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A review by omair
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
In the sequel to Jurassic Park, a book that I had not read without visuals imprinted from a film, the Lost World had a blank canvas. New characters, save for the two holdovers, and a new environment promised much more than I felt delivered.
The scenes and depictions of the dinosaurs carry the same vivid and calculated descriptions as the first novel, but lack the same bite for me. Hindered by the repetition of the same villainous dinosaurs, and with characters that felt barely relatable - constantly reminded by their status as leaps and bounds ahead of their peers in every way - the figure set in often.
The action is still fast, with the stories of each individual mostly overlapping, but it is too frequently broken up by the excessive ramblings of the characters. In smaller doses, they would have been fine, but alas.
I remember my first reading much more fondly than this latest, but one segment stands out just as wonderfully. And it makes sense - it brought the same awe and fresh fear of the first Jurassic Park. You'll know of what I write when you reach it. It was a stretch that truly had me gripped and I could not turn the page fast enough.
And that, maybe, is what I felt I lost over the two books. The sense of uncertainty, almost dread. Even knowing what would happen in Jurassic Park, I could get lost between paragraphs and the immersion paid off to great effect. Here, I felt mostly as if the magic had dissipated and I was left listening to a prerecorded lecture, like the one the kids watched when we were introduced to them.
I wish I could separate this from the first, but without it, I can't overcome what I expected: a thrilling ride with the haunting unknowns on the other side of every ridge. And what a shame it is to be left with that.
The scenes and depictions of the dinosaurs carry the same vivid and calculated descriptions as the first novel, but lack the same bite for me. Hindered by the repetition of the same villainous dinosaurs, and with characters that felt barely relatable - constantly reminded by their status as leaps and bounds ahead of their peers in every way - the figure set in often.
The action is still fast, with the stories of each individual mostly overlapping, but it is too frequently broken up by the excessive ramblings of the characters. In smaller doses, they would have been fine, but alas.
I remember my first reading much more fondly than this latest, but one segment stands out just as wonderfully. And it makes sense - it brought the same awe and fresh fear of the first Jurassic Park. You'll know of what I write when you reach it. It was a stretch that truly had me gripped and I could not turn the page fast enough.
And that, maybe, is what I felt I lost over the two books. The sense of uncertainty, almost dread. Even knowing what would happen in Jurassic Park, I could get lost between paragraphs and the immersion paid off to great effect. Here, I felt mostly as if the magic had dissipated and I was left listening to a prerecorded lecture, like the one the kids watched when we were introduced to them.
I wish I could separate this from the first, but without it, I can't overcome what I expected: a thrilling ride with the haunting unknowns on the other side of every ridge. And what a shame it is to be left with that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death