This was the first Crichton book I've read, and at the beginning I was a little disappointed. I think his style of writing was very simple, and he wasn't as good as the hype made him out to be.

This turned out to be a very good book, however. It is about a swarm of nanoparticles that have escaped from the labratory. The nanoparticles evolve very swiftly, and start killing the scientists who created them. Nanotechnology and computer science have always been interesting to me, so this book was a thriller right up my alley. Chrichton also does his homework; he is very knowledgable about the current theories and technology.

Prey also makes you think about a major technology dilemma. Are we moving too quickly for our own good? We have to be careful lest we create immense problems for ourselves - like large numbers of very small machines that kill people.

I might not say this if I had paid the full 27 bucks, but Prey was worth the read.