I finished this book last night and as I turned out my light I said to myself “that was a damn good book.” It really was; it was thrilling, fast paced, kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me up past my bed time. I absolutely loved it and found every excuse to read it. Today, I am having a Jurassic Park movie marathon for two reasons: I wanted to compare the movie to the book and I love the dinosaurs. Que the theme song!
It has been years since the disaster on Isla Nublar yet it is still fresh in Ian Malcolm’s
mind and on his leg. He thought his days of fending off dinosaurs were over until a colleague approaches him with an offer. Ian refused but that doesn’t stop Levine from traveling to InGen’s Site B to see if the rumors were true. Strange lizards were washing up on Costa Rica shores prompting questions and Levine seems to think they are coming from Isla Sorna. When Levine’s team loses contact with him, Ian Malcolm has no choice but to go and find his colleague. Going to the island put Ian and his team in much more danger than they ever expected. How much bad could happen in 48 hours?
This book was one heck of an adventure from start to finish. Crichton did another amazing job writing this one. He really did his research in names, concepts and theories which made this book all the better and real. I had to dust off the cobwebs in my brain just to follow parts of the story but that is all part of the fun! Crichton makes his readers feel like scientists and he teaches his reading new things throughout the story. Paleontology, I think, is an interest for all people because the dinosaurs aren’t around to study anymore so there is a mysterious side to them.
Crichton took the time to study all the elements and put them all together to make the story believable and to help the reader create perfect visuals and concepts. To help myself further along, I looked up the dinosaur names that I didn’t know or couldn’t remember what they looked like so I could make the perfect scenes. I appreciate all the work that Crichton put into this book, Jurassic Park and Dragon Teeth; it was absolutely worth his time and effort. It makes his books modern classics.
The action scenes alone in this book were fantastic. Some were with dinosaurs and some were not. Just the thrill that there might be a dinosaur close by made reading so much fun. I can’t say that I had a favorite part because the whole thing was my favorite. Like I said above: it was action packed, fast paced, exciting. Everything you could want in a book.
When I finished this book, I thought of the movie and how much different it was from the book. I had not seen it in a long time but from what I remembered, I wasn’t going to like it after this novel. Since it just ended, I will say that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was completely different; it wasn’t a bad movie but the writers changed/added things that I would not have.
The only things that the book and the movie had in common were names of the characters, the stalking Raptors, the Tyrannosaurus attacks at the research trailers and two different sets of people being on the island. Everything else in the movie like people trapping the animals, the T-Rex and infant being taken off the island, ect, were not in the book. I do not know why they didn’t follow the book exactly but it would have made the movie so much better.
I thought that because I had seen the movie many times that I wouldn’t like the book as much or found it boring. If you are a skeptic like I was, don’t be. The book is different from the movie and there are things in the book that the movies doesn’t show. I won’t spoil it for you because I want you to be as surprised as I was. Reading this book was like reading a story you have never heard before. The twists and turns caught me off guard and when I scene from the movie came up, it wasn’t the same. It was so much better.
The Good:
Dinosaurs!
Exciting
Fast read
Action packed
Thriller scenes
The Bad:
No such thing in this book!
Overall: Even if you have seen the movie, you need to pick this book up ASAP! Don’t judge a book by its movie. This was a totally different story that was an adventure to read. If you liked the first Jurassic Park book, you will love this one too.
Rating: 5 out of 5
