the Cassandra-protagonist's warnings hadn't been so tepid, or if she had stopped whining about how the male doctors wouldn't listen to her because she was a woman (the male doctors probably didn't listen to her because her show more warnings were couched in such listless ways). The plot itself is extremely linear - the book is literally procedure, screw up, resolution. And things go wrong in the book because the nurses in the hospital ward where medical experiments are conducted are portrayed as being extraordinarily dense: they don't recognize the signature of the head of the ward on the experimental patient's chart, and just ignore this critical notation on the chart rather than ask anyone about it. It seems as if Crichton thinks women are simpering fools with heads full of cotton.

This book was one of Crichton's earlier efforts, and it shows. As said before, the Crichton anti-technology playbook is in evidence, probably in its most basic form in this book. The characters are wooden, the female characters are also almost universally stupid or timid, or both. Elements are introduced that have no payoff, like the plutonium powered nature of the implant, the growing memory capabilities of computers, and the unexplained breakdown of a couple simulated computer personalities (which vaguely tie into the plot, but only just barely). Crichton's anti-technology paranoia is front and center through the whole story. The book was made into a movie that flopped, and it is easy to figure out why. This is a book not worth wasting one's time upon. show less

This is a slim science-fiction novel, Crichton's second, about the practical and philosophical implications of using a computer to treat an organic brain disease by means of a direct wired connection. It's fairly tame stuff now, but at the time this was pretty advanced thinking, and the disastrous effects of the surgery in this story perhaps reflect the paranoia at the time about such innovations. Well-told story, if a bit dated, unfortunately with an inconclusive and dissatisfying ending.

Book was first published in 1972 and portrays current state of the art computer technology. Overall a good story w good character development. Crichton was brilliant.

More of a novella than a novel, Crichton’s work runs at a mere 261 pages. An author known for science-fiction related horror laden with advanced technology in scientific fields, Crichton’s Terminal Man doesn’t delve into the ocean and alien life as in Sphere, or in the wild pits of the jungle as in Congo, but instead deep into the tangled mess of the human mind. Harry Benson has a form of seizure that induces black-outs, ones accompanied by uncontrollable rage and violence. Thinking they have found their poster boy for a new experimental treatment, a team of specialists work with the police to have the offender receive a new type of operation. Electrodes are planted into his brain, where when the seizure is coming on, the show more electrodes (ran by a main computer system), are activated, instead sending pleasure responses to his tissues. The operation works, until Benson discovers how he can turn on the pleasure nodes with more frequency, resulting in a frantic rampage that turns this tale into one a modern Frankenstein.

Loaded throughout with social commentary, this book gives one food for thought. Beginning with a 2 ½ page introduction from the author, Crichton cites a brief history of man using technology to modify brain behavior through psychosurgery. In the book he uses a psychologist, and touches a little on psychotherapy and non-physical brainwashing, but the real scope of his work explores, points out the good, and then warns against the dangers of man becoming overly arrogant with technology. The plot premise is nothing new (nothing is anymore, though), being done long ago with such works as Frankenstein, Jekyl & Hyde, and so forth. The updated version here uses more modern-day tools, but the story is the same.

Crichton writes with a serious, impersonal style, keeping scenes short and sweet. Real action in terms of violence doesn’t gear up until the end, but it’s not needed until then either. Of course, as with his other books, tons of medical and technological jargon is used, with a few pages illustrated on what the imaginary computer print-outs would show. If you’re a person who doesn’t crave serious pieces, this ones not for you. It’s not boring though, far from it, and while the characters are not delved into deeply ­ it’s told from multiple points of view from a observing manner ­ they seem realistic enough to make things worse. Suspense is high at the end, but this thriller isn’t devoted solely to this response. Instead, it enjoys making people think, much like his others books did.

The Terminal Man is interesting, absorbing, and worth reading. It’s not worthy of five stars simply because it’s not exciting enough after it’s done, but it’s still a good read, especially with those who enjoy shorter works. show less