Saturday, July 30, 2016

Michael Crichton Manuscript to be Published in 2017


An unpublished book by Michael Crichton is scheduled to be published by Harper Collins in May 2017. Crichton's widow, Sherri Crichton, discovered the manuscript Dragon Teeth while going through his archives.

From the press release:

Michael Crichton’s DRAGON TEETH follows the notorious rivalry between real-life paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh during a time of intense fossil speculation and discovery in the American West in 1878. The story unfolds through the adventures of a young fictional character named William Johnson who is apprenticed first to one, then to the other and not only makes discoveries of historic proportion, but transforms into an inspiring hero only Crichton could have imagined. Known for his meticulous research, Crichton uses Marsh and Copes’ heated competition during the ‘Bone Wars,’ the golden age of American fossil hunting, as the basis for a thrilling story set in the wilds of the American West.

Sherri Crichton has been working to honor her late husband by creating the Michael Crichton Archives through her company CrichtonSun. “When I came across the DRAGON TEETH manuscript in the files, I was immediately captivated. It has Michael’s voice, his love of history, research and science all dynamically woven into an epic tale.” She traced its genesis back to correspondence between Crichton and Professor Edwin H. Colbert, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History. “DRAGON TEETH was clearly a very important book for Michael. I’m so pleased to continue the long relationship that he shared with HarperCollins with its publication.”

I've seen mentions of unpublished projects in Michael Crichton's interviews, but I don't remember anything about this one. Time to go through my own Michael Crichton archives. When Pirates Latitudes was published, I discovered that Crichton had mentioned it in an interview.


The Origin of Pirate Latitudes

Origins of Pirate Latitudes - Part 2

There's something else to look forward to. National Geographic is planning a mini-series based on Dragon Teeth.


From The Hollywood Reporter:

“Given Michael’s history with Amblin, and his love of science, I am delighted to have found the perfect home for Dragon Teeth at Nat Geo,” said Sherri Crichton. “Dragon Teeth was a very important book for Michael and is another example of his immense talent and versatility as a writer and his appreciation and understanding of a great page in the history of paleontology.”

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