Michael Crichton, the renowned science-fiction novels from “The Andromeda Strain” to “Jurassic Park”, has died due to a long-running but private battle with cancer, Entertainment Tonight is reporting. He was 66.

Crichton, born in Chicago, is best known as the author of several books that have gone onto become famous films, most notably “Jurassic Park” and its sequel, “The Lost World”. He is also the author of “The Andromeda Strain”, “Rising Sun”, “The Great Train Robbery”, “Congo”, “Sphere”, “Eaters Of The Dead, and “Timeline” among others, all of which have been adapted for the big screen and TV. He was also the creator of the award-winning TV series “ER”, which has run for 15 seasons so far. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide.

Other than his fiction writing, Crichton was also a non-fiction writer dealing with scientific themes, including “Travels”, which was also an autobiographical travel memoir.

Crichton’s family confirmed that the author, whose books mostly dealt with advanced sciences and science fiction, had been battling cancer for a long time and had successfully been keeping his fight with the disease. They issued a statement, saying “[t]hrough his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand.”

We here at Toxic Shock extend our condolences to his family. Stay tuned for more news.

By Costa Koutsoutis, (Source: Entertainment Tonight)