The Terminal Man

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes a neurological thriller about the dangers of cutting-edge medical experimentation.

Harry Benson suffers from violent seizures. So violent that he often blacks out when they take hold. Shortly after severely beating two men during an episode, the police escort Benson to a Los Angeles hospital for treatment. There, Dr. Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit, is convinced he can cure Benson with an experimental procedure that would place electrodes deep in his brain's pleasure centers, effectively short-circuiting Harry's seizures with pulses of bliss. The surgery is successful, but while Benson is in recovery, he discovers how to trigger the pulses himself. To make matters worse his violent impulses have only grown, and he soon escapes the hospital with a deadly agenda....

©1972 Michael Crichton and © 2014 by TCIP Holdings LLC (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

computer history

fun romp in the past a crime thriller with lots of thrill and crime drama in the past

Great performance, okay story

Definitely an early work by the author, but still loved to listen to it. Great performance.

An Oldie but a Goodie

I read this book around twenty years ago during an earlier Crichton kick. I was enjoying it and I was surprised when a mere acquaintance wanted to know why I was reading it. He sneered at and said it was old fashioned. I don't know. About the only things I remember are that incident, that I read it, and that I enjoyed it. So I picked it up cheap cheap a couple of days ago and I enjoyed listening to it. It is a good early story that does all the things I want from a Crichton novel. And the reader's performance is excellent. So, raspberries to whoever it was who caused me to feel like I needed to justify what I was reading. This is the last of the Crichton books I wanted to collect. Oh, I'll get Prey if it is ever cheap cheap, but not until then.

I highly recommend this recording of The Terminal Man. But, remember that it is an early work.

Wow!

Love this author and the narration was absolutely superb! Can't wait to start my next!

Neoluddite nonsense based on bad science

Narrator killed it, but the story was barely worth finishing. The science is laughably bad and as time continues to pass, it ages even more poorly.

average

nothing about felt compelling, really had a hard time finishing. One of his worst books

not my favorite Crichton book.

least favorite of his so far. not terrible. just seemed to speed through the story. it was short enough through, I might give it a 2nd chance.

Another good Crichton novel

This was a good but not great Crichton novel. Several times the characters didn't do obvious actions. However the novel does raise scientific and ethical questions which remain true today.

So so

In general I love Crichton, but this book couldn't entertain on the same level. Also narration felt misjudged, making the main character sound like an old age pensioner.

Ahh.. The Pre-Micro Chip Era

This is a well-written thriller, a cautionary tale of man’s relationship to and with technology. Written in the early 1970s, it was very cutting edge for its time. The fear of technology, especially computers, taking over the world is ribboned throughout the story. I would recommend this listen for its nostalgic (historic?!) value even if you are too young to remember when smoking was allowed in hospital rooms, a female surgeon was an oddity and a file cabinet sized computer was a slick, very expensive science miracle. As thrillers go, it’s not edge of your seat but, as with much of Michael Crichton’s work, it will make you think.