I used to love Michael Crichton. But his last few books have left me feeling a bit disenchanted. “Prey” was one of those. As usual, Crichton goes into a TON of detail and makes you feel virtually scientific.

Unfortunately, “Prey” quickly turns to the gross aspect and loses a lot of the science that I’ve enjoyed in his other books. I would also be reluctant to recommend “State of Fear”, which started out as a FASCINATING read and then got uber-disgusting right at the end for no good reason. It’s one thing to want the bad guy dead, it’s another thing to kill him in such a wretched way that you throw the book across the room.

If you love a good thriller, especially an intellectual one, I would stick to Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” (a classic, and way better than the movie), “Congo” (scared me half to death, light years better than the movie) or “Timeline” (haven’t seen the movie so can’t speak to that comparison).

Crichton may give some people a headache, who just want to read a good thrilling book without all that science. If that’s the case for you, skip directly to Dean Koontz (if you like happy endings) or Stephen King (if you prefer death and destruction).

For the medical version of Michael Crichton, head for Robin Cook. He’s the John Grisham of medicine (and a real doctor, so his books have just enough reality to be intriguing).

And if you want to read truly horrifying non-fiction, read “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston. It will make you scared, you just might vomit and it’s all true.