The Terminal Man

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes a neurological thriller about the dangers of cutting-edge medical experimentation.

Harry Benson suffers from violent seizures. So violent that he often blacks out when they take hold. Shortly after severely beating two men during an episode, the police escort Benson to a Los Angeles hospital for treatment. There, Dr. Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit, is convinced he can cure Benson with an experimental procedure that would place electrodes deep in his brain's pleasure centers, effectively short-circuiting Harry's seizures with pulses of bliss. The surgery is successful, but while Benson is in recovery, he discovers how to trigger the pulses himself. To make matters worse his violent impulses have only grown, and he soon escapes the hospital with a deadly agenda....

©1972 Michael Crichton and © 2014 by TCIP Holdings LLC (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Great performance, okay story

Definitely an early work by the author, but still loved to listen to it. Great performance.

average

nothing about felt compelling, really had a hard time finishing. One of his worst books

not my favorite Crichton book.

least favorite of his so far. not terrible. just seemed to speed through the story. it was short enough through, I might give it a 2nd chance.

Wow!

Love this author and the narration was absolutely superb! Can't wait to start my next!

Neoluddite nonsense based on bad science

Narrator killed it, but the story was barely worth finishing. The science is laughably bad and as time continues to pass, it ages even more poorly.

Another good Crichton novel

This was a good but not great Crichton novel. Several times the characters didn't do obvious actions. However the novel does raise scientific and ethical questions which remain true today.

So so

In general I love Crichton, but this book couldn't entertain on the same level. Also narration felt misjudged, making the main character sound like an old age pensioner.

Ahh.. The Pre-Micro Chip Era

This is a well-written thriller, a cautionary tale of man’s relationship to and with technology. Written in the early 1970s, it was very cutting edge for its time. The fear of technology, especially computers, taking over the world is ribboned throughout the story. I would recommend this listen for its nostalgic (historic?!) value even if you are too young to remember when smoking was allowed in hospital rooms, a female surgeon was an oddity and a file cabinet sized computer was a slick, very expensive science miracle. As thrillers go, it’s not edge of your seat but, as with much of Michael Crichton’s work, it will make you think.

Bit Dated, But Not Bad

This is one of Crichton's shorter works, an interesting medical drama about a patient with epilepsy who has violent seizures which cause him to commit horrific acts of violence. He becomes a test case for a hospital and escapes with his violent tendencies not cured. A fast moving thriller, it is more like Crichton's early works than his later books. The medical background and in depth analysis are here alongside the thrill of the plot. Narration was a bit rote, though the accents were good.

Mind Control Classic Using 1970s Technology

This was fun revisiting the early 70s to take on a controversial topic with sinister undertones. The idea of using computer technology to assist in treatment of psychomotor epilepsy was certainly not without difficulty. But trying to cure violent and psychotic behavior was downright dangerous!