Дрога

by John Lange, Michael Crichton, Майкъл Крайтън

Доктор Роджър Кларк трябва да действа под прикритие и рискува всичко, за да разнищи случая с мистериозен суперпрепарат.
Един член на бандата „Ангели на Ада” изхвърча от мотоциклета си при скорост от 170 километра в час, и би трябвало да приключи в моргата. Но оцелява без драскотина и се оказва кротко заспал в болницата. Когато д-р Кларк го преглежда, открива една особеност – синя урина. И от други болници пристигат съобщения за подобни случаи. Изглежда, става въпрос за някакъв нов медикамент, от който хората изпадат в кома. И единствено Кларк е способен да разкрие тайната.

Той тръгва на най-странното пътуване в живота си до мястото, наречено Райски остров. То наистина прилича на рай, но усещането е сякаш е ад.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Science Fiction, Suspense

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

John Lange™ is a pseudonym of author Michael Crichton. His pen name was selected as reference to his above-average height of 6' 9"(2.06 meters). Lange means "tall one" in German, Danish and Dutch.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the Hardcase Crime re-prints of Michael Crichton's earlier works under the pen name John Lange, I'd only read BINARY - a tech-pulp that really didn't do it for me at the time. Luckily, DRUG OF CHOICE did. It's a quick read that sucks you in from the opening sequence and morphs into a paranoid alternate state of reality as the world viewed through protagonist Dr. Roger Clark's eyes clouds and then turns a semi transparent liquid red.

Despite it's linear narrative and single thread plot devise, there is actually a lot happening in this book - one rife for the inner conspiracy theorists as terror and thrills spill into the medicinal landscape through a wonder drug that replaces reality with trickery.

Crichton, while penning this pulp in the tech vein, doesn't bog it down with jargon or overtly technical and scientific terms, making it all the more consumable.

As a quick form of escapism that's a near one sitting read, DRUG OF CHOICE is the book of choice.

Review also appears on my blog: http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot...

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one started out pretty good. A doctor notices some bizarre side effects in a couple of his patients, determines there's some kind of new drug out there, and investigates. The trail leads to a shady corporation running a mysterious resort on a secret island. In the second half it seems to lose focus, however. Turns out none of that stuff is really the point of the mystery. Still, it was never boring, and I plan to continue with these Crichton/Lange books.

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more from "The Med School Years" as this early Michael Crichton book is promoted as. Crichton was an author who got better as he went (I thought The Andromeda Strain had a weak ending, and I didn't care much for The Terminal Man much at all). Still, two of his early works, A Case of Need and the non-fiction Five Patients were quite good. Instead, this is a popcorn thriller, not the techno-thriller that Crichton is famous for.

A doctor encounters two cases of comatose patients with the odd side effect of bright blue urine. As he investigates the cause, he gets pulled into the world of the book, where the line between reality and fantasy is blurred to the point where nothing may be as it seems.

Stick to Crichton's later works.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was enough here to keep my interest but not much to remember afterwards. Decent story. Poor character development. That's about it.

The fact that Michael Crichton wrote this under the pen name John Lange while attending medical school is impressive to say the least. There is also a surprising amount of medical and scientific accuracy here which I am assuming is not too typical of most pulp-fiction novels. However, neither of these are quite captivating enough to be considered real selling points.

Thank you Goodreads First Reads and Titan Books for a free copy of this book.

[AmbushPredator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite the page turned, this is Crichton before he became famous, writing under the pen name John Lange (coincidentally the real name of the author of the ‘Gor’ books, who wrote under the pen name ‘John Norman!). I finished it in a day, it’s an interesting premise, but being written in the 70s some of it seems really dated now.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay this book was exactly what I needed - so its getting this rating for that if nothing else (well I also enjoyed it). I was in a bit of a slump well for me at least and I had this book at the bottom of my bag (come on who else does not leave the house without something to read) so I decided to dig it out and give it a go.

Okay this is one of a number of titles in the Hard Case series by the pseudonym author used by Michael Crichton. They were written before he found fame and fortune - this one was written in 1970 - and as such is listed here as John Lange (his real name is plastered all over the book cover so strange its not mentioned here).

The book is a fun fast and intriguing book - it certainly caught my attention from the first chapter and really kept up the speed. True it was a little shallow on the story - there was a lot going on in the 200 plus pages - possibly too much which meant that although the pace was frenetic the detail was sometimes a little hasty.

