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Book Reviews of Sphere

Sphere
Sphere
Author: Michael Crichton
ISBN-13: 9780394561103
ISBN-10: 0394561104
Publication Date: 5/12/1987
Pages: 385
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 32

3.8 stars, based on 32 ratings
Publisher: Knopf
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

87 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Foucault avatar reviewed Sphere on + 27 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 12
This was a fantastic page-turner of a book. I have heard mixed reviews of the movie, but I haven't seen it myself. In fact, I'd never even heard of the movie until I started reading the book.

If you like Dan Brown's books, especially "Deception Point", I think you'll enjoy this more. It is better written, but the pacing reminded me of Brown. It's an examination of a group of people cooped up together, under severe pressure (since they're deep underwater, that works on more than one level!). Which is exactly what Norman Johnson, the book's psychologist, is an expert on.

Read about a real underwater habitat: NOAA's Aquarius Undersea Laboratory
reviewed Sphere on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10
I usually don't get into science fiction, or Michael Crichton for that matter - but there was something compelling about the story in this book. The sphere is underwater and has a lifeforce all it's own.
reviewed Sphere on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
One of the first Crichton books I ever read and still one of my all time favorite books. SO much better than the movie (which was awful).
reviewed Sphere on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Great book! Pretty intense to the very end!
cloverluv avatar reviewed Sphere on + 129 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I could NOT put this book down! I blame it for keeping me up until 4 AM!
reviewed Sphere on + 121 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
the focus of this science adventure tale is humankind's encounter with an alien life form. Within a space ship lying on the sea bottom is a mysterious sphere that promises each of the main characters some personal reward: military might, professional prestige, power, understanding. Trapped underwater with the sphere, the humans confront eerie and increasingly dangerous threats after communication with the alien object has been achieved. The story is exciting and loaded with scientific and psychological speculations that add interest at no cost to the action, including an intriguing sequence in which human and computer attempt to decode the alien communication. As the story races to an end, suspicions of evil-doing fall as many ways as in a detective novel.
reviewed Sphere on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
What an interesting book. If you scene the movie, the book is better. A great page turner.
reviewed Sphere on
Helpful Score: 3
Better than the movie!
reviewed Sphere on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Never read Michael Crichton before, and generally don't read this kind of thriller-bestseller-sold-at-reststops kind of book, but this was really exciting. To be trite, it was a-real-page-turner.
reviewed Sphere on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Michael Crichton is a master story teller and this book is a great example of his storytelling. It's a great read.
reviewed Sphere on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A fast paced adventure set in the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery. A page-turner... Crichton's writing is cinematic, with powerful visual images and nonstop action.
reviewed Sphere on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
GREAT !!!
reviewed Sphere on + 55 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Lame. In my opinion Crichtons worst. i thought the book would be better than the movie. wrong.
reviewed Sphere on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Scientists discover a huge vessel on the South Pacific ocean floor. The Sphere turns out to be a spaceship which appears to be at least 300 years old. Sphere is a fast moving and gripping Michael Crichton read. You will not want to put it down.
reviewed Sphere on + 67 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Another good Crichton book!!
reviewed Sphere on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Critchton's books always provide a good read with a twist ending.
roarlady avatar reviewed Sphere on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Long Time prizewinning author does a SciFi type thriller...Is it aliens under the sea? Quick, entertaining read...
reviewed Sphere on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
excellent
reviewed Sphere on + 62 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Way better than the movie
reviewed Sphere on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A great Crichton suspense tale.
reviewed Sphere on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Absolutely loved this book - a thousand TIMES better than the movie!!
