Point of View

As is fitting for a story based on pseudo-scientific events and actual scientific theories, the point of view is third-person omniscient, and the narrative is often told through the perspective of an impersonal historical narrator. By presenting much of the underlying scientific background through this impersonal historical narrator, the author accomplishes two things. First, he educates the reader on the history and current state of scientific theory as it pertains to the plotline, and second, he provides a sense of credibility. The presence of a historical narrator implies to the reader that the outcome of the story is already known and has already been evaluated by learned members of society. This sense of credibility allows Crichton to use his fiction as a platform for espousing his personal viewpoints about the ethics of modern-day scientists.

However, the narration does not often focus on the impersonal historical narrator...