Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
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Book Reviews of Jurassic Park
Book Review: Barney it's not
Summary: 5 Stars
A novel that is chilling, thrilling, and fulfillng, Michael Crichton's legendary "Jurassic Park" is the author's biggest success story, both creatively and financially. Ever a more enjoyable work than King, Grisham, and Steel could ever hope to write, the book was a landmark in sci-fi that would bring Orson Scott Card and Arthur C. Clarke to their knees. Think I'm joking? You obviously haven't read it yet, and if that's true, you're one of maybe four people on the planet who can claim that.Crichton's prose is simple and direct, which may seem like a bad thing at first,but soon it will hook you and keep you turning the pages faster than Bill Clinton shifting popular blame to innocent lawyers (sorry, it's been three years and I'm still not over that). His narrative pulls you in and holds you tight, making it near-impossible to put the book down. The attack scenes are brutal and engaging. The technical jargon is intriguing and understandable. The characters are well-drawn, especially Ian Malcom, who I assure you you'll be rooting for the most. The prologue is the best part, a ghostly and suspenseful treat that makes you crave ever more from this thrillng masterpiece. Also, the way it affects you makes you want to reread it over and over again, which is rare for a book. I should know. I've read it five times, and it still gives me goosebumps.
Comparisons to the 1993 Speilberg blockbuster are inevitable, and they usually favor the novel. In reality, it's in some ways better and in some ways worse. On one hand, the book has better characterization and a better use of science fact to support the science fiction. On the other hand, the movie does a better job building suspense (the book's one flaw is that the dinosaurs show up pretty early on the tour, rather than the wait-till-it's-the-perfect-moment approach of the film). As always, movies are more emotionally involving than books, which is a fact of life that writers have to live with. If I had to choose, I'd still go with the novel, if only for the laughable reaon that the book has more material in it than the film, as, frankly, Speilberg left out some of the best parts (just wait till you read the waterfall scene; it's a doosey). Enjoy this modern classic today.
Book Review: Jurassic park is an amazing book with a grand idea behind it
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember first reading Crichtons novel shortly after the movie was released and I loved it. While the novel doesn't have the visual appeal of the movie it's still amazing in its own right and has so many little details about the dinosaurs that anyone who loves the film will go nuts just soaking in all the massive tidbits Crichton highlights within the book.
This review is going to focus more on letting potential readers aware of the differences without spoiling any of the fun.So here we go:
1. John Hammond is a much different character than what is seen in the film. He's ruthless and more about business than fun in Michael Crichtons novel. Crichtons Hammond set very uneasy with Speilberg and he wanted the character to have a more Walt Disney appeal to him. I prefer Speilbergs Hammond,being much more memerable than the novels potrayel.
2. Robert Muldoon. In the film Muldoon is a serious game hunter who's sharply cautious and aware of what's going on within the park. The books Muldoon is a drunk with a rather generous stash of high end weaponry. He very much reminded me of a character made for Sam Elliot.Their is a stark difference in what dinosaurs Muldoon seems most concerned about as well. In the movie he's very weary of the raptors,cautiously watching their hunting patterns and fully aware of how dangerous they are. In the novel Muldoon seems much more worried about the Dilophosarous', or "Dilo's" as he calls them.
3.Malcom. In the book Malcom almost seems more of the certain character and i'm highly tempted to make the argument that the whole park along with it's dinosaurs can simply be looked at as a metaphor for how complex systems inevitably fail, despite all attempts to impose our will upon them. At times the book seemed like a huge math riddle with Malcom using Jurassic Park as an example.
Their are vast amounts of more difference between the film and novel but more than half the fun will be in finding out for yourself. trust me,if after all this time you still haven't read the book it still carries all the wonder and charm it did all those many years ago.
Book Review: One of the greatest books ever.
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who have seen the film and are put off - DON'T BE. Quite frankly, the big budget box-office film was made so that kids could watch it as well (after all, the lead character Alan Grant even thinks "how can you not like a group of people of love dinosaurs so much?"). The problem is, of course, that the film focused totally on the dinosaurs and away from everything else. It also means that it wasn't half as scary as it could have been, but that's not the point. The book blows away the film - the film simply blows. So if you've seen the film - regardless of your thoughts of it READ THIS BOOK. Anyway, the film misses out about 150-200 of the 400 pages in this book. Some characters die that live in the film and vice versa - one main character and loads of small characters who only appear once or twice in the book are left out all-together in the film. You get the picture.Crichton is one of my favourite authors and this masterpiece is proof of why. All the scientific facts are amazing. I was at the tender age of 8 when the film came out and I didn't even know there was a book. Of course, when I was young I liked the film (with age comes wisdom), and I asked my mum to get me the book for Christmas. Yes, she was skeptical about getting me an adult's book on the grounds that it may be too old for me at the time. But that's why I love this book - it is so brilliantly, fluidly and interestingly written that even a mere 9 year old who was never interested in reading can read all the facts and be hypnotised. But make no mistake - this is not a simple children's book.
