Books

Sequel to Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain due in fall

The late Michael Crichton's literary archive and production company has authorized a sequel to his breakthrough novel The Andromeda Strain.
Michael Crichton, pictured above at a book signing in New York in 2002, published The Andromeda Strain in 1969. (Vintage, Keith Bedford/Getty Images)

The late Michael Crichton's literary archive and production company has authorized a sequel to his breakthrough novel The Andromeda Strain.
 
HarperCollins announced Tuesday that The Andromeda Evolution will come out Nov. 12. The book will be a collaboration between science fiction author Daniel H. Wilson and CrichtonSun LLC., for which the author's widow, Sherri Crichton, serves as CEO.
 
Its publication marks the 50th anniversary of The Andromeda Strain, Crichton's techno-thriller about scientists fighting a lethal extraterrestrial microorganism. Released when Crichton was just 27, it was later adapted into a feature film and television miniseries, with Ridley Scott among the producers.
 
"It's exciting to be shining a spotlight on the world that Michael so brilliantly created and to collaborate with Daniel Wilson," Sherri Crichton said in a statement.

"This novel is for Crichton fans; it's a celebration of Michael's universe and a way to introduce him to new generations, and to those discovering his worlds for the first time."  
 
Michael Crichton, who died in 2008, is also known for such blockbusters as Jurassic Park and The Terminal Man. Wilson's novels include Robopocalypse and the sequel Robogenesis.
 
 "As a lifelong fan of Michael Crichton, it's been an unbelievable honor to revisit the iconic world that he created and to continue this adventure," Wilson said in a statement.
 
The Andromeda Evolution is not the first posthumous Crichton project. In 2011, The Hot Zone author Richard Preston completed a novel Crichton had been working on at the time of his death, Micro. Crichton's Pirate Latitudes came out in 2009, and Dragon Teeth in 2017.