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The Andromeda Strain
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Plot Summary of The Andromeda Strain
"A team of medical scientists races against time and all other odds to find a way to fight an alien pathogen nicknamed "The Andromeda Strain," a pathogen that has already obliterated a small Arizona town and has the potential to destroy the entire human population. Hidden in a top secret underground government facility, the book follows the scientists as they use all of their knowledge and expertise to stop the "Strain.""
Marcus Wyche, Resident Scholar

"A group of scientists are charged with the task of finding out why and how fifty people died in a small town in Arizona. There are two survivers: a young born child and a seventy year old man. For some of the victims, the bacteria made them insane, and they killed themselves. For the rest of the victims, the new alien bacteria clotted their blood within three seconds of entering their lungs. The process is long and tedious but eventually, the scientists find the missing link between the two survivers and figure out why they survived. However in the end, this finding was to no avail because the bacteria mutated to a harmless rubber-eating single-celled organism. "
Greg Mahler, Resident Scholar

"A satalite crashes into a small desert town carrying high atmospheric samples. A tech team of experts is called in to hurriedly investigate the effects of these samples on humans. The satalite and team are relocated to a biological safe-zone where experiments are continued to identify and neutralize any threat. "
Trudy Scales, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Andromeda Strain
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40%




Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - cure/disease/bioweapon
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Inventing-of-item story? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - scientist
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - natural phenomena
Profession/status: - killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged

Setting
Terrain - Domed/Underground City
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a lot of techical jargon
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Andromeda Strain
Empty Cities of the Full Moon by Howard V. Hendrix
Tango Midnight by Michael Cassutt
The Ocean Of Years - Chronicles of Solace 2 by Roger MacBride Allen
Contact by Carl Sagan
The Zap Gun by Philip K. Dick


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Michael Crichton Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Jack Thorne  

SCHOLARS:
Tracey Ray  Brendan Cherry  Salil  Jackie Griffey  David Fletcher  Timothy Gilman  Trudy Scales  Colin Kreiger  Miki Hirano  


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