The story is really good as well. It was very simplified for them film, but there's much more of a build up in the book. The film just seems like a fantasy of dinosaurs but the book makes it seem very far off but not entirely impossible. And believe me, I'm right in the head. As far as stories go - in any way presented - I can only read a book or watch a film once or twice. But I have read this book God knows how many times in the 7-8 years since I've bought it. This is, simply put, one of the greatest novels ever written. Stop reading this and read the novel instead! NOW!!
Book Review: Jurassic Park
Summary: 5 Stars
Jurassic Park was a excellent, well-written book. Iliked tis book because it was realistic, descriptive, and teaches a lesson. It's very realistic, so realistic it's terrifying. An example of this is when the scientists take dinosaur DNA from blood and clone it. I can actually see scientists, in real life doing this an creating prehistoric animals. Another realistic part was how the dinosaurs managed to breed even though it was supposed to be impossible. The dinosaurs were all made females, but the geneticists made the mistake of using DNA from animals with the ability to change their gender. So the dinosaurs were breeding and no one knew about it. This was a believeable explination of how the dinosaurs were able to breed. Another factor that made this novel good, was its being very descriptive. The way Crichton describes the velociraptors seem smarter and scarier than they were in the movie. These dinosaurs could create and execute plans working together. They could also run, jump, hide, and slash people open with these giant claws on their feet. The Tyrannosaurus was also scary dinosaur, but it was also sort of stupid. The velociraptors were better than it. For one thing, the T-rex could only see her prey if it was moving. Also it was a solitary hunter that didn't and couldn't hide. And the only plan it could execute was chase a herd of smaller dinosaurs and hope to snacth a weakling or a baby. Anyway, the novel was very descriptive (it gave me an opinion on the best preditor, which happens to be the velociraptor). One thing about life that I learned from this novel is that people can't control it. The creators of Jurassic Park expected to be able to control and handle nature. They thought they could keep the animals from breeding, of course they failed but, that didn't stop the people. When the finally realized they were wrong about controlling nature and life, it was too late for them and may other people (if you know what I mean). For all of these reasons, Jurassic Park is a great book. It is one of the few truly frightening books I've ever read, and yes, it's better than the movie.Book Review: Just love those raptors!
Summary: 5 Stars
I live in Co Springs where many dinosaur bones have been found. I have always found the skeletal remains exciting! The first time I saw the book "Jurassic Park", my best friend in High School was reading it. I asked her what it was about and she just said "Oh God Holly, I can't and will not put it down!" I was intrigued. After college I had read most of Michael Crichton's books but had still not read "Jurassic Park". Then BOOM...the movie is released. I loved the movie. I decided to buy the book and see if it was just as thrilling. "Thrilling" hardly seems fit to describe the book! (my paperback has nail indentations on it!) As I have reviewed before...M.C. loads the first few chapters with some basic, easy to comprehend scientific knowledge...Making it easier to understand the essence of what's going on...even the morality...which is barely discussed in the movie. I'm talking about the idea of harvesting blood from mosquitos preserved in amber for millions of years. Mosquitos that John Hammond, (the somewhat delusional "father" of the Dino-theme park idea) harvests to extract Dino-DNA. ( He believes many of these mosquitos liked to feed from dinosaurs...Could they really do that? Someone tell me. Dino skin must be inches thick, but anyway,) He processes the DNA, filling in some missing links, and hatches the little creepies on Isla Nublar, a very secluded and resticted island. So there it begins. Talk of Dino-DNA is nothing more than a simple cartoon to watch in the movie ( probably for a younger audience to understand), but is discussed in depth in the book. The main characters are loving, delightful and sometimes downright sarcastic and keep you laughing. But don't be fooled. John Hammond has a dream to open a theme park, "Jurassic Park" to the world. A Place where dinos exsist in confined habitats, guarded by electric fences. He and the main characters on the island enjoy themselves submerged in a multi-millionare-old enviroment, but I ask you...what happens when the elctricity accidentally shuts down......