The Terminal Man
by Michael Crichton

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Book Reviews of The Terminal Man

Book Review: Man into machine
Summary: 4 Stars

Harry Benson is a computer scientist living a quiet, uneventful life until he was involved in a devastating car accident on the freeway which left him brain-damaged and psychotic. Now he suffers from increasingly frequent episodes of psychomotor epilepsy during which he explodes in violence. A hospital team has developed a treatment that they think may help him: by implanting electrodes in his brain, they can short-circuit a seizure before it starts and prevent the violent episodes. But Dr. Janet Ross, Benson's psychiatrist, and her mentor, Dr. Manon, have serious reservations. Benson's psychosis has caused him have a morbid dread that machines are taking over the world. Having a micro-computer implanted into his brain may cause him to feel that the doctors have turned him into a machine. Harry isn't going to like that. And when Harry is upset, all kinds of unpleasant things can happen.

In "The Terminal Man", Crichton explores a theme was the focus of his later best-seller "Jurassic Park": just because a scientific experiment can be done doesn't mean it should be. The doctors at Benson's hospital are gung-ho over this experiment; they've been looking for a subject to test it out on and Benson seems perfect. But Benson isn't a laboratory rat; he's highly intelligent and learns how to control the micro-computer implanted in his brain cells until soon he's having almost continuous stimulations. At this point, he tips over, and the ensuing mayhem proves that Ross's worst fears were more than justified.

"The Terminal Man" suffers from Crichton's trademark lack of characterization; his characters are cardboard cutouts who don't really engage us; we aren't interested in them as people. But he's one helluva storyteller, and he knows how to explain scientific complexities to lay readers in terms that make the whole thing comprehensible. (I've always thought Crichton would make a great high school science teacher for that very reason.) His annotated bibliography at the end of the book includes thirty-six references for further reading in psychomotor epilepsy, and six for electronics. Well, most of Crichton's readers aren't neurosurgeons or rocket scientists, we're just looking for a good book that holds our interest; and on this score, Crichton delivers.

Summary of The Terminal Man

Harry Benson is prone to violent, uncontrollable seizures and is under police guard after attacking two people.

Dr. Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit at University Hospital in Los Angeles, is convinced he can cure Benson through a procedure called Stage Three. During this highly specialized experimental surgery, electrodes will be place in the patient's brain, sending monitored, soothing pulses to its pleasure canyons.

Though the operation is a success, there is an unforseen development. Benson learns how to control the pulses and is increasing their frequency. He escapes -- a homicidal maniac loose in the city -- and nothing will stop his murderous rampages or impede his deadly agenda. . .

Literature & Fiction Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction
• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Psychological Thrillers
• Technothrillers