"06/03/24: Sadly, it does not appear that Patterson "finished" the novel, but rewrote it entirely. The style is completely unlike anything Crichton has ever written--it's flat, dull, nondescript, and plodding. I've been a gargantuan fan of MC for many years, and I've read all of his books, some more than once, and I can say with complete conviction... This is not Crichton.

There are references to modern things such as twitter and other social media--things that blossomed years after Crichton took his last breath. And yet, the book was supposedly written in the 80s or 90s? Sure, some references and might need to be updated, but this is quite bad. I knew it would be disastrous, but this is beyond disappointment.

06/27/24: It's been a few weeks since my original review and I'd like to update it. I've read further into the novel and it's gotten better. There are parts which are very clearly written by Patterson, and others (clearly) written by Crichton. There are very distinct stylistic differences (for one, Patterson is very sparse and doesn't use much in the way of scientific terminology, ("I'm the scientist in charge!") and Crichton, quite the opposite--which is what I've always loved about him.) I've upgraded my original rating from one star to two stars. Quite a few people seemed to enjoy my review, so I'll keep updating it as I go to keep it as honest as possible. Thanks for giving me the time of day, folks.

Conclusion: As of 8/1 or so, I've finished the book. It's not terrible as a whole. But it's definitely not classic Crichton. If he did write it, it was something more recent. It's much closer to his later work, like Next, than Jurassic Park. The writing is too simplistic. The scientific exposition that we all know, and love isn't present. And the dialogue isn't even close to something he would have written early on in his career. Maybe he would have published it after Micro. Who knows. But it's safe to say that the ending is total trash, and Patterson should be ashamed for writing such an atrocious conclusion to the 400-page buildup. MC would never do us such an injustice."