Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton: Book Review

Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

On a tiny island off the coast of the Dominican Republic, a company is building a resort theme park like no one has ever seen. A hodge podge group are invited for a preview weekend to endorse the park: two scientists, two children, a mathematician, and a lawyer. At first, the group is amazed to see with their own eyes dinosaurs making the island their home. Later, however, things start to go terribly wrong and everyone is left wondering whether this vacation was a mistake.

I have read Jurassic Park several times over the years. It is one of my favorite books. There is a nice balance of the horror of the power and strength of these dinosaurs and the intrigue and deviousness of the humans. I find this book to be a fun and thrilling adventure. This book is not high literature by any means, but it is a great vacation book. It will make the time fly by.

My one pet peeve with this book is that the granddaughter in the book offers nothing in the book. She spends her time being annoying and crying. Everytime she spoke in the book, I cringed and was embarrassed that the character was female. I was very pleased that the movie changed this and gave her something to do. Specifically, in the book, the grandson, was the dinosaur fan and the computer expert. In the movie, the grandson was the dinosaur fan, and the granddaughter was the computer expert.

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Publication Date: 2006
Number of Pages: 480
Series Notes: Book 1 of 2
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Reason for Discovery: The movie was coming out, so I was interested in reading the book.
 

10 comments:

Jac said...
October 3, 2013 at 10:11 AM

I feel like I should re-read this one!! I loved it back in high school, and I'm fairly sure I'd get more out of it now! (But I do agree with you - the Granddaughter felt pointless.)

Jac @ For Life, Love and Books

Tabitha (Pabkins) said...
October 3, 2013 at 1:09 PM

Oh my gosh I LOVED this movie - I have never read the book. I really should shouldn't I?!! I think I read the Congo after loving that movie but I am not sure...do you ever get mixed up like that thinking you've read a book because you've watched a movie. Usually I do read the books but man its been so many years now I can't even remember!

Unknown said...
October 3, 2013 at 5:28 PM

I definitely got more out of this book when I reread it as an adult. Some of the biotech stuff went over my head back when I was in school, because I didn't really care at the time (I just cared about the dinosaurs at the time).

Unknown said...
October 3, 2013 at 5:31 PM

I get movies and books confused all the time, especially if there are parts in both the movie and the book that I like.

Jurassic Park is great. The Lost World (the sequel) isn't as great, IMO. If you didn't like Congo, the movie, I recommend reading the book, because it is very different (the book is far superior).

Some of my other favorite Crichton books include The Andromeda Strain and The Great Train Robbery (this is not SF but tons of fun).

Alysia said...
October 3, 2013 at 7:24 PM

I never knew it was a movie. Ooops! But now that I put some thought into it, it makes sense that it was. Great review.

Jessica @ Books: A true story said...
October 5, 2013 at 11:34 AM

That's cool that they made the granddaughter relevant in the movie. I don't think I could read the book because the movie scared the bejeebers out of me. I know I'm a wuss. I enjoyed your review though!

Unknown said...
October 5, 2013 at 7:09 PM

The movie was made quite a few years ago, so it makes sense that you didn't know. It is a great movie though, if you have a chance to see it.

Unknown said...
October 5, 2013 at 7:10 PM

The book is a bit scary too; however, if you can read it, I would recommend it. I understand, if you can't though. I have a heard time reading zombie books, because they scare me like nothing else!

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...
October 6, 2013 at 8:34 PM

I saw the movie before I realized there was a book, but this sounds really creep-tastic!

Unknown said...
October 6, 2013 at 8:37 PM

The book is really good, except for the granddaughter bit. This is a book and movie set that I can both reread and rewatch without frustration. I can't say that liking both a book and movie happens very often for me.

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