Author | John Lange |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Publisher | Signet Books |
Publication date | 1966 |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 215 |
LC Class | PS3553.R48 |
Followed by | Scratch One |
Odds On is Michael Crichton's first published novel, as well as the first novel under his pen name, John Lange. [1] It was released in 1966 under the pseudonym of John Lange. It is a short 215-page paperback novel. Hard Case Crime republished the novel under Crichton's name on November 19, 2013. Prior to the reissue, copies were rare and hard to find. [2] Since then even the reissue is becoming scarce, with few copies available on sources such as bookfinder or ebay. [3]
It describes an attempt of robbery in an isolated hotel on Costa Brava. The robbery is planned with the help of a Critical Path Analysis computer program, but unforeseen events get in the way.
The three Americans needed cover, as lone men stood out. So each decided he would pick up a girl, and mingle with the crowd.
The women were irrelevant, as the men's real interest was the hotel's safe, which would net them a million dollars in jewels, cash, and traveler's checks. The crime was brilliantly conceived. It was masterminded by a modern computer. But when they forgot the biggest risk of all—the women, and sex. [1]
As in many other Crichton novels the chapters are named by date as in a diary, rather than by number or other content. In this particular novel the chapters reflect the total timespan, the ticking clock, of the plot as a whole. The fifteen chapters begins with Saturday, June Fourteenth, and ending with Afternoon, June Twenty-Second. The timespan of the story is just a little more than a week, which is yet another similarity to Crichton's later novels. [1]
Being his first book, it also contains some of Crichton's 'trademarks' for the first time. Among other things, Crichton started his tradition of beginning his novels with quotes:
Crichton wrote the book in 1965 while a student at Harvard Medical School. He sent it to Doubleday for consideration under the name "John Lange". A reader at Doubleday loved the book but thought it was "too saucy" for that company, so sent it on to a friend at New American Library. [4]
Crichton used the name John Lange because at this stage he planned to be a doctor and did not want his patients worried he would use them for his plots. The name came from a fairy tale writer called Andrew Lang; Crichton added an "e" and substituted his own real first name, John, for Andrew. [5]
In 1969, around the time film rights were bought for Crichton's The Andromeda Strain , independent producer Sam Roy bought the film rights to Odds On. [6] However, no movie was made.
John Michael Crichton was an American writer and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. Crichton’s novels often explore human technological advancement and attempted dominance over nature, both with frequently catastrophic results; many of his works are cautionary tales, especially regarding themes of biotechnology. Several of his stories center specifically around themes of genetic modification, hybridization, paleontology and/or zoology. Many feature medical or scientific underpinnings, reflective of his own medical training and scientific background.
Binary is a techno-thriller novel written by Michael Crichton, his eleventh published novel, in 1972, the eighth and final time the pseudonym John Lange was featured. Crichton also directed Pursuit, a television film version. The story of both the book and the film revolve around a deadly nerve agent composed by combining two different chemicals. Hard Case Crime republished the novel under Crichton's name in 2013.
State of Fear is a 2004 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton, his fourteenth under his own name and twenty-fourth overall, in which eco-terrorists plot mass murder to publicize the danger of global warming. Despite being a work of fiction, the book contains many graphs and footnotes, two appendices, and a 20-page bibliography in support of Crichton's beliefs about global warming. Many climate scientists, science journalists, environmental groups, and science advocacy organizations dispute the presented views as being error-filled and distorted.
The Great Train Robbery is a bestselling 1975 historical novel written by Michael Crichton, his third novel under his own name and his thirteenth novel overall. Originally published in the US by Alfred A. Knopf, it was later published by Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The novel tells the story of the Great Gold Robbery of 1855, a massive gold heist that takes place on a train travelling through Victorian-era England on 22 May 1855. Most of the book takes place in London. A 1978 film adaptation was written for the screen and directed by Crichton.
A Case of Need is a medical thriller/mystery novel written by Michael Crichton, his fourth novel and the only under the pseudonym Jeffery Hudson. It was first published in 1968 by The World Publishing Company and won an Edgar Award in 1969.
The First Great Train Robbery is a 1978 British heist comedy film directed by Michael Crichton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his 1975 novel The Great Train Robbery. The film stars Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down.
Scratch One is Michael Crichton's second novel to be published, as well as the second novel to be under his pseudonym John Lange. It was released in 1967 under the pseudonym of John Lange. It is a short 192-page paperback novel. Hard Case Crime republished the novel under Crichton's name on October 29, 2013.
Easy Go is Michael Crichton's third published novel, as well as the third to feature his pen name John Lange. It was released in 1968 under the pseudonym of John Lange. Re-released in 1974 by Bantam Books as The Last Tomb. Hard Case Crime republished the novel under Crichton's name on October 29, 2013.
The Venom Business is Michael Crichton's seventh published novel, and the fifth under his pseudonym John Lange. It was released in 1969 by The World Publishing Company under the pseudonym of John Lange. It was the first hard cover book from Lange.
Robbery Under Arms is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888. It was abridged into a single volume in 1889 as part of Macmillan's one-volume Colonial Library series and has not been out of print since.
Charles Fulton Oursler was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an author of mysteries and detective fiction. His son was the journalist and author Will Oursler (1913–1985).
Grave Descend is a novel written by Michael Crichton, his tenth published novel, and the seventh featuring the pseudonym John Lange. It was originally published in 1970, and later re-released in 2006 as part of the Hard Case Crime series. For this release, Michael Crichton did an overall revision of the text. The novel was nominated for the Edgar Award in 1971. Hard Case Crime republished the novel under Crichton's name on October 29, 2013.
Drug of Choice is a novel written by Michael Crichton, as his eighth published novel, and the sixth to feature his pseudonym John Lange. It was originally published in 1970. Hard Case Crime republished the novel under Crichton's name in November 2013.
Kendell Foster Crossen was an American pulp fiction and science fiction writer. He was the creator and writer of stories about the Green Lama and the Milo March detective and spy novels.
Pirate Latitudes is an action adventure novel by Michael Crichton, the sixteenth novel to be published under his own name and first to be published after his death, concerning 17th-century piracy in the Caribbean. HarperCollins published the book posthumously on November 26, 2009. The story stars the fictional privateer Captain Charles Hunter who, hired by Jamaica's governor Sir James Almont, plots to raid a Spanish galleon for its treasure.
Pursuit is a 1972 American made-for-television drama film that screened on the ABC network as an ABC Movie of the Week. It was Michael Crichton's first work as a director, though his theatrical directorial debut would not premiere until the following year. It is based on Crichton's 1972 novel Binary, which he published under the pseudonym John Lange.
Zero Cool is Michael Crichton's fifth published novel, and the fourth to feature his pseudonym John Lange. It was released in 1969 under the pseudonym of John Lange, and was his fourth Lange book.
Horror Wears Blue is a science fiction novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fifth and last in his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in November 1987. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in December 2017.
Michael Crichton (1942–2008) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He wrote 28 novels and his books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films.
This is a list of works by Lawrence Block, an American author of mystery fiction, with a career spanning six decades.