reviewed Sphere on + 57 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you have never read a book by Crichton, this is a great place to start. He is an amazing writer, I've read everything he's written. This scared the pants off me, like Jaws wasn't enough to make you afraid of the deep. Crichton was an excellent story teller, and you will not be dissappointed. I only wish I could go back and read it for the first time.
reviewed Sphere on
Helpful Score: 1
Not the best of endings, but a gripping book nevertheless.
reviewed Sphere on + 124 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great book!
reviewed Sphere on + 60 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I read this one several times - it is a very good story and there are a lot of twists and turns, until the ending, which makes you wonder if you would be strong enough to do what the characters did. I think this is one of Chrighton's best!
reviewed Sphere on + 34 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
My favorite Crichton book.
reviewed Sphere on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Michael Crichton seems to create stories that transfer well to the screen. I had seen the film based upon this book, Sphere, years ago. What surprised me with this book and its film presentation was that the book went deeper into the mental and emotional aspects of the characters and this made for a rich story and a sense of anticipation of what next and by whom. The subtle texture of the flow was apparent with surprises that surfaced beyond the overt character reactions and laid a second layer to the story.
DEC avatar reviewed Sphere on + 134 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A fun read that keeps you guessing until the end.
reviewed Sphere on
Helpful Score: 1
I wasn't ready for such a suspenseful book. The science fiction aspect was great, though we never quite figured out exactly what it was. The ending left you wondering.
philomene avatar reviewed Sphere on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Fast paced - the story races along and carries you with it.
Best to start on a weekend- I lost some sleep because I couldn't put it down.
reviewed Sphere on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I read the book before i saw the movie on this one and the book is for sure the best of the two. Suspensful and edge of your seat through the whole book, also putting a new view on the way the human mind can work. Fiction or reality. I love this one!
constant-reader avatar reviewed Sphere on + 130 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Good, classic Crichton -- A spaceship is discovered 1,000 feet under the Pacific. What is it? No one knows, but they're determined to find out. Great sci-fi written here!
reviewed Sphere on + 190 more book reviews
A very good book about an item found in the ocean. Read by Ed Asner.
DameEdna avatar reviewed Sphere on + 149 more book reviews
Asner's reading of this audiobook makes it a very enjoyable listen.
reviewed Sphere on
Excellent well written, Hard to put down book. The type that keeps your interest from the begining to the end.
reviewed Sphere on + 2 more book reviews
another great book of Michael Crichton. with all the twists and turns, this is one book you could never know what is going to happen next!
reviewed Sphere on + 4 more book reviews
It goes without saying, but WAY better than the movie. This was, in fact, everything I wanted the movie to be. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
reviewed Sphere on + 407 more book reviews
This was a very good thriller with many twists and turns. I like the way it was hard to distinguish what's real and what's not.
reviewed Sphere on + 22 more book reviews
Interesting read..
reviewed Sphere on + 34 more book reviews
A solidly good sci-fi thriller by Crichton. Who would expect otherwise?
MsJell avatar reviewed Sphere on + 142 more book reviews
Excellent story!!
reviewed Sphere on + 110 more book reviews
A fascinating novel about the power of the mind
reviewed Sphere on + 4 more book reviews
Scary!
reviewed Sphere on + 612 more book reviews
I enjoyed reading this book very much.
reviewed Sphere on + 9 more book reviews
Excellent book.
Gaddiel avatar reviewed Sphere on + 31 more book reviews
Compelling and mysterious, this one will have you guessing, even to the very end. Wonderful story flow!
reviewed Sphere on + 49 more book reviews
Love this book - it's so much better than the movie (which was good) and I've read it several times.
reviewed Sphere on + 47 more book reviews
awesome suspense...sci fi
reviewed Sphere on
A page-turner, very suspenseful.
reviewed Sphere on + 124 more book reviews
Great book....great movie too. Rising Sun is still my favorie though.
reviewed Sphere on + 42 more book reviews
Another thrilling Crichton novel!
reviewed Sphere on + 8 more book reviews
Classic science fiction from a legend of the genre. While straining my suspension of disbelief, this was a very entertaining book.

