Unpublished Michael Crichton novels set for release

[Barbossa]

From CBC:
Unpublished Michael Crichton novels set for release

The late Michael Crichton is giving us two more books.

Michael Crichton will have another chance at the bestseller lists, after HarperCollins announced plans on Monday to release two unpublished novels he left behind at his death last fall.

A 17th-century adventure tale set in Jamaica, entitled Pirate Latitudes, will hit stores this fall, the publisher said Monday.

Another work, an untitled techno-thriller that Crichton left incomplete upon his death, will be finished by a yet-to-be-determined co-author. That book is slated for release in 2010.

Both works were recently discovered among Crichton's files, the publisher said.

Crichton's death in Los Angeles in November shocked readers and the entertainment world alike. According to his family, the 66-year-old had been battling cancer but chose to keep it private.

Trained as a doctor, Crichton was a significant influencer of North American pop culture, with a host of his bestselling, often science-based books turned into films over the years, including The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure, Sphere and Congo.

He also created the long-running TV medical drama ER, which began in 1994 and had its series finale last week, and penned a number of screenplays, including for movies such as Twister.

"No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest," John Wells, executive producer of ER, said following Crichton's death.

"Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics, and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation."

Jurassic Park got me hooked on Crichton. The first book I read of his following the release of Jurassic Park in theaters was Sphere. His death back in the fall came as a big shock. I'm going to miss getting a book of his every 2 to 3 years, as well as watching ER.

The pirate book sounds interesting. I guess this is his frst period piece since Eaters of the Dead, or if you count it, Timeline. There was also a rumour that he was writing a sequel to his non-fiction book Travels.

[PrincessY]

Ooo... I'm a fan! Looking forward to the Pirate one.

[Rayangelo]

Wow, cool. I'll have to find time to read them when they get published.

[Barbossa]

Here's some more info from the press release on Michael's website:

Pirate Latitudes is an adventure story about piracy in the New World. Set in 1665, when Jamaica was a British colony holding out against Spanish dominance, the story centers on a plan hatched by the island's governor and a notorious pirate called Hunter to raid a Spanish treasure galleon. Fast-moving and suspenseful, Pirate Latitudes is a historical classic from one of America's best-loved authors. The novel was discovered amongst Crichton's files and was written contemporaneously with Next, published in 2006.

Jonathan Burnham, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Harper, says, "Pirate Latitudes is a fantastically enjoyable and light-hearted adventure yarn about pirates and profiteers in 17th century Jamaica. It is deeply researched and full of lively historical detail, and it shows Crichton going back to the territory he explored in novels such as The Great Train Robbery - old-fashioned entertainment, with a twist."

Sounds like it will be good read. It's Pirates of the Caribbean from the creator of Jurassic Park!
For the full press release:
MichaelCrichton.com | Michael Crichton Press Release

[twinmom]

Thanks for the info! I love his books.

[FrumiousBoojum]

So, will the pirates eat the tourists?

Quite looking forward to this... I'm another that got turned onto him by Jurassic Park (I was only 13 when that movie came out... read the book when I was in 8th grade). Next was a great novel, too... wouldn't mind seeing a film adaptation of that one.

I'm actually looking forward to the remake of Westworld, as well. I enjoyed the premise of that film, but it was lacking quite a lot for me.