A review by bboyreads
Congo by Michael Crichton

adventurous 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? No

4.0

Reading this book, it was interesting that I felt for a very long time that I did not understand the motives of the characters within the book. Within the book, the plot and events were intriguing and kept me wanting to read more as all of Crichton’s novels have successfully done so far. however, as a whole, I felt confused by where the plot was going. I felt more intrigued by the intricacies of the details of the story, the science of the “talking” gorillas and other apes, more than anything else. I never became too interesting in the plot of the diamonds or the lost city. Unfortunately, the plot of the highly intelligent new species of half human half gorilla was extremely interesting- yet was abandoned prematurely by Crichton and just became another obstacle for the crew. Like Timeline, the book suffered from too many conflicts. The best part of the Novel was 3 quarters in, heading towards the ending, when the crew had to learn about and fight this gorilla species. Yet, it all unfolded in an unsatisfying underwhelming turn of events where the crew simply abandons the mission, with no evidence of it ever happening, and we learn little about the species just as we were made to think there would be breakthroughs of their history and communicating with them. A volcano erupts, presumably wiping out the new species and city, feeling like a cop-out. And the entire intrigue, what was being lead on to be the meat of the narrative, suddenly becomes just another of the too many conflicts of the plot that already had cannibalistic tribes, hippo attacks, a volcano eruption, military attacks, and foreign competition. It was too much and the most interesting conflict, the killer gorillas, was never developed well. Despite my critiques, and dislike for the ending, the writing style and attention to detail of Crichton’s still made me thoroughly enjoy the novel. This was one, unlike the others I’ve read so far, that I felt the characters themselves were developed rather well, and i particularly enjoyed the relation of the Doctor to the gorilla, Amy. Overall, it was still a wonderful read, but I have a lot that I feel should have been written differently, particularly the ending.