However like I say it is what I needed at the time and you can certainly see the fledgling giant of an author in there. This series of reprints of his early works - some of which I do not believe have seen print for a while is a great way of not only reading some fun pulp action but also seeing an author polish his skills - after all Jurassic Park is one of my all time favourites second only to the Andromeda Strain.

[Peter Bosson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing up I was a huge fan of Michael Crichton so learning that several books he wrote early in his career (under a pseudonym) were being re-released made me very excited. Before starting this book I mentally prepared myself for the fact that it was written while he was still a student so it may not be Crichton's best work. I was very pleased to find that it was actually quite good, I would've given it 3 1/2 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars. The book is classic Crichton, fast paced with lots of technical jargon and big ideas. Some of the science is pretty standard stuff today but back in the late sixties when it was written this would be revolutionary. It reads like a pulp spy novel but with a doctor as its hero. My only real complaint is that the book feels rushed, especially in the end. Like I said before the book has a lot of great ideas, it just could've used a few hundred (at least) more pages to explore them. I look forward to reading the rest of these re-released books and seeing his progression as an author.

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads first reads.This was a strange story. Very interesting and kept me reading throughout the night.It was an earlier book in Michael Crichton's career.It was eerie to read some of the things that happen now,in this book.That was amazing and what a sense of future that the author had.If you are a fan of his and never read this I suggest it highly.If you have not read any of his work, then I would certainly recommend this book as good read.Enjoy!!

[Cara Hinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really miss Michael Crighton. He is one of my favorite authors and Sphere and Andromeda Strain are some of my favorite books. So learning he wrote under a pseudonym made me very happy. Written in the late 60s and early 70s, these books got him through college (there was a nice bit of history at the end of the book). Although not current, they are still entertaining and enjoyable, especially if you love his work!

[TKZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some conversation was long winded to the point that they became annoying. The plot could have become so much more interesting. The characters were bland and the ending was abrupt.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science runs amok…! Michael Crichton, writing early in his career as John Lange, before dedicating himself to fiction, before coming up with his famous outlandish plots, when he wrote standard thrillers, comes Drug of Choice, which is just like so much other fiction of later years and decades, including the ultimate experience in the TV show Fringe, but also the paranoid realities of The Matrix, the mad resorts of Old…So you see, this is familiar material all around, but Crichton as he was so dependably once more proves a master of the form.

…Just don’t worry too much if you suspect the fiction of fifty years ago turned into the reality of today…Or was all along…!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for the "Book with an Ugly Cover" prompt of the Popsugar Reading Challenge, as well as my quest to read/re-read every Michael Crichton book by the end of 2020.

I know a lot of people rag on these "Med School Years" books by Crichton, but I really enjoyed this! I felt like there were enough twists and turns to keep my interest, and it was an extremely quick read. In the ebook of this there were a few editing mistakes/typos, but nothing too egregious. I was dreading reading this because many of the reviews were so negative, but now I can't wait to crack into the rest of them.

Crichton Books Read: 1/28

[Natelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young doctor finds himself pulled into a interesting offshoot of the drug world when he consults on cases with an unusual symptom, blue urine. As he tries to discover the cause, he finds much more. A beautiful actress invites him to an exclusive resort. A prosperous company offers him a high level position. But can he trust any of this? Can he trust himself?

Lange skillfully weaves together the threads of this story. At first you are as bewildered as the main character. Then you find answers to some questions and more questions to replace them. A quick read, this novel leaves one wishing for a few more chapters.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm no fan of Jurassic Park or The Lost World, though did like The Andromeda Strain. Anway, I must admit I only bought this as it a was a couple of quid in a local charity shop and I always snap up paperback Hard Case Crime novels, even if I have my reservations about the author's / book's potential. This is great value, in both senses. The medical jargon is pure gobbledygook, but the story arc keeps things moving nicely while the protagonist is likeable and relatable. It's only 200 pages long, with lots of chapter breaks, so could easily be read in one sitting. Enjoy !

[Gerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, couldn't put it down. Fast moving, interesting, feasible. Hard to believe it was written in 1970 as seems contemporary and relevant to life in current times, not 50 years ago.

