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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
Breathlessly paced even by Crichton's famously brisk standards, I was surprised to discover how different this ultimately proves to be than the film adaptation. The film certainly skews more broadly cartoonish and simplistic in comparison to the book's drily cynical/pragmatic take on these characters. Granted, I'm not sure a direct adaptation of what's on the here would necessarily move the needle or anything, but I'm looking forward to revisiting the film soon and really taking stock of all of the changes.
Most importantly, there's some fascinating suppositions in here not just about the nature of our increasingly-interconnected/technologically-dependent global society, but also regarding the increasing likelihood of our own creations effectively running the show (Crichton really was ahead of the curve on the A.I. front, which is increasingly becoming a reality we are going to have to confront - hell, for all I know, the Goodreads terms of service are such that this review is being used to train A.I. to further mimic the way humans think and speak).
In short: Amy, pretty damn good gorilla.
Most importantly, there's some fascinating suppositions in here not just about the nature of our increasingly-interconnected/technologically-dependent global society, but also regarding the increasing likelihood of our own creations effectively running the show (Crichton really was ahead of the curve on the A.I. front, which is increasingly becoming a reality we are going to have to confront - hell, for all I know, the Goodreads terms of service are such that this review is being used to train A.I. to further mimic the way humans think and speak).
In short: Amy, pretty damn good gorilla.
This book, much like all of Crichton’s work, had me gripping the sides, I couldn’t put it down. Something I loved about the book is that it had all the classic adventure novel elements that you could hope for, but incredibly unique in the prose. On the prose: it’s packed with all kinds of details that really bring the book to life, especially the scientific element. So realistic and adventurous!
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Had a good time, love me some Crichton. The Congo seems like a crazy place to go
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5 rounded up. The first half was kinda slow, and a little too heavy on scientific explanations. Also the first half had too many random sexist/racist comments. At some point I don't need my fun adventure book to be so accurate in this respect. Second half was a lot better. The main humans had no redeaming qualities, Amy carried.
The blatant abuse of the gorillas in captivity/scientific studies was wild (and accurate), and the comments on development of language/animal behavior and convergent evolution were interesting.
The blatant abuse of the gorillas in captivity/scientific studies was wild (and accurate), and the comments on development of language/animal behavior and convergent evolution were interesting.
Congo by Michael Crichton
Is interesting.
The thing is though, it’s not specifically as scary or heart racing as Jurassic Park and the technology information is so very very VERY dated. I’m curious if in 1980 when this book came out if half of the appeal was the interesting technology. But all of the talk of what computers can do, programs, and satellites, was at a point laughable knowing just how much I could do on my phone.
There is a scene where they talk about snipping and editing and looping a voice recording and it has them taking hours. We can easily do that on our phones in 10 second maybe a minute.
The joyous thing about Crichton's writing is that they mix real life quotes, and information with fictitious timeline and story. So we have Amy and Elitot in the same universe as Jane Goodall. You may end up looking up, did certain things happen. Was there a rush on blue diamonds, are there other types of gorillas? It’s all so plausible giving companies with banks of money and human’s Hubris.
I did not enjoy the dated language. It’s very “man this” when they meant humans, and the terms used for certain people(s) made me question if it was “of its time” or truly in need of a revision. The characters themselves were great if a bit stereotypical but the epilogue just dropped everything like end of report here’s what the others did.
This book is for anyone that enjoys popular & reality based sci-fi with a focus on animals. If you are interested in mysteries, history, or gorillas; and if you like Crichton’s easy writing style and interesting delivery. It is certainly a very filmable book, almost written like current reality tv shows with commentary post scene interjected through outs
Is interesting.
The thing is though, it’s not specifically as scary or heart racing as Jurassic Park and the technology information is so very very VERY dated. I’m curious if in 1980 when this book came out if half of the appeal was the interesting technology. But all of the talk of what computers can do, programs, and satellites, was at a point laughable knowing just how much I could do on my phone.
There is a scene where they talk about snipping and editing and looping a voice recording and it has them taking hours. We can easily do that on our phones in 10 second maybe a minute.
The joyous thing about Crichton's writing is that they mix real life quotes, and information with fictitious timeline and story. So we have Amy and Elitot in the same universe as Jane Goodall. You may end up looking up, did certain things happen. Was there a rush on blue diamonds, are there other types of gorillas? It’s all so plausible giving companies with banks of money and human’s Hubris.
I did not enjoy the dated language. It’s very “man this” when they meant humans, and the terms used for certain people(s) made me question if it was “of its time” or truly in need of a revision. The characters themselves were great if a bit stereotypical but the epilogue just dropped everything like end of report here’s what the others did.
This book is for anyone that enjoys popular & reality based sci-fi with a focus on animals. If you are interested in mysteries, history, or gorillas; and if you like Crichton’s easy writing style and interesting delivery. It is certainly a very filmable book, almost written like current reality tv shows with commentary post scene interjected through outs
A fantastic adventure and really great science. Loved the sign language dialog and the performance via Audible was spectacular. Another Crichton instant favorite.
I’ve read Crichton before so the science/technology information/teaching is not new to me, but Congo had way too much. It felt like half of every chapter was a lesson and not the fictional story I was reading. The ending dragged and lost my interest, and it didn’t seem like Crichton even cared about this book after the middle act.
Does he hate Asians?
Why would Munro, who has knowledge of gorillas, repeatedly call Amy a “monkey” and not an “ape”? Why did Peter never correct this?
Why would he write Peter to kill 2 people at the end?
Why, after making a point to write about the huge importance of possibly having an ASL capable gorilla teach humans about other gorillas, did Crichton brush over when it actually happens for the first time?
Maybe I’m not actually a Cricthon fan and just love JP and Timeline because the more I read of him the less I enjoy him.
Does he hate Asians?
Why would Munro, who has knowledge of gorillas, repeatedly call Amy a “monkey” and not an “ape”? Why did Peter never correct this?
Why would he write Peter to kill 2 people at the end?
Why, after making a point to write about the huge importance of possibly having an ASL capable gorilla teach humans about other gorillas, did Crichton brush over when it actually happens for the first time?
Maybe I’m not actually a Cricthon fan and just love JP and Timeline because the more I read of him the less I enjoy him.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not one of Crichton’s best, but still an enjoyable read.
I found that the story was often interrupted to give the reader important facts for understanding the narrative and some plot points, but it could be distracting to the flow and intensity of the read.
Again, still a good read despite the above, which was my only real qualm. The concept of the book was quite interesting
I found that the story was often interrupted to give the reader important facts for understanding the narrative and some plot points, but it could be distracting to the flow and intensity of the read.
Again, still a good read despite the above, which was my only real qualm. The concept of the book was quite interesting
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No