Michael Crichton's "The Andromeda Strain" was a riveting and brilliantly written tale of a deadly microbe that originated from space, lands on earth in 1967, and threatens the lives of the planet's inhabitants. In "The Andromeda Evolution," by Daniel H. Wilson, another doomsday crisis arises that will test the ingenuity, courage, and resourcefulness of the scientists assigned to avert it. A strange structure, dubbed "the anomaly," arises in an isolated Brazilian rainforest. It is "metallic-looking" with "faint hexagonal imprints etched into its skin." A team of specialists embarks on a dangerous mission—to analyze and, if possible, neutralize what turns out to be a more sophisticated but equally terrifying version of the Andromeda strain.

Wilson does a fine job of describing the ecosystem and environmental importance of "over thirty-two thousand square miles of unbroken jungle" inhabited by indigenous tribes, some of whom have had little or no contact with the rest of mankind. This area is monitored to prevent poachers, loggers, and others from despoiling the precious resources of the Amazon. The action veers back and forth between military commanders on the ground, beleaguered experts in Brazil who are in for a terrifying ordeal, and the crew of the International Space Station.

The characters include Rand L. Stern, a four-star general; Nidhi Vedala, a medical doctor and a Phd in nanotechnology and materials science; James Stone, whose doctorate is in robotics; and Sophie Kline, an astronaut who is intellectually gifted but far from a team player. The plot is dense and convoluted, and the pages are filled with an immense amount of jargon that may be overwhelming to the layman. After the intriguing setup, there are verbal and physical confrontations, people start dying, Vedala and the others finally realize what they are facing, and Wilson's mind-boggling conclusion wraps everything up in a highly implausible fashion. One egregious flaw is that the author provides us with spoilers throughout the book. There is no better way to rob a tale of tension than to clue us in on what is about to happen. "The Andromeda Evolution," with its cutting-edge gadgetry, sophisticated software, and superhuman feats, might appeal to adrenaline junkies who enjoy fanciful fiction, but it is basically a formulaic technothriller that never soars to the heights of its predecessor.
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Definitely not Crichton. Ludicrous mediocrity. Nice idea, though. ( )

Great read. I finished it on three days. So much advanced science and robotics I could not get enough.
If you are a geek or a nerd you will love racing through this glimpse at the future of science.
Great story. Makes you think. ( )

Definitely not Crichton. Ludicrous mediocrity. Nice idea, though. ( )

The title of this 2019 novel immediately evokes a trip down memory lane. Childhood memories of a devious virus from outer space that threatens our world. There are fully suited up scientists, muffled voices and fearful eyes behind shiny glass visors, and despite the benefit of a secure facility in full biological lockdown the scientists are outwitted by the virus time and again. Andromeda Strain, the title of the 1969 book / 1971 film made us look up at the stars and as if their indifferent twinkles and the coldness of space was not terrible enough, all of a sudden we understood there was, in addition, a merciless unfeeling evil out there.
Obviously, Andromeda Evolution, the long overdue continuation of Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, was not written by the master himself for Crichton had passed away in 2008. Nevertheless, I would call this a worthy successor to the iconic thriller Andromeda Strain of 1969, all the while wondering if Crichton would agree. Sadly the master himself is not with us anymore and we shall never know. Perhaps he would like the way the author pays him well-deserved homage by commenting on key events in the book with quotes by Crichton. Andromeda Strain ended with a cliffhanger and Andromeda Evolution’s plot dovetails nicely into where it was left off so many years ago. Even the fifty year technology gap was bridged seamlessly - a feat not easily accomplished.
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