The story revolves around a doctor who encounters two unusual (similar) cases in a short space of time and gets drawn in to a sinister world of corporate scientific drug experiments. But if that sounds a dull and stereotypical type of story, it isn't. This is a great book, great pace, great story - very inventive, cracking tempo. Can't wait to read more of his books.

[Mikey P. Jr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this story even though it was before Michael Crichton made a name for himself. The first half was pretty damn entertaining but the second half was struggling to keep me entertained. Regardless I’m still going to dig up every single thing this man wrote including more John Lange stuff.

Love the old school cover though.

[Conor Tannam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read from the creator of Jurassic Park. However, some of the descriptions of the women in the book were, to be kind, less than ideal. It definitely reflected a more misogynistic society. Another reminder to smash the patriarchy.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

now, that's one scary concept

got lucky and found this floating around;
still far from completing crichton's work, though

[Kyriakos Sorokkou]

«I began writing as a medical student, and felt that I would continue as a doctor and ought to protect my patients from the fear that they might pop up in the pages of a thriller. The best protection would not be to disguise them, but to disguise me. Once I decided not to practice medicine, I dropped the pseudonyms expect for convenience. I wrote too much, so I decided to publish some books under false names, and in that way, could publish more books.»

And that's how Michael Crichton began his writing career. One of my favourite and most read authors. The creator of Jurassic Park, Westworld and ER, among many others.

From the summer of 2011 until November 2018, I read 19 of the 32 books he published. November 2018 was the 10th anniversary of his death. That's when I decided to do a project dedicated to Crichton. One book per month for the next 32 months.


The thrillers he wrote as a medical student between 1966 and 1972 under the pseudonym John Lange were eight, and with the exception of the last one he wrote in 1972 (the year he decided to publish under his own name something that lasted until his death,) were a large part of his bibliography that I had not read. So I ordered them all in one go.

Every time I need to review one of these I'll repeat this general introduction about his early writings rather than extensive reviews on each individual book.

Because beyond the interest of reading early works of your favourite author, reading what he wrote and seeing his writing slowly evolving, they are not masterpieces and you cannot dedicate more than five lines for their sake. It's like Schwarzenegger movies. You are having a good time and that's it. And I also didn't want to confuse you every second day with a new book by Crichton.

They were written quickly and, as he said, he wrote them to gain money to pay for utilities and groceries while he was a student.

They are not masterpieces as I mentioned above, but their writing was something like writing exercises, a writing with which in the medical thriller A Case of Need (that he wrote in 1968 under another pseudonym (Jeffery Hudson)) gained the Edgar Award in 1969.

A year in which he published for the first time under his own name one of his best novels, the science fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain, which was made into a film in 1971.
In 1970 he and his brother Douglas Crichton co-wrote another hippie thriller under a common pseudonym Michael Douglas (Dealing, or The Berkeley-To-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues). This would be his third and final nickname.
In 1972, with The Terminal Man under his own name, he realised that his career was now a writer, not a doctor, so he put the pseudonym in the bottom drawer.

The eight books he wrote as John Lange remained out of stock since the late 1970s until the publishing house Hard Case Crime began publishing out of stock and hard-to-find books in the noir, thriller, detective, and generally pulp fiction categories.

Among them are books published for the first time such as Joyland and The Colorado Kid by Stephen King.

While Crichton was still alive, two of his books, Grave Descend and Zero Cool, were edited by him.
In November 2008, unfortunately, Crichton passed away, so in 2013 the remaining 6 books were released.

Because I don't want to tire you out anymore and give you acute Crichtoniasis, I'll talk briefly about this one.

Drug of Choice 1970: read June 2019
On a secret island in the Caribbean there is the perfect luxury resort. Dr. Roger Clark, who want to learn more, discovers that behind the luxury and entertainment lies a shadowy company that produces experimental drugs. Influences from H. G. Wells (The Island of Dr. Moreau)

More in Greek at βιβλιοαλχημείες

[Sabrina Frang · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars (but not interesting or memorable enough to round up to 4)

In celebration of Westworld, one of my favorite sci-fi movies, turning 50 yesterday, I wanted to read something by the writer/director of Westworld. Michael Crichton. This is the first time that I have read anything by Crichton, so I wanted to start with one of the quick thrillers he wrote while he was still a student in medical school, writing under the pen name John Lange, "the Tall One".

