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Fingolfin
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Location: Slovakia
Registered: August 2008
Messages: 265
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A trivial question.
While I was teaching today, something we were talking about with my student reminded me of the book Rising Sun by Michael Crichton.
Here's the question: How to pronounce Crichton? I've heard 2 different means: [creesh.ton] and [cry.ton]. Which one is correct? Or, maybe something completely different is correct.
Thanks in advance
Marek
It is better to switch on a small light than to curse the darkness.
- Vincent Šikula, Slovak writer
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Your second option is the correct one.
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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I've always pronounced it "cry.ton" - probably because the first time I ran into the name was in the play "The Admirable Crichton" (by J M Barrie).
Wikipedia tells me that "Kryten, the robot butler from the British sitcom Red Dwarf, takes his name from the title character of Barrie's play" !
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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Fingolfin
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Location: Slovakia
Registered: August 2008
Messages: 265
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Thanks a lot guys...
You know, it is said abou the English language that it has more exceptions than rules. This is such case... I bet anyone who is learning English for maybe 2 or 3 years would automatically pick the first option.
Marek
It is better to switch on a small light than to curse the darkness.
- Vincent Šikula, Slovak writer
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I met Michael Crichton when he gave a speech at the university I was teaching at and he pronounces it Cry-ton.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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Fingolfin
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Location: Slovakia
Registered: August 2008
Messages: 265
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Was his speech (lecture, whatever) as interesting as his books are?
What was the topic? Did you agree with him?
Marek
It is better to switch on a small light than to curse the darkness.
- Vincent Šikula, Slovak writer
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His speech/lecture was about character development in his stories. I have always been an avid reader of his books. I found his speech/lecture very interesting. I admire authors who can make their people come alive and three diminsional. It really wasnt wheather you agreed or disagreed. Every author approaches things in different ways.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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Fingolfin
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Likes it here |
Location: Slovakia
Registered: August 2008
Messages: 265
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I've read almost all of his books, albeit in Slovak (I really liked the translated versions, therefore I think a good job was done).
Which one of his book is best (from your point of view)?
I really enjoyed reading Andromeda Strain and Sphere. Other books (let's say Congo or Prey) were quite fine, but did not force me to think so hard what I would do being in that particular situation.
Marek
[Updated on: Thu, 04 September 2008 12:10]
It is better to switch on a small light than to curse the darkness.
- Vincent Šikula, Slovak writer
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I was very keen on Michael Crichton when I was younger.
His recent books have been so-so, I think. Prey, in particular, was exceptionally formulaic (scientists create amazing technology, technology runs amok in an insolated location). State of Fear felt like a questionable scientific lecture, not a novel. Next was better but unmemorable -- I've not yet felt the urge to re-read it. I suspect he's past his best now.
Moving backwards, I liked Airframe because it was about something I'm interested in (the aviation industry) and, refreshingly, didn't involve highly improbable technology. Although I was also fascinated by the technology in his stories (and still am).
Jurassic Park, Timeline and Congo are among his best. I read Timeline almost in a single sitting when it came out. (It's since become a truly awful film.)
Sphere might have been the first Crichton book I read, when I must have been 10 or 11. I found it terrifying then, but it has definitely (or perhaps I have) lost something in the intervening years. I'll probably re-read all of his novels sooner or later, but I'm a bit anxious that the same thing will happen for all of them.
David
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In my opinion Andromeda Strain has got to be his best. I even liked the movie and liked the remake. I agree with Deeej that his recent work is not as good. I think this happens to a lot of authors as they age. Robert Heinlien wrote some of the best sci-fi stories for young people but as he attempted to write stories for the older crowd the stories became dry and very technical. One author I really like (and I believe he is even more prolific than Steven King) is Dean Koontz. This man never runs out of ideas and some of his books are absolutely facinating. The first book I read of his was "From the corner of his eye" and I was hooked.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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