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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this more second time round (it was about 20 years when I read it last) a page turner and overall a good read.
Did I miss something or did the book not fully explain why the gray gorillas killed Amy's mother? Seemed like a very shaky reason to get Amy worked into the plot so that she could help the team communicate with the gray killer gorillas.
I watched the movie right after reading this and while this book was good, the movie was awful (acting, changes to the plot, special effects).
ERTS is a cutting edge research/exploration firm, that gets a Blue Contract to locate blue, boron coated diamonds to be used for super computing and advanced weaponry. Using 24 year old math prodigy Dr Karen Ross' research, a team is sent into the Congo to discover a trove of the diamonds in the rumored Lost city of Zinj. The expedition is attacked suddenly, their skulls crushed, and Travis (head of ERTS) receives 3 seconds of video of what looks like a gray gorilla. He decides to quickly send in another team to continue the expedition and find out what happened.
29 year old and handsome Professor Peter Elliot has worked with the gorilla Amy for years, teaching her sign language. After an animal rights group propagates rumors of unethical treatment, and Amy suddenly having vivid nightmares of a jungle city, Elliot is looking for a quick escape. When Karen Ross calls him up to go to the Congo, he accepts.
On the way they hire a specialist, Munro to lead them.
I watched the movie right after reading this and while this book was good, the movie was awful (acting, changes to the plot, special effects).
ERTS is a cutting edge research/exploration firm, that gets a Blue Contract to locate blue, boron coated diamonds to be used for super computing and advanced weaponry. Using 24 year old math prodigy Dr Karen Ross' research, a team is sent into the Congo to discover a trove of the diamonds in the rumored Lost city of Zinj. The expedition is attacked suddenly, their skulls crushed, and Travis (head of ERTS) receives 3 seconds of video of what looks like a gray gorilla. He decides to quickly send in another team to continue the expedition and find out what happened.
29 year old and handsome Professor Peter Elliot has worked with the gorilla Amy for years, teaching her sign language. After an animal rights group propagates rumors of unethical treatment, and Amy suddenly having vivid nightmares of a jungle city, Elliot is looking for a quick escape. When Karen Ross calls him up to go to the Congo, he accepts.
On the way they hire a specialist, Munro to lead them.
There was not a moment in this book that i did not like. I will say that the beginning start off a little slow building up the plot and characters but once you got past the first "Day" in the book man things really started to fly and this was a paper turner. Crichton had some excellent characters with the most developed being Karen Ross and how her employment assessment of her mentality in the beginning of the book turned out to be perfectly true and on point at the end of the book. She slowly becomes what the computer thought she would become and Crichton executed that perfectly. There rest of the characters were good but did not have nearly as much of a development has Ross did. Amy, the gorilla, seemed to me more like a 7 or 8 year old child when she was just reaching the prime of her like in gorilla terms. Mainly the way she signed and acted reminded me of a child. But man was this book a great read. It was fun and there very seemed to be a dull moment. Can't wait to read more of Crichton.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At the beginning Michael Crichton's Congo, a research team looking for blue diamonds deep withing the Congo region has been mysteriously killed - the prime suspect: a possibly new species of gorilla. A new team, including a university professor and his research subject Amy, a gorilla who communicates using American sign language, is quickly dispatched to find answers (and diamonds). Unfortunately for them, they seem to be no match for the cunning and ruthless killing machines they discover.
I recently read and really enjoyed Jurassic Park. Having said that, Congo failed to entertain me in the same way. It's not that it wasn't a good story. The premise is incredibly clever, and the natural history of primates and language development are subjects that I find fascinating. The thing that bogged things down for me in Congo was really all of the technology crud. It was simply too over-the-top for me and didn't really add anything to the story.
It is obvious that Micheal Crichton was a talented and creative writer. Technology plays a big part in both of the books I've read by him, but in Congo the sheer magnitude of scientific data completely overwhelms what could have been a truly fascinating story. I can't say I'd recommend Congo, but if you're interested in trying Crichton on for size, try Jurassic Park. I'll be picking up The Lost World next week and I expect it to be wonderful.
I recently read and really enjoyed Jurassic Park. Having said that, Congo failed to entertain me in the same way. It's not that it wasn't a good story. The premise is incredibly clever, and the natural history of primates and language development are subjects that I find fascinating. The thing that bogged things down for me in Congo was really all of the technology crud. It was simply too over-the-top for me and didn't really add anything to the story.
It is obvious that Micheal Crichton was a talented and creative writer. Technology plays a big part in both of the books I've read by him, but in Congo the sheer magnitude of scientific data completely overwhelms what could have been a truly fascinating story. I can't say I'd recommend Congo, but if you're interested in trying Crichton on for size, try Jurassic Park. I'll be picking up The Lost World next week and I expect it to be wonderful.
Ok book. Read way too much like a nonfiction book and not enough character development...
Good book! Not the biggest fan of the ending but it was an interesting read.
It's normal fare for Crichton. Worth reading at least once, second reading the text becomes transparent.
Characters are straight forward with Amy providing an unusual twist. Michael Crichton is trustworthy, he reads his source material and to prove it he reprints it in his own novels. The computer bits seemed to extravagant. Either word salad that means nothing or just a string of hype words that screamed this is really cool and neat (yata-yata-yata) signifying nothing. Much like someone who boasts, all but the naïve roll their eyes. The punch line sentence of IIB Diamonds was used something like four times. Crichton, I think the reader gets it, Lara Croft, Jungle Man and the Dweeb are searching for diamonds, can we go back to jungle adventure?
And yes! The jungle adventure is good. Munro is fun to read. Indeed he steals the show. At all thee right moments Crichton drops snippets of info to educate about the jungle and it's inhabitants. One feels like Crichton is showing us a private museum of things he's passionate about.
Characters are straight forward with Amy providing an unusual twist. Michael Crichton is trustworthy, he reads his source material and to prove it he reprints it in his own novels. The computer bits seemed to extravagant. Either word salad that means nothing or just a string of hype words that screamed this is really cool and neat (yata-yata-yata) signifying nothing. Much like someone who boasts, all but the naïve roll their eyes. The punch line sentence of IIB Diamonds was used something like four times. Crichton, I think the reader gets it, Lara Croft, Jungle Man and the Dweeb are searching for diamonds, can we go back to jungle adventure?
And yes! The jungle adventure is good. Munro is fun to read. Indeed he steals the show. At all thee right moments Crichton drops snippets of info to educate about the jungle and it's inhabitants. One feels like Crichton is showing us a private museum of things he's passionate about.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There's something about Michael Crichton that hooks me every time. The characters and content feel so real, and the underlying issues raised stay with me after I've finished reading. In this book, the themes of technology outpacing humanity, animal intelligence and rights, and the cost of progress feel fresh and relevant, even forty years later. Plus, Amy is a star, and the most likeable character I've read in ages. Admittedly, some aspects haven't aged well (African tribal stereotypes around cannibalism, primitivism, etc.). Still, a thought provoking read that sticks with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Cannibalism, War