There were several John Lange books that sounded interesting, but obviously Drug of Choice is the one I chose. Though this book was far from perfect, and I am not likely to ever revisit it in the future, I am still glad I listened to this novel. It was, overall, entertaining.

It begins with an interesting premise. A member of the Hell's Angels arrives at a hospital seemingly in a coma after a motorcycle accident. There is little damage to his body, and he seems to be sleeping peacefully. He is also peeing blue urine. The hospital runs tests but can't figure out what is going on. The next morning, the Angel just wakes up feeling groovy and peeing yellow urine again.

A medical resident Dr, Roger Clark winds up seeing two instances of this type of case, one the Angel, and another involving a famous actress, and he begins to try and figure out what is going on. His curiosity gets him roped into a conspiracy involving "the vacation resort of the future", commercial science, and mind control. The villainous corporation is something out of a James Bond novel, going to sometimes silly links to achieve their goals, but "John Lange" tapped into the more sophisticated and grounded conspiracies readers would see in some of Crichton's later works. I know this is spoiler-y, but let's just say that this pulpy novel was predicting the importance of "the algorithm" all the way back in 1969.

The beginning of this novel hooked me in, and my interest piqued when we got to the resort. Then, with the big reveal, my interest dropped a little bit, then increased again at the last 15% of the novel. When you think you have had all of the twists revealed to you, Lange hits you with another doozy.

I will definitely be reading something else by Lange and maybe even Crichton in future.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a typical Michael Crichton novel, even under his pseudonym. The beginning shows the potential for an intriguing story but as it moves along it falls into a rut of implausibility. It almost seems that our writer had a brain fog and wanted to complete the book so off he went and sped through the story to a predictable close. The fillers in the book are beautiful women, sex and a seemingly endless array of events that our " hero " has to overcome. Considering he is just a " normal ' doctor you think that he has the guile and fortitude to do so. Highest expectations but low delivery gives it a 3, at best. Not a long book as well. Read it at the beach to while away some time.

[Kathie · Rating 1 out of 5]

If there were a ZERO stars, this book would fit the bill. Published under Michael Chrichton’s pen name John Lange in 1970 it is just a waste of time. Plot all over the place, terribly green writing, ridiculous characters. Nice to know over time Chrichton developed into a decent writer: Jurassic Park, Westworld, Congo etc.

[Ariel Demo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author wrote about women in a very unique way (not a compliment)

Doctors notice some weird bullshit, everyone’s going to this island and it’s glorious, turns out it’s not glorious at all and it’s corrupt as fuck. The details are what make it fun, but the interactions seem just a bit over the top to make it not seem real.

The idea of this book was actually pretty awesome, but it really felt like it was missing something. It seemed like it should have been more evil or scary, but the tone seems just a little flat with an undertone of maniacal.

[Klare · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half really grabbed me, then the second half wasn’t as good.

[Richie Hardinge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, five stars is not saying that I read something as good as War and Peace. But Michael Crichton is surprisingly good at a very early time in his career. He is so good at weaving complex concepts together and not losing the reader in the process.
The Lange books hold their own and age well in spite of the pay phones and other references of the mid twentieth century. Book was just a fun read and sometimes that is plenty enough.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really disliked the female characters. Only made it halfway through. I listened to the audio book, so possibly it was the narrator. I found the story boring.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written during a highly prolific time in Michael Crichton’s career, and to support his medical studies, Drug of Choice is one of the eight novels that he wrote under the pseudonym of John Lange between 1966 and 1972.
Drug of Choice is not the deepest of novels, nor is it the longest or the most complicated, but what it does, it does well, although the build-up is let down by a slightly rushed denouement and too many gaping plot holes if it was to be studied academically.
Dr Roger Clarke is presented with two new patients. One a Hell’s Angel biker, the other an up and coming actress. They have little in common except for their symptoms, they are both comatose, and their urine is blue.
However, as he digs deeper, he comes into Advance Biosystems orbit and a lucrative job offer. He has tickets booked for a holiday in Mexico, but when his travel agent tells him about the newly opened Eden Island, his curiosity is piqued.
The island is in the middle of nowhere and is in the early stages of development, but as Clarke soon discovers, it offers the deepest desires of its guests through both drugs and suggestions from the staff. When his drugs wear off, Clarke discovers that Eden Island is actually just a rain-soaked place in the middle of the sea, the guests are all under the influence of the drugs, and there is no escape for him.
When the sound of a tuning fork controls things, Clarke discovers the science behind the drugs, and he also finds that while it can be used to benefit patients, the reverse is also true, as a painful episode shows later.
As things escalate, Clarke finds that he can no longer trust his friends, fellow medical practitioners, and his claims about a fantasy island will not be believed by the police. As the book ends, we find Clarke blowing up the buildings of Advance Biosystems.
Although Drug of Choice does not measure up to Crichton later works, such as Jurrasic Park, films like Twister, or televisual behemoth ER, it is a good experiment, blending elements of 1970’s Paranoid thriller, love story, crime thriller and medical drama.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Lange was one of the early pen names of Michael Crichton, best known for The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park. While enrolled at Harvard Medical School, Crichton began publishing a number of novels. This is one of a number of Crichton's early novels that have recently been re-released by Hard Case Crime. The others are Scratch One, Zero Cool, Easy Go, The Venom Business, Odds On, Grave Descend, and Dealing. I have read a number of these already and, while not perfect, they are fun, light, fast reading that I have found worthwhile. I haven't read any of Crichton's more famous works, but I will note that these early novels compare favorably to many of the bookstand pulp/adventure/crime novels that could be found in the late sixties and early seventies and these books should be read in that context.

