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adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-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
Since Jurassic Park has been my favorite movie since I was about 9, I thought it was time I finally got around to reading the book. I had heard that it was very different than the movie, and that's true, but I enjoyed the differences for the most part.
I found the expanded conversations on genetic science, paleontology, chaos theory, etc etc really interesting in fleshing out the story, and also the further look into the park security features which I think made it much more impactful when those same security features fail. It was also interesting to compare the roles of the characters in the book versus the movie and see which responsibilities and personality traits they retained and which ones got rolled into other characters. I love movie Malcolm but I also really enjoyed book Malcolm who exists simply as a martyr to the cause of telling Hammond how awful and dumb he is through the entire book like a one man Greek chorus.
I said I enjoyed the differences "for the most part" but the one that I really deeply did not: Lex SUCKS so much. I like kids and truly never thought I would be reading a book begging for one to be eaten by a dinosaur, but here we are. If we had gotten this version of Lex in the movie (the one we got already kind of annoys me) then I really firmly do NOT think I would have watched the movie more than once, let alone multiple times a year for the last 15ish years. Idk if Michael Crichton hated children and that's why he wrote her as the most horrible dislikable character in the whole book (even beyond the people written as a direct metaphor for greed and callousness) or WHAT that was about but wow I HATED every moment of her presence here. I do feel like Crichton had the hardest time writing the children in general, since Tim's personality and tone seem to shift wildly between fairly mature young teen and that of a much younger child, but not to the degree that Lex is just... A caricature of the worst damn kid you've ever met.
I found the expanded conversations on genetic science, paleontology, chaos theory, etc etc really interesting in fleshing out the story, and also the further look into the park security features which I think made it much more impactful when those same security features fail. It was also interesting to compare the roles of the characters in the book versus the movie and see which responsibilities and personality traits they retained and which ones got rolled into other characters. I love movie Malcolm but I also really enjoyed book Malcolm who exists simply as a martyr to the cause of telling Hammond how awful and dumb he is through the entire book like a one man Greek chorus.
I said I enjoyed the differences "for the most part" but the one that I really deeply did not: Lex SUCKS so much. I like kids and truly never thought I would be reading a book begging for one to be eaten by a dinosaur, but here we are. If we had gotten this version of Lex in the movie (the one we got already kind of annoys me) then I really firmly do NOT think I would have watched the movie more than once, let alone multiple times a year for the last 15ish years. Idk if Michael Crichton hated children and that's why he wrote her as the most horrible dislikable character in the whole book (even beyond the people written as a direct metaphor for greed and callousness) or WHAT that was about but wow I HATED every moment of her presence here. I do feel like Crichton had the hardest time writing the children in general, since Tim's personality and tone seem to shift wildly between fairly mature young teen and that of a much younger child, but not to the degree that Lex is just... A caricature of the worst damn kid you've ever met.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Blood, Medical content
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
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:
Yes
I've always been a fan of the movie, the orginal, and thought it was odd I'd never really thought to pick up the book. After picking it up I'm not disapointed and honestly thrilled at how different they are. It felt like getting to experience one of my favorite films again for the first time.
The author does have a habit of spending chunks of text explaining science, history, and maths to the reader but it never really slows down the pacing of the book, for the most part. The book starts heavily with some over explinations that could be a bit isolating to a reader. I'm also not a fan of how it treats Costa Rica locals, it feels like it dumbs they down for no reason other than they are the locals.
Aside from that I don't have any other negatives. The author truely understands how to write suspense, horror, and gore in an interesting and thrilling way. The prose is also intelligent but easy to read with how well his sentances are structured. He also understands how to write a cast of flawed individuals and how power is ultimately the root cause of many injustices.
Also the dinos were amazing, the amount of thought and research put into their depictions is a bit insane. Of course a lot by now has been disproven or our perception has changed on how they functioned but there was a good mix of him playing around and using science.
The author does have a habit of spending chunks of text explaining science, history, and maths to the reader but it never really slows down the pacing of the book, for the most part. The book starts heavily with some over explinations that could be a bit isolating to a reader. I'm also not a fan of how it treats Costa Rica locals, it feels like it dumbs they down for no reason other than they are the locals.
Aside from that I don't have any other negatives. The author truely understands how to write suspense, horror, and gore in an interesting and thrilling way. The prose is also intelligent but easy to read with how well his sentances are structured. He also understands how to write a cast of flawed individuals and how power is ultimately the root cause of many injustices.
