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Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The novel that redefined the science fiction genre, starring a team of scientists who must uncover what killed the citizens of a sleepy desert town—and stop the deadly contagion before it creates a catastrophe. "I love anything Michael Crichton writes."—Stephen King A military space probe, sent to collect extraterrestrial organisms from the upper atmosphere, is knocked out of orbit and falls to Earth. Twelve miles from the crash site, an inexplicable and deadly phenomenon terrorizes the residents of a sleepy desert town in Arizona, leaving only two survivors: an elderly addict and a newborn infant. The United States government is forced to mobilize Project Wildfire, a top-secret emergency response protocol. Four of the nation’s most elite biophysicists are summoned to a clandestine underground laboratory located five stories beneath the desert and fitted with an automated atomic self-destruction mechanism for cases of irremediable contamination. Under conditions of total news blackout and the utmost urgency, the scientists race to understand and contain the crisis. But the Andromeda Strain proves different from anything they’ve ever seen—and what they don’t know could not only hurt them, but lead to unprecedented worldwide catastrophe.
Tags
Is The Andromeda Strain appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
This classic hard science fiction thriller features mass death from an extraterrestrial pathogen and scenes of scientific autopsy/investigation with clinical descriptions of deceased bodies. The focus is on scientific problem-solving under extreme time pressure rather than graphic violence.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include death, mass death, and plague/epidemic (see the full list above).
Publisher ages reflect reading level; our rating reflects content maturity — they can differ.
Who'll love this
Teens who love puzzle-solving under pressure and realistic scientific detail will be gripped by this race against time to understand an alien microorganism.