Sphere is clearly related to Crichton's previous novels in style, plot structure, and handling of character. Stylistically, his works tend to be fairly straightforward and relatively simple, although cinematic in nature, that is, visual and full of action. The plot structure is similar throughout his fiction, and there are explicit parallels between Sphere and The Andromeda Strain. In both a scientific team is brought together by the military to deal with a life-threatening problem that may have originated in outer space. Furthermore, the patterns of bringing the characters together, the presentation of the problem, the approach to solving the problem, and the interactions of the characters within the context of the plot, are essentially the same. Style and plot come together in the semidocumentary devices of identifying locales, time settings, and major events through typographical techniques or division of the book into sections, titled chapters, and...