?Crichton keeps us guessing at every turn in his best work since The Andromeda Strain.?? Los Angeles Times In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old. But even more fantastic?and frightening?is what waits inside . . . ?A page-turner with oomph. . . . Crichton's writing is cinematic, with powerful visual images and nonstop action.?? Newsweek ? Sphere may be Crichton's best novel, but even if it ranked only second or third, it would be a