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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
It was so good and I really liked most of the characters but I found the ending lackluster :(
adventurous
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
'Amy good gorilla'
I am a little disappointed by this book. The things I enjoyed about the book (Amy, the new Gorillas, the gruesome deaths, the lost city) were not featured enough for me, especially Amy. And the things I didn't enjoy (tech jargon, diamond hunting, company rivalries) were overwhelming.
I found the ending rushed and a little confusing. The way Ross is described is frankly gross. And the general sexism and colonialist racism makes this is a frustrating read.
I enjoyed the premise and I loved Amy with my whole heart (she is the saving grace of this book).
I am a little disappointed by this book. The things I enjoyed about the book (Amy, the new Gorillas, the gruesome deaths, the lost city) were not featured enough for me, especially Amy. And the things I didn't enjoy (tech jargon, diamond hunting, company rivalries) were overwhelming.
I found the ending rushed and a little confusing. The way Ross is described is frankly gross. And the general sexism and colonialist racism makes this is a frustrating read.
I enjoyed the premise and I loved Amy with my whole heart (she is the saving grace of this book).
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was my 43rd book finished in 2023.
I bought it in a second-hand bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I read it in Halong Bay, Vietnam and Bali, Indonesia.
This book was great - I was gripped and interested the whole time! What an eerie and mysterious adventure. Being interested in primatology, 19th century exploration and archaeology, this book had everything for me.
Amy is definitely my favourite character. Amy good gorilla.
I have very few criticisms. On the theme, I am an archaeologist. Reading aboutZinj was a bit frustrating. I get it, I get it, it's a diamond expedition, not an archaeological research dig. And I can accept that. But the book really needed an archaeologist character, who was obsessed with religion and ritual. The other characters theorised ideas that don't make sense to come out their mouths. One simple additional character is all it needs to become a lot more believable, for me at least.
Secondly, based on the influence material I suppose, there's a lot of colonial-esque narration running through the book; very white-centric. Definitely a bit dated to read 43 years after publication. Maybe this is done on purpose to show the destructive mindset of Ross.
There's also a couple instances of unexplained sexism in Munro's character - okay so people can be sexist, but why does no one call him out on it?
Ultimately I can't rate it higher because I found the ending slightly disappointing.
BUT these minor things aside, this is easily one of my favourite books. It's my third Crichton book, and I'm definitely going to read some more.
I bought it in a second-hand bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I read it in Halong Bay, Vietnam and Bali, Indonesia.
This book was great - I was gripped and interested the whole time! What an eerie and mysterious adventure. Being interested in primatology, 19th century exploration and archaeology, this book had everything for me.
Amy is definitely my favourite character. Amy good gorilla.
I have very few criticisms. On the theme, I am an archaeologist. Reading about
Secondly, based on the influence material I suppose, there's a lot of colonial-esque narration running through the book; very white-centric. Definitely a bit dated to read 43 years after publication. Maybe this is done on purpose to show the destructive mindset of Ross.
There's also a couple instances of unexplained sexism in Munro's character - okay so people can be sexist, but why does no one call him out on it?
Ultimately I can't rate it higher because I found the ending slightly disappointing.
BUT these minor things aside, this is easily one of my favourite books. It's my third Crichton book, and I'm definitely going to read some more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism, Violence, War
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-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 read this the first time in the 1990's and 1 starred it and am only slightly raising the rating 30 years later to 2 stars, simply because I enjoyed the parts with Amy the gorilla so much this time around. This is now officially, after two reads, my least favorite Crichton book.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-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
If the book werent overwhelmingly focused on 80s data science, I think this would be a pretty fun adventure novel to satisfy your inner Airport Dad.
The gorilla stuff and the 3rd act is fun and there are a couple of really vivid and exciting scenes, but for whatever reason it takes 200 pages for the jungle expedition to really take off because Crichton is obsessed with realism and needs to explain every moment of gear prep and beurocracy leading up to this.
Christ sakes we will be in the middle of a volcano erupting and there will suddenly be a big aside on data transnission software and how computer chips are forecasted to evolve in the mid 80s?
Really just Crichton and his obsession with everything but the interesting part of the novel, which is the sign language gorillas and jungle expedition in to a mysterious city with a crazy history.
Like hello, Mr Crichton, we have a gorilla here smoking cigarettes and drinking champagne! Can we turn the camera away from scholarly papers on sattelites please? Lol
The gorilla stuff and the 3rd act is fun and there are a couple of really vivid and exciting scenes, but for whatever reason it takes 200 pages for the jungle expedition to really take off because Crichton is obsessed with realism and needs to explain every moment of gear prep and beurocracy leading up to this.
Christ sakes we will be in the middle of a volcano erupting and there will suddenly be a big aside on data transnission software and how computer chips are forecasted to evolve in the mid 80s?
Really just Crichton and his obsession with everything but the interesting part of the novel, which is the sign language gorillas and jungle expedition in to a mysterious city with a crazy history.
Like hello, Mr Crichton, we have a gorilla here smoking cigarettes and drinking champagne! Can we turn the camera away from scholarly papers on sattelites please? Lol
adventurous
mysterious
tense