Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.97 You Save: $4.02 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Jurassic Park
Book Review: The best book I've ever read -- and trust me, I've read lots
Summary: 5 Stars
I was homeschooled as a youngester, and my primary history course was simply reading classic literature. I read hundreds of books every year, ranging from Shakespeare to Hemingway to Stevenson to Lewis, and so on and so forth. And I was also an enormous fan of film. When I first saw "Jurassic Park" in 1993, I said, "I can't imagine a book being any better" -- how could imagining dinosaurs be better than seeing them on screen?
So sorting through an old attic of treasures and antiques in downtown Fredericksburg, I came across a battered, weather-beaten old copy of Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park," boasting "Soon to be a major motion picture!" on the front flap. I figured that, for 25 cents, maybe I'd get a kick out of reading it and comparing the manuscript to its superior film transfer.
It blew me away. As much as I enjoy reading Tom Clancy novels, he often digresses into long passages of military dialogue that sorta becomes old. As much as I love reading John Grisham books, and as much as I love his gripping narrative...the stories themselves, I often find, are quite empty.
Crichton has everything -- pacing, gripping narrative passages, excellent dialogue, and extremely researched plots. How can a guy ever turn the prospect of live dinosaurs on modern Earth into a realistic novel? Crichton does it because he knows his stuff. Unlike Clancy, he rarely tries to make the reader feel that he knows everything about his field of writing. He simply DOES know everything, and it's evident in his writing. And, unlike Clancy and Grisham, his books all contain bibliographies. He's simply my favorite writer of all time, and I found him through a battered old 25 cent paperback that I still have stuffed in between a bunch of other Crichton novels in my room, too frayed to read. I have since updated to a hardback of the novel, but I still keep the paperback as a reminder.
Crichton introduced me to reading as a pleasure, not a chore. Now that I have read basically all his novels, I find his writing one in a million; no other author has ever pulled me in and kept my attention like Crichton. Even with Grisham and Clancy novels, I often find myself taking short breaks for a week or so before I continue reading their novels.
Not so with Crichton. I mail-ordered his latest novel, "Prey," and devoured it in less than two days. He is just that kind of writer.
Pathetic things for someone to say who has read classic literature, perhaps? Not really. As much as I admire and respect classic literature and their authors, I'm "classicked out," so to speak. After reading them in the thousands, my eyes are weary for more pleasurable novels.
I've never found a better novel than "Jurassic Park," and I don't think I really ever will. I respect Michael Crichton as both a fellow writer and for the simple fact that he opened my eyes to the sheer pleasure of writing and reading once more. Some may beg to differ, but my best bet for a favorite novel is certainly "Jurassic Park."
Book Review: Intelligent and Suspensful
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1990, Michael Crichton released one of the most loved books that would eventually become a phenomenon. Jurassic Park takes the reader through an action packed adventure while teaching them about the fascination of science. His interesting plot captivates the reader by bringing back the prehistoric past to our world. In this book, Crichton uses knowledge and suspense to produce an exciting thriller.
Michael Crichton uses his knowledge of technology and dinosaurs fully in Jurassic Park. This novel almost seems as if it could really happen because of the realistic information the writer uses. "...the computers can do it in a couple of hours. But, even so, the DNA molecule is too big. We look only on sections of the strand that differ from animal to animal, or from contemporary DNA." He uses the science of DNA and cloning to come up with a theory of bringing back dinosaurs to the world. Also, Michael Crichton uses his knowledge of dinosaurs to provide the reader with facts about them. A seen in the following text, he uses up to date theories for background information. "They found dinosaur remains above the Arctic Circle, in a frigid environment unimaginable for a reptile. And the new studies of group behavior, suggested that dinosaurs had a complex social life..."
Another aspect of the book Michael uses is the suspense. What makes this novel so juicy is the action and thrills that make you want to read more. Most of the scenes start of quiet and rise to the exciting solution, and it's this that makes the action so good. "From across the room, the raptor saw him. It moved towards Grant, when suddenly the animal made a gasping, gurgling sound and the big body pitched forward onto the ground." At other times, a dangerous situation suddenly appears. For example: Dr. Grant is rafting on a river when out of nowhere: "The big head of the tyrannosaur lunged through the foliage from the left, the jaws snapping at the raft."