Also the dinos were amazing, the amount of thought and research put into their depictions is a bit insane. Of course a lot by now has been disproven or our perception has changed on how they functioned but there was a good mix of him playing around and using science.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore
Moderate: Child death
adventurous
dark
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
Crichton tries extraordinarily hard to convince you he's the smartest guy in the room. But broken clocks and all that — the idea for the story is a classic for a reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore
Minor: Misogyny, Racism
adventurous
funny
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The best science fiction novel I have read. There are some dated turns of social observations but overall captivating abs a wild ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Medical content
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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:
Yes
A fun read that is still exciting even if you've already seen the film (and who hasn't?). The film adaption is very similar, but there's more on the dinosaur behaviour and you see more of the characters personalities. The only thing I didn't like was Hammond's granddaughter, Lex is so annoying, rude and selfish that for a moment I hoped she'd be eaten by the T-rex.
What I found interesting is that Jurassic Park, through the events and the character of Ian Malcolm, deals with environmentalism and the human arrogance of believing they can control nature. It's something I didn't fully understand when I watched it as a teenager.
What I found interesting is that Jurassic Park, through the events and the character of Ian Malcolm, deals with environmentalism and the human arrogance of believing they can control nature. It's something I didn't fully understand when I watched it as a teenager.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have been watching the Spielberg film since I was two, but I've always wanted to sit and finally read the novel. I knew that it was vastly different from the film adaptation, but I was still curious to see how different it truly was.
Geranno, Hammond, and Nedry were exponentially more insufferable in the book. Even at the first meeting of Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler,Geranno comments how Dr. Sattler is a woman which leads to Ellie immediately hating him due to the blatant "shock" of her status in the field + being a woman. Even more frustrating after his behavior towards her: Geranno is one of the few to actually leave the island alive. Granted, he didn't do anything to warrant needing a gory demise, but his general insufferable personality made me loathe him. Nedry's death, I had heard, is sanitized within the film - of course due to keeping the rating. His death within the novel was far more satisfying now compared to the film due to his behavior in the novel and how he did not genuinely give a damn about doing a good job of the park.
The treatment of the dinosaurs from the staff seems to have glimmers of hope, but it boils down to Hammond slowly not caring as much as he did in order to get the park in operation.
Another disappointment:Hammond's death was not as satisfying as I was led to believe due to his behavior through the novel. In the end, he just gives up as compys find him, and just lets them devour him without a fight because he's a tired, old man.
Overall, Crichton's research shines brilliantly in the science aspect of the novels and his deep understanding and explination for the chaos theory (that is heavily referenced through the book via Ian) was more enjoyable than what is shown in the film. Again, the film had not only a budget and time constraint, but also being mindful with ratings.
Tim and Lex are vastly different in the novel, but I found their book counterparts more enjoyable than the depiction in the film.
For Jurassic Park fans, I highly suggest reading the book that started it all, and I am eager to read what happens within Lost World compared to it's film counterpart!
Keep in mind: This novel was published in 1990 and the research is outdated compared to what we've learned since then. Despite this, it was the best of the science at the time, and as I said previously, Crichton's affection and heavy research for paleontology, genetics, and molecular genetics brings more life to the science behind the dinosaurs. His research made it believable that it could have been accomplished - if someone wanted to take the time, money, resources, and gamble of it.
Don't raise the dead, kids - even if it's an animal!
Geranno, Hammond, and Nedry were exponentially more insufferable in the book. Even at the first meeting of Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler,
The treatment of the dinosaurs from the staff seems to have glimmers of hope, but it boils down to Hammond slowly not caring as much as he did in order to get the park in operation.
Another disappointment:
Overall, Crichton's research shines brilliantly in the science aspect of the novels and his deep understanding and explination for the chaos theory (that is heavily referenced through the book via Ian) was more enjoyable than what is shown in the film. Again, the film had not only a budget and time constraint, but also being mindful with ratings.
Tim and Lex are vastly different in the novel, but I found their book counterparts more enjoyable than the depiction in the film.
For Jurassic Park fans, I highly suggest reading the book that started it all, and I am eager to read what happens within Lost World compared to it's film counterpart!
Keep in mind: This novel was published in 1990 and the research is outdated compared to what we've learned since then. Despite this, it was the best of the science at the time, and as I said previously, Crichton's affection and heavy research for paleontology, genetics, and molecular genetics brings more life to the science behind the dinosaurs. His research made it believable that it could have been accomplished - if someone wanted to take the time, money, resources, and gamble of it.
Don't raise the dead, kids - even if it's an animal!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Classism
Minor: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit