Michael Crichton was born in Chicago in 1942 and was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, where he trained as a doctor before becoming a full-time writer. His other novels include Congo and Jurassic Park and he is also the author of several works of non-fiction.

In the south Pacific, 1000 feet beneath the surface, a spaceship rests on the ocean floor - a spaceship at least 300 years old.

Rushed to the scene are four scientists: an astrophysicist, a biologist, a mathematician and a psychologist. Together they descend into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing find, to search for answers.

Has it come from an alien culture? From a different universe? From the future? What happened to the crew and what is the giant silver sphere of alien construction that they find inside the ship?

The riddle seems unsolvable. Then someone or something begins to transmit messages onto their computer screen: messages that grow increasingly hostile, hinting at the terrifying power that threatens to destroy their underwater habitat and their very lives...

SPHERE is Michael Crichton at the top of his form. An astounding combination of action, suspense and science that probes the darkest corners of the mind where man's deadliest enemy lurks.