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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

242 reviews

adventurous informative reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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adventurous informative tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A classic of horror, survival, and teeth.

A cautionary tale about the dangers of genetic engineering: Jurassic Park thrills and terrifies its characters and readers alike when dinosaurs are genetically cloned and recreated in the modern world and those in charge of the park overestimate their ability to control them.

I loved the movie and finally decided to pick up the book, which I enjoyed just as much. It was a fun time picking out which parts of the novel were used in the movies! I also really enjoyed the more in-depth science talk in the book that we missed out on in the movie. It was still digestible for the average reader and fun to think about. The encounters with the dinosaurs felt harrowing and easily my favorite scenes to read.

The book is plot-driven first and foremost. It’s slow in the beginning with frequent jumps from character to character as events take place, putting the reader at the forefront of the action wherever it is. The characters were introduced fairly quickly with brief glimpses into their lives before going to the park. However, the characters do come off as somewhat one-dimensional with no big changes in who they are by the time the story is over. The likable characters were still very likable by the end, and when the unlikeable characters didn’t make it, I wasn’t too heartbroken over their deaths.

I’ll also say that the book is of its time, and I was cringing at some descriptions and actions of the characters as I read, but it didn’t ruin the overall experience of the book.


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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Velociraptors are fucking terrifying.

Edit (20/04/2025): I’m adding a rating of 5/5 to reflect my long term feelings on this novel.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No

First time reading this since I was like 14, and it was a totally enjoyable ride. I took it on a camping trip and couldn't put it down. As an adult I enjoyed the philosophical and ethical discussions, more than the first time I'm sure. 

Although some things aged hilariously to me. Like Malcom saying things like, if you made a billion dollars, you'd know you'd have to pay taxes on it. Or, if your pharmaceutical company made a drug that saved people's lives, the government would never let you charge people $1,000-$2,000 dollars for it.

As someone who recently picked up two prescriptions with a cash price of nearly $1,500, maybe a world where that's unthinkable, but is also about to be overrun with dinosaurs, is still slightly preferable to ours lol

At any rate, I'm definitely going to pick up more Michael Crichton, if his others are as good as this one!

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging emotional informative fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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