The Andromeda Strain, Week 4

Welcome to the final discussion of The Andromeda Strain.

Did you enjoy the ending of the book? Did it end like you thought it would? I didn't really know what to expect by the ending, but I really was surprised by how things wrapped up. 

What did you think was more scary--the scene where Burton was infected with the virus or the part where Hall had to crawl to turn off the self-destruct feature? I was nervous for Burton when he became infected, but it seemed like they had some sort of idea of how to treat him. But, I was really, really tense when Hall was trying to turn off the self-destruct. What was the purpose of the sensors that kept shooting at him? I couldn't believe that he was tasked with such an incredible task but then had to fight against the effects of those darts. I really don't know how he made it to turn the key. Did you expect that he would make it? 

Did you understand the explanation they ended up coming up with about how the virus affected each person? The people who had increased heart rates were able to survive. The baby was screaming and was scared to death, causing his acidity to rise. The old man was all mixed up because of the Sterno. And then, the virus mutated which allowed Burton to survive. It was all a little confusing to me. I just didn't understand the science. I did understand that if the bomb had detonated, the virus would have been able to spread everywhere and mutate in a million different ways. So, that would have been catastrophic. I'm glad that didn't happen. 

The story ends with the virus moving across the country, but it appears to be benign and have no effects on humans. Do you think that's really the end of the story? It seemed weird that the story was so intense and there was so much science happening, but in the end, it didn't really matter. The organism mutated all by itself to be a harmless thing. Do you really think it's harmless? I just felt like it was a bit of an abrupt ending. 

What else in this section stood out to you? Did you find any parts hard to understand? Did you feel satisfied with the way the science was explained throughout the story? 

If you enjoyed this book and would like to watch or read similar titles, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you end up checking out anything on the list!

Before you go, check out the video below to learn more about the start of Michael Crichton's writing career. And, check out his website to read more information about The Andromeda Strain. 

Thanks so much for following along this month! I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know how you felt about the end of the book. Next month, we're reading The Hunger Games. I hope you'll join us again!