He was the rare entertainer who gave his readers something to explore.

Michael Crichton, who died this week at age 66, was best known for his novels – many of which seemed custom-engineered for the blockbuster movies they later became.

But what set Crichton apart was his devotion to the science that drove his imaginative, if implausible, plots – from the DNA-replication of “Jurassic Park” to the nanotechnology of “Prey.”

Indeed, Crichton, who was trained as a doctor, took particular interest in explaining scientific principles to his readers – even going so far as to include footnotes in some of his novels.

Generally, he tried to make a point, frequently exploring the hubris that accompanies technological advances – and focusing on innovations that escape their creators’ control.

He also famously took on global-warming hysteria in his 2004 novel “State of Fear” – an effort that won him no plaudits from the intellectual establishment.

Still, he did so with a scientist’s humility: His argument, he said, was not that global warming wasn’t happening – but that there’s far less certainty about its causes and consequences than conventional wisdom will allow.

A worthwhile point, indeed.

Rest in peace.