Reviews

I'm glad I watched the film first. I wasn't upset with any decisions in the film adaptation. Overall, I still think the film is incredible, and I also loved the book!

I actually LOVED Michael Crichton's dedication to explaining the science throughout the book (admittedly, I have very basic scientific knowledge, so I didn't know how accurate anything was. But it seemed like he'd really thought things through and done some research...?). I felt like many flaws from the movie (like paleontologists just knowing that a T-Rex can only see movement because of their bones) had the time to be learned and explained better in the book.

I also loved several extra book parts, like Grant and the kids riding down the river. I think the movie might've been a bit better with those scenes. Ian Malcolm feels less like a sexy rockstar in the book, but I actually liked his character even more for how intelligent and deep-thinking he was, even if he was more arrogant. He was the typical scientist nobody listen to in a disaster book or film, but he was SO aware of mankind's flaws and relationship to nature. I loved how philosophical he was, and I always lov d what he had to say.

I think the biggest difference was how many characters did or did not survive in book vs. film. I felt especially awful about one book death. But I liked hearing some characters' inner thoughts before they died---it showed how unrepentant several were for being pretty awful.

My husband and I discussed how we weren't quite sure why certain characters died... And I am thinking that maybe the point of killing so many redeemable characters was so readers would truly agree that the dinosaurs were a bad decision. Hahaha!

My main complaints about the book were content related. The gore. On FOUR occasions, we hear a character's perspective as their stomach is ripped open and intestines fall out. Also, the swearing, in particular the use of Christ's name, got to be too much for me. I also preferred Lex's character in the film. Full stop.

On the whole, I fully recommend this book! It's definitely adult content, but it's such a fun read!

lestanley48's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

raeswainpage's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5! A lot more storylines happening in the book vs the movie, but still very good!

dunam15's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative 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? Yes

5.0

originalhal's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective tense 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? Yes

3.0

The prose, in my opinion, is not very interesting, and I felt like I was just slogging through it. But the ideas touched on - ethics in science, hubris, etc - are profound and done well.

greenlion's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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