Micro

Unfinished at the time of his death and later completed by Preston, Crichton’s last book receives serviceable narration from John Bedford Lloyd. Hawaii-based microtechnology company Nanigen has developed the ability to shrink objects—and people—and the megalomaniac head of the company, Vin Drake, sees the potential to make billions of dollars. But when one of Drake’s executives, Eric Jansen, threatens his boss’s plans, he suddenly goes missing and is presumed dead. When Eric’s brother, Peter, arrives—along with six fellow graduate students—and begins to ask questions, Drake shrinks them and leaves them to die in the Hawaiian rain forest. What follows is a nonstop fight for survival in the micro-world, where insects are as big as cars, bats the size of airplanes, and everything is hungry. Lloyd’s performance is uneven but enjoyable. With his deep, well-modulated voice, he certainly narrates clearly and with good vocal intonation. But at times, he sounds unprepared and his performance flat. A HarperLuxe paperback. (Nov.)