Some might consider that this book is too gory or too complicated, but it's not. This novel has something for everyone, no matter age or interests. For the kids, there is the interest in dinosaurs. Children have always been fascinated about these prehistoric creatures and this book will surely satisfy their appetites. If a person is interested in the science of cloning then they will love how Crichton uses cloning to create a brilliant scenario. A person that loves a scary thriller can also expect a great read. The terrifying velociraptors are sure to put the reader on the edge of their seats. Jurassic Park is a book for everyone.
In conclusion, I recommend reading Michael Crichton's amazing novel that you will love and cherish forever. Jurassic Park is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. The writing is superbly well done using knowledge and suspense. This action-oriented book is for all ages, young and old that have different tastes. I hope you go ahead and read Jurassic Park and enjoy it as I did.
Book Review: This is the best Michael Crichton novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Crichton at his best: in-depth technical information and research combined with a suspenseful plot. It's way better than the movie, and the movie was pretty good. Starting off a family is vacationing on a beach. The girl wanders off a comes across a lizard that acts like a chicken. Intrigued, she approaches it to try and pet it only to get herself attacked by it and its friends. Her parents hear her scream, find her with blood on her body and swelling up, then take her to a hospital. The doctors are trying to figure out what exactly happened. She describes the animal and eventually draws a picture of it. The doctors are convinced that the animal is a well-known small lizard that has been known to attack people, and think that the details that are off in the child's drawing are just mistakes. However, the parents insist it is accurate. The doctors agree to look at the drawing and a piece of a specimen that matches the description (but seems unusual) to determine if there's a conclusion different from their's. Then an assistant takes a look at the drawing one day and casually comments that it's a dinosaur. "What?" everyone says. However, genetic tests are starting to support that it is a dinosaur (a procompsognathis to be exact). This starts an investigation of recent strange attacks, including one that involved a patient that kept repeating the word "Raptor" and a baby found being eaten in its crib by more of the little lizards.
The investigation leads to another that is conducting concerning an island on which the wealthy John Hammond is building a new resort. Suspicions are raised, and eventually to overview the park, scientists Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcom are summoned. The three take their looks at the park, which to their amazement features a zoo of living dinosaurs, recovered from DNA retrieved from fossilized mosquito bodies. Unfortunately for them, a rival genetics company has discovered the secret, and is trying to steal some of the dino embryos being used. They send in a expert computer programmer by the name of Dennis Nedry to steal the embryos. The scientist Malcom is meanwhile trying to convince Hammond that something is wrong with the park, that it can't work. The information concerning dinosaurs on the mainland supports his theory that the system isn't perfect (and it needs to if it's going to work). Hammond insists that the island is fine, and has his scientists to back him up. However, the system ends up failing (you'll see how), and the dinosaurs are let loose, including the deadly ones such as the Tyrannosaur and the Velociraptor. It is now war between the prehistoric beasts and the humans on the island. They must figure out how to escape the dinos and stop them from getting to the mainland before it's too late.
The information in the book is well researched, and yet it is not boring at all to read. The best combination. Highly recommended.
Book Review: If you only watched the movie as a kid, you must read the novel as an adult.
Summary: 5 Stars
I read Jurassic Park for the first time in 1992, right after the paperback edition was published. I had never read science fiction before JP. I just devoured it during a flight from New York to Costa Rica. Destiny! I was captivated by the smart extrapolation of science, particularly the clever use of biotechnology for breeding extinct animals, the warnings about uncontrolled uses of new technologies (Crichton's recurring theme), all the new and updated information about how dinosaurs really were, and by Crichton's trademark in his earlier works, a storyline full of verisimilitude, imagination and originality. What a great SF novel this is!
The enchantment didn't end here. Thereafter I read all available Crichton novels, beginning with "Andromeda Strain", still my favorite, and more recently "State of Fear" and "Next". Despite the polemical reaction from environmentalists, I really enjoyed Crichton scientific skepticism in "State of Fear", regardless of the poor quality of the plot (the message though is clear, with enough scientific evidence at least to make you wonder if global warming has been exaggerated).
