In some ways willing suspension of disbelief has to be applied less to the technology depicted and more to the relationships between our protagonists Jake and Julia. They’re the typical Silicon Valley couple, all right, but oh how conveniently their relationship advances the plot. He’s the between-jobs programming team manager who’s specialized in code that models distributed processing and genetic algorithms. She’s the cute PR talking head that is lining up funding for the revolutionary Xymos nanobots. He’s the cool, loving house-dad that takes care of the cute kids. She’s the always-working cold bitch that’s having an affair – isn’t she? With the tanned surfing god Xymos exec we hiss at as soon as we meet him? Or is this whole plot line perhaps a little too obvious after being set up by page 18? Maybe Crichton has something a little more twisted in mind for the 350 pages that follow…

Yep, he sure does, and as fast as helicopters can fly we’re at the secretive Xymos desert lab in Nevada where nothing is as it seems. Those swirling little dust devils out there on the parking lot security cameras are considerably more menacing than Taz in a Loony Tunes cartoon, but damned if anybody will give Jack a straight answer about just how…or especially why. Seems the escaped particles that make up the clouds have been programmed with distributed computing algorithms Jack came up with in his last job – Xymos wants HIM to tell THEM what’s going on. Uh, oh – Jack used the concept of predator / prey stalking dynamics to keep distributed agents focused on a concrete goal.

Jack’s subsequent experiences, experiments, thought processes, and realizations lead the reader into a fascinating exploration of the concept of hive mind. In one sense this is a book about prejudice – people are the most evolved social mammals on Earth, and as such are always misinterpreting the capabilities, actions and behaviors of a swarm that has neither leaders or followers, only members. As such, Prey is a rare SF book that truly does explore a truly alien life form with some very interesting twists. It’s also a thought-provoking possible example of Vernor Vinge’s technological singularity concept.

It’s a good book and it’s going to make a great movie. If you just can’t wait for the movie, though, no problem. Crichton’s three-act structure for Prey follows the well-trod path of a trio of 50s-style sci-fi movie classics: Tremors, Them!, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Check `em out and watch `em in order after you read Prey for a fun follow-up. To include the tension of Jack and Julia’s romantic triangle, watch Casablanca first…and remember, a kiss is just a kiss, as time goes by.