Because the history of evolution is that life escapes all barriers. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Published January 1, 1990 by Ballantine Books
Science Fiction/Thriller
Format: paperback; 399 pages
Also From This Author: The Lost World, Timeline, Prey
Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis:

A billionaire has created a technique to clone dinosaurs. From the DNA that his crack team of scientists extract, he is able to grow the dinosaurs in his laboratories and lock them away on an island behind electric fences, creating a sort of theme park. He asks a group of scientists from several different fields to come and view the park, but something goes terribly wrong when a worker on the island turns traitor and shuts down the power.

Thoughts:

As a dino-nerd who has been both terrified and enthralled by “terrible lizards” for most of her life, it still shocks me that I waited this long to read Michael Crichton’s thrilling classic Jurassic Park. I’ve even had a gently used paperback copy on my bookshelf for several years now, but it wasn’t until I saw Jurassic World recently that I finally desired to dive into the book that started it all. And dive I did, for I could not put it down once I got past the few introductory chapters. This book kept me riveted until the very last page (literally) and all the things I love about Jurassic Park the film were only multiplied by the novel.

The voices of the characters are so clear that it was effortless to hear them debating back and forth across the page. Ian Malcolm’s philosophical rants are twice as long yet much deeper than they are in the film, and John Hammond, while stubborn and slow to see the true failure of his endeavors on screen, is impossibly hard-headed (and might I add hard-hearted) in the novel. And Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are still my heroes :)

I loved the clear black and white themes running through Crichton’s book as well. They give you so much to think about that my mind was still pondering over everything days after I finished the book. I even went and bought the sequel the next day! Although, I’m saving it for my vacation next week ;)

Read This Book If:

…you love dinosaurs! (or are terrified by them)
…you are looking for a book to keep you on the edge of your seat up until the very last page.
…you enjoy light science fiction and thrillers.
…you’re longing for a book that makes you think and feel.

Final Musings:

I use this phrase very rarely, but Jurassic Park is a must-read for anyone who has watched the movie(s) and longed for more. The film has of course strayed from the novel in some ways, but the general themes and diatribes remain genuine. You will not be disappointed by Michael Crichton’s most famous thriller!

You know, at times like this one feels, well, perhaps extinct animals should be left extinct.