When a deadly contagion wipes out the small city of Piedmont, Arizona following the crash of a US satellite, it sets into motion Project Wildfire. Comprised of five scientists, Wildfire is dedicated to dealing with pathogens that may arrive from an extraterrestrial origin. Of the original Piedmont population, only two survived- an old man and a colicky infant. Codenamed Andromeda, the organism kills on exposure, and appears to be airborne. It is unlike anything ever seen before, and contains no proteins. It shouldn’t be ‘alive,’, but it is. It shouldn’t be able to kill, but it does. Quite efficiently. Then it evolves.
I first read The Andromeda Strain many many moons ago, after I’d read Jurassic Park in ninth grade and fallen in love with Crichton’s writing. At the time, I wasn’t as enamoured of Andromeda as some of his other works. It’s coming up on three decades, and I have a greater appreciation for this speculative science tale. It did start out kinda slow. It *is* one of Crichton’s earlier works, and as a comparison point, it’s fascinating to see the growth of a writer from early works to becoming well-established. As a writer, and a more seasoned reader, I can appreciate this more!
The majority of the story takes place in one locale- the underground Wildfire complex. This is a completely isolated, underground biohazard complex, with each successive level having stronger safeguards. For Stone, Leavitt, Hall, and the other scientists, about 90% of that time is spent on the deepest level. Like an abyssal descent, reaching the lower labs takes hours. Personally, I’d go nuts. Also, its final failsafe is nuclear detonation. Nope.
There’s a great deal of science behind this story, and it’s clear Crichton did his research. I loved the exploration of Andromeda, and the organism itself. Pretty much the only thing I didn’t care for was Leavitt’s storyline. The allusions to his condition, and the fact he had it at all, seemed contrived and rang false. I understand it was leading up to one critical moment, but I think said moment could have been better achieved in a different manner. Still, overall I loved my reread and I’m looking forward to reading The Andromeda Evolution.
***This book was read and reviewed for my own enjoyment.
