I took interest in Michael Crichton's work since I read his autobiographical essays in his book "Travels". I like his writing style, usually short and direct. He can describe the most complex information in about one to two sentences. No pretensions at all. By the time I finished the book, the papers were running his obituary. He died on pancreatic cancer. It sounded so sudden, a high profile literary suddenly passes away. It was said that it was his request to keep his "ordeal" private. But after reading his autobiography, you get a sense on what kind of a person he is. He sounded like a very reserved person but once he opens up, he can be a very talkative one. Also, he is always on a quest for knowledge, for experience and for answers. Besides being cerebral, he is also creative. He wrote, produced and directed movies. 
Somehow, after reading his obituary on the newspaper, I have a hunch his estate will publish a posthumous book. Not one but two and still hinting that there will be more. New York Times ran an article that his assistant found a finished manuscript and another unfinished one from his computer files. His publisher will release the unpublished book in 2010. It is about an adventure story set in Jamaica.
Besides the autobiography, I just finished his first book written under Jeffrey Hudson. The book was written while in medical school. He used a pen name as a cover since he based most of his characters from people he worked with at the Boston hospital. It is so thinly veiled that students were sure that the author can be one of them. The ironic part of it was that the book became so popular that it won an award. He can't even pick it up, it would have blown his cover and worse, he can get expelled. I read the book and it is very good, it still sounded relevant since it was a medical thriller written in the 1960's. I'll bet his style has changed since then. So, 2 books down and more to go.
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