Jurassic Park

Much better than the movie. As usual. Detailed. And I like dinosaurs.

Of course I had already seen the film, many times, when I picked up Michael Crichton's novel a few weeks ago. Despite knowing the basic story line, it was still a great read. Intense and interesting. Crichton makes you believe that cloning of Dinosaurs is perfectly plausible, and the varied characters are equally as believable in their various professions and defining character...more

Of course I had already seen the film, many times, when I picked up Michael Crichton's novel a few weeks ago. Despite knowing the basic story line, it was still a great read. Intense and interesting. Crichton makes you believe that cloning of Dinosaurs is perfectly plausible, and the varied characters are equally as believable in their various professions and defining character traits. Obviously, the film broke from the novel in various points. Whole segments were missing, and ultimately certain characters meet their fates, whereas in the film they did not. I was told by several people that some of the best sequences from the novel didn't make it into the film, and this was true to a point. Several of the more memorable missing scenes did however translate into the two following Jurassic Park film sequels. So, in short, if you've seen all 3 of the movies you're not going to be missing that much. One distraction for me was the character of Ian Malcolm. Malcolm would go on LONG rants about the environment or humanity that while being interesting, were also dated in the 1990s world from when the book was first written. Not to mention the rants were long. Really a little too long in the majority of cases. My guess is that Michael Crichton IS Ian Malcolm. The character, complete with his unchallenged opinions, was easy for Crichton to write, being a tool for Crichton to voice his own opinions (thus cementing his staring role in the Lost World novel, despite everything...) Jurassic Park was still a page turner, and an overall enjoyable read.   hide

This was the book that started a long love of reading for me. As as teenager, I picked it up and bought it purely as a defiant act against my insistent mother. When I arrived home and began reading it, I read the entire book in one sitting! I was mesmerized by the possibilities presented in the book. I quickly rushed out to buy the remainder of Crichton's books and read them as well. Some where...more

This was the book that started a long love of reading for me. As as teenager, I picked it up and bought it purely as a defiant act against my insistent mother. When I arrived home and began reading it, I read the entire book in one sitting! I was mesmerized by the possibilities presented in the book. I quickly rushed out to buy the remainder of Crichton's books and read them as well. Some where good, some were okay, some were challenging to finish. I understand some of the criticisms; however, the book was never meant to be a "Tuesday's with Morrie"- story. It was meant to present the possibilities of corporate abuses of genetic technology gone awry in a narrative, storyline form. If you are looking for deep, emotional, meaningful writing, I would suggest something by Steinbeck. Having said that, just remember that it could be worse and you could have tried to read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged instead. :)   hide

Another amazing tale spun by the master of scientific thrillers. Crichton spares no expense when writing this tale. This book has more action between the covers than one can possibly imagine. It has 3 times as much action than the movie could ever show. I enjoyed this book so much I had to begin reading the sequel (The Lost World) immediately after..more on that one later. Sci-fi and...more

Another amazing tale spun by the master of scientific thrillers. Crichton spares no expense when writing this tale. This book has more action between the covers than one can possibly imagine. It has 3 times as much action than the movie could ever show. I enjoyed this book so much I had to begin reading the sequel (The Lost World) immediately after..more on that one later. Sci-fi and horror fans alike will enjoy this tale.   hide

LOVE THIS BOOK! I read it in 6th grade and could not put it down the entire time I was reading it! I'm not big on science fiction, but when it comes to Crichton's work, I'll gladly take it! This was the first of his books that I read and it is still my favorite! The technical stuff can get a bit dry, but you need that to add to the realism. I was so scared that people were actually...more

LOVE THIS BOOK! I read it in 6th grade and could not put it down the entire time I was reading it! I'm not big on science fiction, but when it comes to Crichton's work, I'll gladly take it! This was the first of his books that I read and it is still my favorite! The technical stuff can get a bit dry, but you need that to add to the realism. I was so scared that people were actually going to make dino DNA after I read this!   hide

Rough and tough adventure through the mathematics of chaos. Accompanied by brilliant minds, Hammond makes his return to his beloved park to show them his mastery, his godlike ability to manipulate and control living things. But obviously it takes more than the best scientists on the face of the earth to control living, breathing monsters with machetes as teeth. While his control of language,...more

Rough and tough adventure through the mathematics of chaos. Accompanied by brilliant minds, Hammond makes his return to his beloved park to show them his mastery, his godlike ability to manipulate and control living things. But obviously it takes more than the best scientists on the face of the earth to control living, breathing monsters with machetes as teeth. While his control of language, his diction, is not too prevalent in this novel, Crichton does what he does best- suspense. Every chapter will have you wondering what happens next, even if you've seen the movie a hundred times. Characters in this book are a little concrete at times, but he makes up for it in a story with meaning that follows anyone to their heart to reign in arrogance and sheds light on what we really know.   hide

I have read two other Crichton books and loved both. And since I was a little child, I loved the movie version of Jurassic Park. When I first started reading the book, I was hooked. The action drives the book. However, halfway through, I got tired of it. Each action sequence lasted an average of two paragraphs. There is no tension or suspense to build. Things just happen, Grant wipes his brow and...more

I have read two other Crichton books and loved both. And since I was a little child, I loved the movie version of Jurassic Park. When I first started reading the book, I was hooked. The action drives the book. However, halfway through, I got tired of it. Each action sequence lasted an average of two paragraphs. There is no tension or suspense to build. Things just happen, Grant wipes his brow and says "Whew, glad that's over with," and we look to the next action sequence to lend something more. The character development is some of the worst I have read in a novel, and I could not care whether or not anyone died, especially Lex. Every bit of dialogue, no matter what character, was dry and completely mundane, and I could never tell from just the dialogue who was talking because they were all the same. And the fact that Malcolm was so hellishly preachy in everything he said did not make the book more unique. It made it more obnoxious because the themes only felt half-hearted and nearly unimportant. Am I the only person reviewing this book that felt it was so poorly written?   hide

Easily one of Crichton's best, regardless of the movies. Parts of the Jurassic Park movie trilogy are in the first book, to give you a taste of how much stuff is in it. The endings are different, and the book is filled with Chas Theory from Ian Malcolm as well. Some suspenseful action bits are perfectly written to keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is the first book I read on my own for pleasure. It turned out to be an amazingly written book that helped me understand how people could say "the book is better than the movie." Crichton is an amazingly intelligent man and shows it through his discussion of Biology, Physics, Mathematics all mixed into an amazing Drama.