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johnbreeden's review against another edition
4.0
This was an exciting novel that continuously grew in energy and excitement. There was a lot going on fast. It was definitely an enjoyable read.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I read The Lost World in my younger days, or if I did I don't remember, but I certainly saw at least one film version as a kid, not that I can actually remember that now! I've always been fascinated by dinosaurs and would look at anything connected to them, something that I still do today. When I first became aware of this trilogy I knew I just had to pick it up and read it, especially with such great covers. I liked the idea that Ben was following in the footsteps of his long dead relative and that it was this man's expedition that inspired a classic novel. It sounded like a nice plot twist to get things started instead of just a retelling of the original story. Ben and his friends do use the journal to pinpoint their location and it leads them to the plateau.
I'm always fascinated by the idea of a Lost World than can only be accessed at a certain time. Here in the jungles of Venezuela, every ten years the brief visit of a comet overhead signals a short window of time where an empty plateau above the jungle is turned into a dangerous Lost World of dinosaurs that can be explored. The location is hidden at the end of a secret river that the locals avoid but Ben's group and a rival group will not be stopped by tales of terror when they want to see this alleged plateau for themselves. However as fascinating as I find the idea of going looking for this dinosaur world, the reality of the danger and big hairy jungle spiders would stop me going anywhere near it.
Ben's team come up with the idea of the expedition after a few drinks and Ben's tale of what he found in the attic. They first have to go in search of the journal mentioned in the papers, unaware that an internet search of things mentioned has triggered the interest of another man who has been searching for the lost world for years and will stop at nothing to get there. Now there are two groups who want to find the plateau and their paths will cross in the jungle-one a group of friends with no exploration experience and the other a group of mercaneries led by a ruthless man out to make money from his discovery. The clash of the groups turned out a little different from what I expected, but it added more potential dinosaur meals to the equation!
The characters are a decent enough group, along with a couple of characters where you look forward to them becoming dinosaur chew toys. The book takes a bit of time to set the scene for the expedition and allows the reader to get to know the characters during the search for the journal and the jungle trek itself. The real action begins when they find the actual plateau and after that it is full of dinosaurs, danger and death, which is what I was looking for. There are lots of scary dinosaurs to enjoy and also a gigantic titanoboa which was a great addition to the story that I wasn't expecting to see. Our group enjoy several days of terror trying to stay alive and then looking for a way to get off the plateau before the comet vanishes and leaves them standed there for another ten years.
My main issue with the book is that it took 124 pages out of 231 pages to actually reach the plateau. I think the jungle trip could have been shortened as nothing of any note was happening or they could have spiced it up a bit with a spider attack or something similar. The first half of the book was certainly slower, though I wouldn't say it was boring. I just wanted to get to the good stuff a bit quicker. Once we get to the dinosaurs, the plot certainly livens up and we get the danger and death that we were expecting. I also felt that the poor attempt at a love triangle, which fizzles into nothing before it even starts, was pretty much a waste of time, and the sex scene appeared to have been put in for the sake of it. It really didn't fit well into the story for me and could just have been missed out.
Overall it was still a very enjoyable dinosaur book with enough action and gore to keep the interest of the creature feature fan. Fans of the original work might find it interesting to look at as well though I have no idea if it sticks close to the original story or is totally different. I have already read and am about to review book 2 in the series, and have purchased the third book which I have not yet read.
I'm always fascinated by the idea of a Lost World than can only be accessed at a certain time. Here in the jungles of Venezuela, every ten years the brief visit of a comet overhead signals a short window of time where an empty plateau above the jungle is turned into a dangerous Lost World of dinosaurs that can be explored. The location is hidden at the end of a secret river that the locals avoid but Ben's group and a rival group will not be stopped by tales of terror when they want to see this alleged plateau for themselves. However as fascinating as I find the idea of going looking for this dinosaur world, the reality of the danger and big hairy jungle spiders would stop me going anywhere near it.
Ben's team come up with the idea of the expedition after a few drinks and Ben's tale of what he found in the attic. They first have to go in search of the journal mentioned in the papers, unaware that an internet search of things mentioned has triggered the interest of another man who has been searching for the lost world for years and will stop at nothing to get there. Now there are two groups who want to find the plateau and their paths will cross in the jungle-one a group of friends with no exploration experience and the other a group of mercaneries led by a ruthless man out to make money from his discovery. The clash of the groups turned out a little different from what I expected, but it added more potential dinosaur meals to the equation!
The characters are a decent enough group, along with a couple of characters where you look forward to them becoming dinosaur chew toys. The book takes a bit of time to set the scene for the expedition and allows the reader to get to know the characters during the search for the journal and the jungle trek itself. The real action begins when they find the actual plateau and after that it is full of dinosaurs, danger and death, which is what I was looking for. There are lots of scary dinosaurs to enjoy and also a gigantic titanoboa which was a great addition to the story that I wasn't expecting to see. Our group enjoy several days of terror trying to stay alive and then looking for a way to get off the plateau before the comet vanishes and leaves them standed there for another ten years.
