Complete List of Michael Crichton Books by Year

Michael Crichton Signs His New Book Prey
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Michael Crichton's books are fast-paced, often cautionary, and sometimes controversial. If you are wondering what specific types of stories Michael Crichton wrote, this complete list of his books is organized by the year in which they were published and includes books he wrote under ​pen names like John Lange, Jeffrey Hudson, and Michael Douglas.​

1966—'Odds On' (as John Lange)

"Odds On" is about a robbery planned with the help of a computer program. This is Crichton's first published novel and is only 215 pages long.

1967—'Scratch One' (as John Lange)

"Scratch One" follows a man who the CIA and a criminal gang mistake for an assassin and thus try to pursue. This is ​Crichton's second paperback novel and is a very short read.​

1968—'Easy Go' (as John Lange)

"Easy Go" is about an Egyptologist who discovers a secret message about a hidden tomb in some hieroglyphics. It is rumored that this book only took Crichton one week to write.

1968—'A Case of Need' (as Jeffrey Hudson)

"A Case of Need" is a medical thriller about a pathologist. It won an Edgar Award in 1969.

1969—'The Andromeda Strain'

"The Andromeda Strain" is a thriller about a team of scientists who are investigating a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that rapidly and fatally clots human blood.

1969—'The Venom Business' (as John Lange)

"The Venom Business" is about a smuggler in Mexico who ships snakes. This novel was Crichton's first hardcover book and was released through The World Publishing Company.

1969—'Zero Cool' (as John Lange)

"Zero Cool" is about a man who gets caught in a fight over a precious artifact while he is on vacation in Spain. This book is full of excitement, humor, and suspense.

1970—'Five Patients'

"Five Patients" recounts Crichton's experience at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in the late 1960s. This book goes over medical doctors, emergency rooms, and operating tables.

1970—'Grave Descend' (as John Lange)

"Grave Descend" is a mystery about a deep sea diver in Jamaica. This sinister plot reveals a mysterious carried cargo and more.

1970—'Drug of Choice' (as John Lange)

In "Drug of Choice," a corporation offers mankind a one way trip to paradise—bioengineers promise an escape on this private island. However, it comes with a cost.

1970—'Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues'

"Dealing" was written by Crichton with his brother, Douglas Crichton, and published under the pen name "Michael Douglas." The plot consists of a Harvard graduate smuggling drugs.

1972—'The Terminal Man'

"The Terminal Man" is a thriller about mind control. The main character, Harry Benson, is scheduled for an operation to have electrodes and a mini-computer implanted in his brain to control his seizures.

1972—'Binary' (as John Lange)

"Binary" is about a middle-class small businessman who decides to assassinate the President by stealing an army shipment of the two chemicals that form a deadly nerve agent.

1975—'The Great Train Robbery'

This bestselling book is about the Great Gold Robbery of 1855 and takes place in London. It focuses on the mystery around three boxes containing gold.

1976—'Eaters of the Dead'

"Eaters of the Dead" is about a Muslim in the 10th century who travels with a group of Vikings to their settlement.

1977—'Jasper Johns'

"Jasper Johns" is a nonfiction catalog about the artist of that name. The book contains black and white and color pictures of Johns's work. Crichton knew Johns and collected some of his art, which is why he agreed to write the catalog.

1980—'Congo'

"Congo" is about a diamond expedition in the rainforest of Congo that is attacked by killer gorillas.

1983—'Electronic Life'

This nonfiction book was written to introduce readers to computers and how to use them.

1987—'Sphere'

"Sphere" is the story of a psychologist who is called by the U.S. Navy to join a team of scientists to examine an enormous spacecraft discovered on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

1988—'Travels'

This nonfiction memoir tells about Crichton's work as a doctor and travels around the world.

1990—'Jurassic Park'

"Jurassic Park" is a science fiction thriller about dinosaurs who are recreated through DNA.

1992—'Rising Sun'

"Rising Sun" is about a murder at the Los Angeles headquarters of a Japanese company.

1994—'Disclosure'

"Disclosure" is about Tom Sanders, who works in a fictional high-tech company just before the beginning of the dot-com economic boom and is wrongly accused of sexual harassment.

1995—'The Lost World'

"The Lost World" is the sequel to "Jurassic Park." It takes place six years after the original novel and involves the search for "Site B," the place where the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park were hatched.

1996—'Airframe'

"Airframe" is about Casey Singleton, a quality assurance vice-president at the fictional aerospace manufacturer Norton Aircraft, who is investigating an accident that left three passengers dead and fifty-six injured.

1999—'Timeline'

"Timeline" is about a team of historians who travel to the Middle Ages to retrieve a fellow historian who is trapped there.

2002—'Prey'

"Prey" follows a software designer as he is called in to consult on an emergency situation regarding experimental nano-robots. It is a fast-paced, scientific thriller.

2004—'State of Fear'

"State of Fear" is about good and bad environmentalists. It was controversial because it pushed Crichton's view that global warming is not caused by humans.

2006—'Next'

In "Next," the last novel to be published during his lifetime, Crichton brings up some provocative dilemmas dealing with the topic of genetic testing and ownership.

2009—'Pirate Latitudes'

"Pirate Latitudes" was found as a manuscript among Crichton's belongings after his untimely death. It is a pirate yarn in the tradition of "Treasure Island." While not a "typical Crichton," it is a good action-adventure story that shows his skill as a writer.

2011—'Micro'

Part of the "Micro" ​manuscript was found after Michael Crichton died in 2008. Richard Preston completed this science thriller about a group of graduate students trapped in the Hawaiian rain forest after coming to Hawaii to work for a mysterious biotech company.

2017—'Dragon Teeth'

This novel is set in 1876 during the Bone Wars out in the American West. This Wild West adventure features Indian tribes and fossil hunting from two paleontologists. The manuscript was mysteriously found years after Crichton's death.

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Miller, Erin Collazo. "Complete List of Michael Crichton Books by Year." ThoughtCo, Aug. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/michael-crichton-books-362097. Miller, Erin Collazo. (2020, August 29). Complete List of Michael Crichton Books by Year. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/michael-crichton-books-362097 Miller, Erin Collazo. "Complete List of Michael Crichton Books by Year." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/michael-crichton-books-362097 (accessed March 19, 2024).