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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
The first Crichton book that I read was Jurassic Park, which I thought was awesome. Wanting to get another taste of Crichton's writing I decided Congo would be a worthy second book.
Nope. It felt excessively preachy, over the top (not in a good way), and just plain silly (what's with the paddles?). I believe this was the last Crichton book that I ended up reading.
Nope. It felt excessively preachy, over the top (not in a good way), and just plain silly (what's with the paddles?). I believe this was the last Crichton book that I ended up reading.
I watched this movie as a kid and the opening scene scared the crap out of me; of course, the book opens with the same scene
Minerals and monkeys in Africa. Highly entertaining. Suspend your disbelief.
My least favorite Crichton so far. I just didn’t feel invested in the story and most of the book felt very slow.
adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book’s writing is very straight forward and stark. The characters are two dimensional and the plot is very weak.
I never found my footing with this book. It never fully committed to a genre: sci-fi, corporate espionage thriller or warning about the power of nature and also never felt comfortable as a combination of the three like Jurassic Park did. The ending was disappointing as well.
Did you guys know this was a true story? Fact. Even the Lost City of Zinj, and the crazy, super-aggressive, can--kill-you-with-their-bare-hands (and also some specifically-created-for-skull-crushing paddles) grey gorillas part is true. "That shit cray" is actually about the Congo.
Additional fact(s):
a) This is one of those rare instances where the movie really is much, much (MUCH) better than the book;
b) There is no Tim Curry (or Herkermer Homokla) in this book, which is a big bummer, to be certain;
c) None of the characters in this book are even remotely likable, save for Amy, who is, for those unaware, a gorilla who knows sign language and is smarter and more empathetic than anyone in her jungle traveling party;
d) I dig Crichton and his epic nerdery, but not even my life-long fascination with the Congo could save this book from me wishing it had an entirely alternate ending wherein Amy runs off with the herd of Silverbacks and leaves everyone else to die in an erupting volcano.
[Three stars for Amy. And because long before I read this book I watched Congo (a zillion times) and was quoting favorite lines* from the movie in my head the entire time I was reading.]
*"When the moon is like that, every monkey for 200 miles thinks he's Elvis Presley."
"Stop eating my sesame cake!"
"Please, Dr. Ross. What's your area of expertise? Folk-singing?"
[Okay, I could quote this entire movie back to you, so I'll stop now. But trust me, in this case: Skip the book; watch the movie.]
Additional fact(s):
a) This is one of those rare instances where the movie really is much, much (MUCH) better than the book;
b) There is no Tim Curry (or Herkermer Homokla) in this book, which is a big bummer, to be certain;
c) None of the characters in this book are even remotely likable, save for Amy, who is, for those unaware, a gorilla who knows sign language and is smarter and more empathetic than anyone in her jungle traveling party;
d) I dig Crichton and his epic nerdery, but not even my life-long fascination with the Congo could save this book from me wishing it had an entirely alternate ending wherein Amy runs off with the herd of Silverbacks and leaves everyone else to die in an erupting volcano.
[Three stars for Amy. And because long before I read this book I watched Congo (a zillion times) and was quoting favorite lines* from the movie in my head the entire time I was reading.]
*"When the moon is like that, every monkey for 200 miles thinks he's Elvis Presley."
"Stop eating my sesame cake!"
"Please, Dr. Ross. What's your area of expertise? Folk-singing?"
[Okay, I could quote this entire movie back to you, so I'll stop now. But trust me, in this case: Skip the book; watch the movie.]