By Michael Crichton
(TBR book)
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price.HIS Review:
Until something goes wrong. . . .
In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller.
I was already familiar with the plot and characters since I saw the movie multiple times as a kid. I was pleased to see many of the lines used in the movie were direct quotes from the book. It was a fun read and the drama/suspense really ramped up toward the end. I wish Michael Crichton knew another word for foliage. He repeated it so many times that I found myself rolling my eyes with every mention. The way he wrote dialogue was also very repetitive. Everything was "Alan said this" then "Malcolm said that" and so forth. When I read dialogue between characters, it felt less like a novel and more like a script. Perhaps he knew this would be a film one day and was just planning ahead. 3 out of 5 starts overall. The movie was better.
HER Review:
Like many people, I grew up watching Jurassic Park. Many are familiar with the theme song and the character Hammond saying, "Welcome to Jurassic Park!" So I was highly looking forward to reading the book. Did the book lived up to my expectations of the movie? Yes and no.
What I enjoyed about the book was the story. It was full of excitement and adventure! I enjoyed reading how different it was from the movie. While reading it, I sometimes wondered why certain things in the book were changed, especially when it was pretty thrilling. I loved reading more in depth how the dinosaurs were brought back to life and learning how the park was really run.
What made me not enjoy the book as much was the author's writing style. I've read some of Michael Crichton's books before and I highly enjoyed them. However, I never realized that he was more of a storyteller than a writer. I found myself laughing at every time he mentioned the word "foliage," cringed at all the times "said" was used, and chuckled at the weak descriptions of the characters (i.e. the fat slob). I was very tempted to get a red pen and start marking up the book.
Overall, this was a decent book. It was entertaining and I could see why it was turned into a movie. I rate it: 3 stars.
I absolutely loved the book, though I also saw the movie first. I typically fall on the side of books being better than the movies but this is one of the very few exceptions. That being said, I still loved the book and it is a five star read for me; there's just so much they could not include in the movie. Both are great, and great reviews!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. It was a very fun story. I think we noticed his writing style more because we were reading the book aloud to each other. If I were reading it on my own, I am not sure I would have focused so much on Crichton's word usage.
DeleteMakes sense. I can't wait until Eleanor is old enough to read it (she's seven). She keeps begging to watch the movie but I think it will be too scary for her when that big ol' t-rex comes out to play.
DeleteI love it when you do his and her reviews of the same book! I'd love it if my hubby was a book lover like me and we could do book reviews together. But he is so wonderful for doing and being interested in many other things... so, I can't really complain!
ReplyDeleteI've seen the movie of Jurassic Park, but haven't read the novel and from the sounds of your reviews, I'm glad I haven't read the book. I think the only novel I've read by Michael Crichton is Congo decades ago. Other than remembering that I enjoyed this book, I don't remember much of the details.
Reading together has been a very enjoyable activity. It began with audiobooks that we listened to on our road trips. Taking the time to read to each other has really made the evening entertaining after work. When it comes to reviewing, though, I have to pull the puppy eyes for him to write his review.
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