Sphere is full of science, psychology, and danger

“Sphere,” written by Michael Crichton, is a science fiction book that goes deeply into the scientific and psychological aspects. It’s also suspenseful, which keeps you interested throughout the book. Although Crichton is most known for his Jurassic Park books, “Sphere” is one not to be missed.
Norman Johnson, a psychologist, is picked up by the government. They do not tell him why they need him, but he assumes they are bringing him to help the survivors of an airplane crash, as he has done before. Instead they bring him to the bottom of the ocean where he is told about an object, believed to be an alien spacecraft, surrounded by 300 years of coral. They contacted him because Norman had previously worked with the government to develop a report explaining what should be done if humans come into contact with aliens. He outlined a procedure and an optimal team. At the time, Norman had only done the report for the money. He didn’t truly believe in what he was writing, but now he was seemingly facing the impossible. Aliens were the only way the government could explain the spaceship.
Upon arriving, Norman met the team whom he had chosen for his report. An astrophysicist, Ted Fielding, was overly excited and optimistic about the adventure. This childish excitement began to grate on the others’ nerves after a time. Biologist Beth Halpern was the only female on the crew. She was angered and had been personally affected by male supremacy. Mathematician Harry Adams was rather distant from the group. He scoffed at the idea of aliens as the explanation and he alluded that he actually knew what was going on, but he did not contribute his ideas, saying, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Harold C. Barns, captain of the ship, helped them from afar. And of course there was psychologist Norman Johnson, who psychologically analyzed the other crew members throughout the book. Later on, they came into contact with Jerry, whom they believed to be the alien residing within a sphere.
What first began as a scientific adventure became a mystery. What was the history of the advanced spaceship? Why was it in the bottom of the ocean? The crew went headfirst into exploring the spacecraft to answer these questions. Once inside, they found a strange sphere. Things got more confusing after the crew saw the sphere opening and closing on tape. The new question became, “How can we open the sphere?”
Their new adventure quickly becomes extremely dangerous. They discover new and deadly species of animals. They come into contact with a giant squid who attacks their fragile life support home under the sea. They communicate with the possibly dangerous and powerful Jerry, whom they believed to be the alien residing within a sphere. However, they are unable to go back to the surface, due to a vicious storm. They must wait it out and hope to survive.
“Sphere” went deep down into the psychological aspects of people’s minds by bringing their subconsciousness to life. Furthermore, Norman explained why people reacted the way they did through psychology. At the end, Norman not only psychologically analyzed others, but brought this perspective upon himself, which helped him resolve an internal conflict. I found this psychological side of the book to be extremely interesting, especially because the author Michael Chriton used accurate psychological reasonings, allowing me to not only learn something through the book, but also to look within and reconsider the motives behind my actions.
The in depth, careful, and accurate approach Chriton took to psychology appeared in his explanation of the scientific side of things too. It was very interesting to learn about the behavior of the universe, the sea, and animals through a fiction book.
Sphere is full of adventure, mystery, and interesting facts\; however, I found it to be lacking in suspense and danger, even though it had the perfect setting. The crew was below the ocean and in contact with possible aliens and new, dangerous species. However, this danger didn’t come across very strongly because Norman, whom the story is told through, didn’t strongly feel the danger. He was a very methodical, calm, and problem-solving person. When they were attacked by a giant squid, he did not panic, but instead instantly tried to find a solution. When they came into contact with Jerry, the new and possibly dangerous alien, his main state of mind was not the danger, but how the danger could be avoided by staying friendly and diplomatic with Jerry. For these reasons, even though I knew in the back of my mind that the crew was in a dangerous situation, I didn’t feel the danger with the characters, because the characters didn’t quite seem to fully experience it.
“Sphere” was a great read that took up the majority of my day, because I couldn’t put it down. Even if you normally don’t enjoy science fiction, I’d still recommend this book, because of the psychological side of it. Overall, I’m only giving it a 4 out of 5 spartan heads, because I believe the author could have added a more emotional side to the story to create a greater feeling of suspense and danger.