See my full review here:
My Epinions Review
reviewed Sphere on + 7 more book reviews
about an alien ship thats 300 yrs old
beckasdream avatar reviewed Sphere on + 82 more book reviews
The whole time I was readin this I thought, "This should be made into a movie" and low and behold a year or so later, it was! Great book, I loved it.
reviewed Sphere on + 14 more book reviews
Heck of a good thriller. Much better than the movie.
reviewed Sphere on + 85 more book reviews
Excellent. Very suspenseful.

In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old.
beloved2615 avatar reviewed Sphere on
This book was recommended to me by a close friend. Initially, I did not think I was going to like it due to it being sci-fi and about space/aliens... which are normally not my cup of tea. I have to say once I was about 78 pages in I got hooked and read this book in less than 24 hours. I loved it, has a lot of intelligent concepts and makes you really think about what is going on and it has some twist. Worth the read and glad I gave it a try even though I was putting it off and thinking against it. =]
reviewed Sphere on + 112 more book reviews
very good
Rin avatar reviewed Sphere on + 159 more book reviews
A real page turner
KelseyFamily06 avatar reviewed Sphere on + 53 more book reviews
A page turner....
mscottcgp avatar reviewed Sphere on + 231 more book reviews
Great Michael Creighton book-much better than the movie that was made from it.
reviewed Sphere on + 9 more book reviews
Good book!
reviewed Sphere on + 588 more book reviews
Good reading.
Tommy avatar reviewed Sphere on + 7 more book reviews
A quick read. Not his best, but typical Crichton.
ChanurCousin avatar reviewed Sphere on + 42 more book reviews
Excellent Crichton ... spaceship found on the ocean floor.
reviewed Sphere on + 495 more book reviews
Much better than the movie!
Dixie avatar reviewed Sphere on + 179 more book reviews
This book is in very good condition.
reviewed Sphere on + 114 more book reviews
This an abridged version read by Edward Asner. 2 cassettes - 3 hours of entertainment. Economy packaged to sell on clearance. Tapes are still good.
sealady avatar reviewed Sphere on + 657 more book reviews
From School Library Journal: "As in Crichton's Andromeda Strain (Knopf, 1969), the focus of this science adventure tale is humankind's encounter with an alien life form. Within a space ship lying on the sea bottom is a mysterious sphere that promises each of the main characters some personal reward: military might, professional prestige, power, understanding. Trapped underwater with the sphere, the humans confront eerie and increasingly dangerous threats after communication with the alien object has been achieved. The story is exciting and loaded with scientific and psychological speculations that add interest at no cost to the action, including an intriguing sequence in which human and computer attempt to decode the alien communication. As the story races to an end, suspicions of evil-doing fall as many ways as in a detective novel. Young adults should find this book both accessible and satisfying." Mike Parson, Houston Public Library Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
reviewed Sphere on + 37 more book reviews
Classic Crichton. A thousand feet below the surface of the South Pacific,lies a huge vessel which scientists think may be a spaceship.
reviewed Sphere on + 10 more book reviews
A vessel discovered in the middle of the South Pacific-is it a ship? No! It's a spaceship! Scientists try to find it's secrets; can they do it??
reviewed Sphere on + 120 more book reviews
Spacehip found a thousand feet below the surface in the middle of the South Pacfic.
reviewed Sphere on + 102 more book reviews
In the middle of the Louth Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old...
reviewed Sphere on + 130 more book reviews
In the middle of the South Pacific, 1,000 feet below the surface, a huge spaceship is discovered resting on the ocean floor. It is a craft of phenomenal dimensions, it seems undamaged by its fall from the sky, and it appears to be at least three hundred years old. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who investigate this astonishing discovery. What they find defies imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation.
reviewed Sphere on + 28 more book reviews
In the middle of the South Pacific, a huge spaceship is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Plenty of mystery and suspense
reviewed Sphere on + 683 more book reviews
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a hugh vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Rushed to scene is a group of American scientists. Thriller
donkeycheese avatar reviewed Sphere on + 1255 more book reviews
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old...
redhatter avatar reviewed Sphere on + 577 more book reviews
In the middle of the SouthPacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the oceanfloor. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old...
reviewed Sphere on
[From back cover] In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imagination and mocks their attempts at logical explanation.
reviewed Sphere on + 4 more book reviews
I'm sorry to say this was a gift and I am not a fan of science fiction so didn't read it.
reviewed Sphere on + 194 more book reviews
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor.
Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery.
What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be a least three hundred years old......
reviewed Sphere on + 159 more book reviews
"In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet b elow the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists,...What they find is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky, and at least 300 years old."
reviewed Sphere on + 36 more book reviews
In the middle of the South Pacific,a thousand feet below the surface of the water,a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor.A group of american scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery.What they find defies their imagination . It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And most startling it appears to be at least three hundred years old.
blessed1 avatar reviewed Sphere on + 127 more book reviews
From the back:
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attemps at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least 300 years old.....
reviewed Sphere on
SLIGHTLY worn cover...very little.
reviewed Sphere on + 6 more book reviews
The book I have has a different cover.
reviewed Sphere on + 246 more book reviews
The cover edges on this copy are worn but the book, though old, is good, a reading copy and no frills. If you order it I will expect a book credit.