Critic Michael Crowley gave such a poor review of author Michael Crichton's novel 'State of Fear' that, in his next book 'Next,' Crichton created a character named 'Mick Crowley' who was a child molester with a small penis.
Michael Crichton's Petty Revenge on a Critic
In 2004, journalist Michael Crowley wrote a scathing review of Michael Crichton's climate-skeptic thriller State of Fear for The New Republic. He called it "ham-handed" and criticized Crichton's dismissal of global warming science. Most authors would have moved on. Crichton was not most authors.
The Most Petty Passage in Literary History
Two years later, Crichton published Next, a biotechnology thriller. Buried in its pages was a character named "Mick Crowley"—a Yale graduate and Washington, D.C. journalist. Sound familiar? This fictional Crowley was also a child molester with, as Crichton explicitly described, a very small penis.
The real Crowley? A Yale graduate and Washington, D.C. journalist.
The similarities were impossible to miss. Crichton had weaponized his bestseller status to exact revenge in the most bizarre way imaginable.
Why Crowley Couldn't Sue
Despite the obvious defamation, Crowley had virtually no legal recourse. The character's penis size—described as just two inches—was the key detail that protected Crichton. Under defamation law, a statement must be plausibly believed to be true to be actionable. No reasonable person could verify such an intimate detail, making the passage legally classified as "too outlandish to be taken seriously."
Crowley himself wrote about the incident in The New York Times, calling it a "thoughtful, considered literary allocation of thoughtful, considered response." His sarcasm was palpable.
A Pattern of Thin Skin
This wasn't entirely out of character for Crichton. The author was known for being sensitive to criticism of his work, particularly State of Fear, which he defended vigorously against scientific critiques. He even testified before Congress about climate change, doubling down on the novel's skeptical stance.
But the Crowley incident revealed something more: Crichton was willing to use his platform—and his millions of readers—as a weapon against individual critics.
The Literary World Reacts
The incident sparked debate about authors behaving badly:
- Some saw it as a hilarious, if petty, use of creative license
- Others viewed it as an abuse of power by a famous author against a working journalist
- Legal scholars used it as a case study in defamation law's limitations
Crichton never publicly acknowledged the connection, though its intentionality was obvious to anyone who compared the details. He died in 2008, leaving the Crowley character as one of his final published acts of authorial spite.
The lesson? If you're going to criticize a bestselling author, maybe check if they have a book coming out soon. And hope they're more forgiving than Michael Crichton.