While a light easy read, Drug of Choice is not on par with the other early Lange books. It's easy to see the genisis of many of Crichton's later ideas, but this book is a lot more amateurish. There are three basic parts to the book. In the first part, The doctor encounters two patients, one a Hell's Angel biker and one a movie star, both of whom appear to be in deep comas with no apparent cause and both piss blue urine. The movie star finds the doctor interesting and they start dating or at least spending the night together. In the second part, the doctor and the movie star vacation together on a secret island whose exact location no one knows and where your every vacation fantasy comes true. It's the best resort in history. In the third part, the doctor happily conducts experiments for an amazing corporation.

There are themes here of drug addiction, scientific experimentation, mind control, secret corporations, consumerism, and psychosis. There are certainly the seeds here of Crichton's later work but the whole story loosely hangs together.

[Craig Childs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Crichton supported himself in med school by writing paperback originals under the pen name John Lange. Drug of Choice centers on Roger Clark, a Los Angeles doctor who stumbles onto a dangerous new recreational drug that puts its users into a coma. His investigation soon leads him to a shadowy corporation intent on controlling mankind through science.

This was meant to be a quick read, shallow but enjoyable. Lots of action, pretty girls, some plot twists thrown in for good measure—just don’t think too hard because there are also a lot of gaping plot holes.

Drug of Choice is perhaps a cut above the other John Lange books I’ve read. There are shades of Crichton’s eventual hit TV show ER, as the main character is a hospital resident trying to solve a medical mystery. The story is also effective as satire of Hollywood’s designer drug culture and America’s obsession with pop science.

It’s not really fair to dismiss this (and other Lange novels) as simply Crichton’s amateur apprenticeship, as other reviewers have done. Even at this age, Crichton was clearly capable of better stories. After all, by the time this novel came out, A Case of Need had already won an Edgar award under a different pseudonym, and Andromeda Strain had become a bestseller under the author’s own name. These Lange books were actually well-crafted to be precisely what they are: mindless, campy, escapist entertainment. Crichton said in an interview the Lange books were written to be sold at airports and to compete with in-flight movies for the reader’s attention for a couple of hours. By this criterion I would have to say Drug of Choice succeeds very well.

[Oli Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s become a Christmas tradition of mine to get a Michael Crichton novel on Christmas Day. It started in 1999 with timeline, and continued for a number of years with state of fear, pirate latitudes and micro. Then for the last few years I have been working through his older works in chronological order, particularly with the help of hard case crime Odds on, scratch one etc (with a little break for dragon teeth in 2017). This year it’s drug of choice which is really fantastic for such a short novel. An intriguing mystery with a great premise that lays the foundations for many of the ideas that michael crichton would continue to explore with his later work. It starts like an episode of ER (which is fitting as this book seems to fall in the period of his medical school years) then steps into areas that would be developed later in Jurassic Park (island resort) and westworld (psychological manipulation of guests) while including elements that make me think of the matrix (nature of reality) as well as some commentary on the pharmaceutical industry which seems quite prescient in December 2021 considering it was published 50 years before in 1970. Crichton was always ahead of his time.