Michael Crichton, author of the "Jurassic Park" books as well as many others such as "Congo," "Timeline," and "The Andromeda Strain," died of cancer at age 66, according to a press release from his family.

No real details yet, but this was another one of those "What? Who? Really? How old was he?" kind of deaths that catches you completely unaware. Our thoughts are with his family.