In writing The Andromeda Strain, Crichton was influenced by four very different sources. First of all, his purpose was to emulate Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson by telling a "good story." Second, his favorite authors are Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so he was well grounded in mystery writing before he ever began writing himself. An important element was added to this background when he read and was greatly impressed by The Ipcress File (1962; see separate entry), Len Deighton's novel about a British secret agent. Crichton is also a great fan of the movies of Alfred Hitchcock, and it is easy to see that the roots of his plotting and characterization developed out of these elements, particularly when combined with the atmosphere and science-fiction themes of H. G. Wells's classic The War of the Worlds (1898; see separate entry), the fourth major influence...