This sudden interest in SF let me get to know the works of the masters, I. Asimov, R. Heinlein, A. Clarke, and from there all the way to K.S. Robinson, G. Benford, R. J. Brown and R. C. Wilson. This is how I became a fan of hard science fiction. I also discovered the joy of reading, not only during long flights. From here I wanted to understand the science behind the plots, the philosophical dilemmas, science versus religion, and ended up reading Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Richard Feynman, Paul Davies, Richard Dawkins and the like.
And then, in 1993 my disappointment was as high as my expectations were for the movie, except for the new computer-generated (CGI) special effects, the dinosaurs looked very realistic (this technology was a revolution in cinema we are benefiting from up to these days). The movie it's a deception, as the previous reviewers exhaustively mentioned below, and it's also misleading to judge Crichton's work. Spielberg made a typical kids movie out of the original plot. Unfortunately, for the sequel, Crichton wrote a PG-13 action movie script instead of a good SF novel, which Spielberg changed again, and the resulting JP II ("The Lost World") was even worse.
For those of you who were kids or teenagers in 1993, when you watched the JP the movie, I highly recommend you to read the book. You're not going to regret it, and maybe, you might become fans of science fiction, as I did. The original plot was writing to captivate adults with a story centered on dinosaurs, at the time, usually a theme for kids only.
PD: Isla Nublar really exists in Costa Rica, only that the real name is "Isla del Coco", several hundred miles away from Puntarenas, in the Pacific. It is a National Park, but sorry, no dinosaurs there!
Book Review: A Jurassic Review
Summary: 5 Stars
As the reader cracks open, and begins to read the first few pages of this 400 page novel, one may start to think that it is realistic fiction. It is fiction indeed, but more along the lines of science fiction.Jurassic Park, created on an island privately owned by Dr. Hammond, a certifiable dinosaur fanatic, is the home of the latest, and most successful dinosaur cloning techniques. It is unknown to the public, but when finished, with everything from the smallest, duck-sized "compys," to the enormous, supreme Tyrannosaurus Rex (commonly known as T-Rex), it is going to be a tourist attraction; kind of like a zoo.
The main character in the story, Dr. Alan Grant, is a paleontologist with a vast knowledge of dinosaurs, and happens to know a lot about reptiles as well. Ian Malcolm is also a vital component o Jurassic Park. He is a mathematician with a lot of logical sense, and is very book smart as well. In fact, he has his own theory called the Malcolm Effect. He uses this to predict catastrophic changes in the latter parts of the story. Dr. Wu is the biologist responsible for creating and duplicating the dinosaur DNA. Arnold is a systems manager who plays an important role managing the parks power supply and security systems. Dennis Nedry is the man in charge of running all of the park's computer programs and security systems. He is Arnold's boss.
The problems start in Jurassic Park when Nedry shuts down the main power to the park, in the middle of a storm, to make an illicit transaction worth 1.5 million dollars. When he shuts the main power down, power to the electrical fences that contain the dinosaurs is also shut down, leaving the park extremely vulnerable to a dinosaur takeover. Nedry never completes the transaction, but is in fact killed by an escaped dilophosaur. Arnold is expecting him to come back to turn the power on, but since he never returns, the power remains off long enough for some very dangerous dinosaurs to escape.
Now the characters of Jurassic Park must face their ultimate fear in- coming face to face with the massive powers of these long extinct creatures. Will they be killed in the powerful jaws of the T-Rex? Or will they be skillfully hunted down by the intellectual raptors? Maybe survival is still in the picture, but nobody knows.....
In the eyes of this reviewer, Jurassic Park is a very powerful novel with great insight into the ever-lasting debate of whether science should continue forward, discovering the realms of nature, or reside in peace and harmony with nature. This novel is full of suspense, excitement, and intrigue. Now the reviewer encourages anybody who can get their hands on this enticing book, which provides an educational experience that will leave you thinking.