aged skeptic will not be able to identify flaws. The descriptions of the dead bodies in Piedmont were so descriptive and image rendering; that the reader could visualize the broken blood vessels in the eyes of the victims. The reader could smell the stench of death. The Andromeda Strain is the type of novel that will produce audible cheers and jeers as the scientists make discoveries and errors. The essence of this book is in the imperfections of the scientists. Their plight resembles that of a Chutes and Ladders board game. They make brilliant discoveries, so they advance towards the top, the final answer. Then they overlook simple observations, which sends them down a chute towards the bottom, back where they started. Another facet of the novel is the thoughts sparked after reading it. Could this happen? Is our country prepared? What if the Russians had discovered this microbe during the Cold War? One possible answer is yes. This is happening right now in Africa with the Ebola virus. Our country is not prepared, we have neither a vaccine nor a cure. Fortunately, the Russians did not use biological weapons during the Cold War, but the threat is not over. Iraq has been accused of producing biological weapons, and terrorists recently used Anthrax, a deadly microbe, in a Japanese subway. The threat is out there, and quite frankly, Michael Crichton produced paranoia in one reader. The second group of questions are a little more abstract. What if a higher life form sent this microorganism in order to communicate their existence? What does this mean for civilization as it is known today? These are just a few examples of the ability of this novel to generate reader interest. This journey of characters, conundrums, and casualties through a five-day period is certainly worth reading. While reading the novel, the reader will most likely take the role of scientist into his own hands by trying to figure out how this microbe ki...
