Jurassic Park

a novel

399 pages

English language

Published Nov. 19, 1990 by Knopf, Distributed by Random House.

ISBN:
978-0-394-58816-2
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4 stars (19 reviews)

Jurassic Park is a 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton. A cautionary tale about genetic engineering, it presents the collapse of an amusement park showcasing genetically re-created dinosaurs to illustrate the mathematical concept of chaos theory and its real-world implications. A sequel titled The Lost World, also written by Crichton, was published in 1995. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World. In 1996 it was awarded the Secondary BILBY Award.

Also contained in: Congo/Jurassic Park Michael Crichton's Jurassic World

52 editions

Different enough from the movie to be exciting

5 stars

A really well thought out and written novel! I love the movie and I loved this book but it's different enough that I find it hard to compare the two, it's easier to think of them as two different stories with some similarities. That said, many of the movie gotchas are explained in the book. Hammond, the creator of the park, could be a modern tech bro, he gets involved in popular, up-and-coming technology he doesn't understand, cuts corners everywhere to make more money, abuses his staff, avoids responsibility, and doesn't waste a single minute thinking about ethics. The starting chapters were quite frightening and left an impression with me, and we don't even find out about the park until further in! The author includes a lot of details about the systems, sometimes even including diagrams, which I found delightful.

Better that one of my favorite movies

5 stars

I’ve loved Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg for as long as I can remember. I’ve hesitated to read the book, since I misunderstood it to be written after the film and not vice versa. That’s not the case though. About the book then: it’s fantastic. The whole seconds half you’re on needles, turning page after page. I like the style of Michael’s writing too. The movie and book differs in a few way, but story- and character wise. Hammond, which is quite likable in the movie, is what I imagine the Tech Bros of this decade when they’re in their seventies. Malcom is a bit much in the book, but becomes excellent in conjunction with the movie. I’m super happy I actually gave it a shot. My best read of this year, so far.

Subjects

  • Dinosaurs -- Fiction
  • Amusement parks -- Fiction