My main issue with the book is that it took 124 pages out of 231 pages to actually reach the plateau. I think the jungle trip could have been shortened as nothing of any note was happening or they could have spiced it up a bit with a spider attack or something similar. The first half of the book was certainly slower, though I wouldn't say it was boring. I just wanted to get to the good stuff a bit quicker. Once we get to the dinosaurs, the plot certainly livens up and we get the danger and death that we were expecting. I also felt that the poor attempt at a love triangle, which fizzles into nothing before it even starts, was pretty much a waste of time, and the sex scene appeared to have been put in for the sake of it. It really didn't fit well into the story for me and could just have been missed out.
Overall it was still a very enjoyable dinosaur book with enough action and gore to keep the interest of the creature feature fan. Fans of the original work might find it interesting to look at as well though I have no idea if it sticks close to the original story or is totally different. I have already read and am about to review book 2 in the series, and have purchased the third book which I have not yet read.
korohval's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic! It had everything I could ask for and more!
renila's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
2.5
thelauramay's review
2.0
Really mixed feelings about this one. If it were written by a high schooler, I'd say they were brilliant; by somebody doing their undergrad degree, that it was good; but it's hard to believe that this could be written by a full adult. The research is POOR (so embarrassing to not even check the Spanish is correct before publishing), high-graded words are used incorrectly a few times, the characters are worn-out tropes, and everybody is so stupid that you want to bash their heads together. Eg the protag goes on and on about the others not knowing what they're in for, then thinks how he didn't tell them what they were in for because he didn't want to scare them. Aaaaagh!!
bluemoon_dani's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This was such an interesting premise, and I really loved the execution of the actual plateau top being a home of ancient creatures. The beginning of the book was quite slow paced, and I had not anticipated it would take so long for the characters to actually get to the main location of the story. Once there it wad fast paced and action filled. Bursting at the seams with references to ancient species of dinosaurs, insects, and other creatures. The stakes felt high and I was constantly on the edge of my seat once the action started.
However the way the author writes women really dampened my enjoyment of the story. They felt quite one dimensional, unnecessarily sexualised, and "not like other girls". Andrea in particular would not pass the sexy lamp test. This is unfortunately a pattern I have noticed in Greig Beck's work. Many of the women are only ever there to act as love interests, and may have traditionally masculine skill or profession(in this instance for Emma it was rock climbing) slapped on to hide their lack of a personality.
However the way the author writes women really dampened my enjoyment of the story. They felt quite one dimensional, unnecessarily sexualised, and "not like other girls". Andrea in particular would not pass the sexy lamp test. This is unfortunately a pattern I have noticed in Greig Beck's work. Many of the women are only ever there to act as love interests, and may have traditionally masculine skill or profession(in this instance for Emma it was rock climbing) slapped on to hide their lack of a personality.
maryleong's review
3.0
This was a fast-paced, goofy action-adventure romp through a time-shifting prehistoric world where dinosaurs and other creatures have managed to survive for millions of years.
Look, this is by no means a "good" book. The characters are flat and one-dimensional, almost like caricatures (the hero, the rich one, the dumb blonde, the love interest, the comically evil villains, etc.) But was it enjoyable? Hell yeah! This was a ton of fun and tickled the same childhood nostalgia that I have for Jurassic Park and its ilk. Will I read the sequel? Probably!
Look, this is by no means a "good" book. The characters are flat and one-dimensional, almost like caricatures (the hero, the rich one, the dumb blonde, the love interest, the comically evil villains, etc.) But was it enjoyable? Hell yeah! This was a ton of fun and tickled the same childhood nostalgia that I have for Jurassic Park and its ilk. Will I read the sequel? Probably!
shksprsis's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ferrisscottr's review against another edition
3.0
What if The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was based on a real story and not just Doyle's imagination? What if he had notes, letters, conversations with someone who actually went to the Lost World? What if the person who went to the Lost World had a great great grandson who discovered the notes, the maps and the correspondence? Would it be possible to recreate his ancestors tracks and go back to the Lost World?
That's the setup.
I had never read Beck before and found his a decent writer. The book felt a bit rushed (this easily could have been a 500 page book instead of a 250 page book) and a bit predictable and I'm not sure I will continue with the series (there are three books in the series) but I did enjoy the book as I was reading it.
Not to spoil anything but...of course they go to the Lost World and there are monsters and dinosaurs and action and death and betrayal etc. etc. etc. Pretty much everything you knew you would get when you picked the book up.
Good entertainment and sometimes that's all I want.
That's the setup.
I had never read Beck before and found his a decent writer. The book felt a bit rushed (this easily could have been a 500 page book instead of a 250 page book) and a bit predictable and I'm not sure I will continue with the series (there are three books in the series) but I did enjoy the book as I was reading it.
Not to spoil anything but...of course they go to the Lost World and there are monsters and dinosaurs and action and death and betrayal etc. etc. etc. Pretty much everything you knew you would get when you picked the book up.
Good entertainment and sometimes that's all I want.