The Lost World by Michael Crichton Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Lost World
Book Review: A rare loser from Crichton
Summary: 1 Stars
A real yawner of a book. The plot is paper-thin, and was heldtogether by the frequent random and senseless acts of dinosaur-humanviolence. The characters of Arby and Kelly were clearly stuck in to provide fodder for the sequel movie. There is absolutely no character development to be found. Just like the "Jurassic Park" film, this book ends in a feel-good ride into the sunset away from the carnage on the Isle of Dinosaurs. How trite. Dr. Crichton's periodic segues about chaos theory and his frequent interspersals of dinosaur science were indeed interesting, as his forays into such territory always are. However, they did not make up for the obvious vapidity of the plot. And the reviewer who said that this is better than Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" is clearly on crack. :-)Book Review: A re-hash of the original, yet still entertaining
Summary: 3 Stars
Michael Crichton's The Lost World is an interesting piece of work. On the one hand, it is an exciting, page-gripping, edge of the seat thriller reminiscent of the first Jurassic Park novel. On the other hand, it is exactly that: reminiscent of the first Jurassic Park novel. In many ways, it is merely a rehash of the original. Ian Malcolm returns, as does Dodgson, there are other dinosaur and mammalian experts involved (of course, they are all considered the best in the world), and the story could not be complete without two out-of-place brilliant children with knowledge and skills well above their actual level - particularly in the field of computers.
But that must be taken with a grain of salt, and Crichton forgiven, as he never planned on writing a sequel. It was only after many, many people, ranging from film producers to fans of both the novel and the movie pressured him into it.
Although many aspects are similar, that does not make the book any less appealing. With dinosaurs running amok, creating chaos, how can it be a bad read? This time, Ian Malcolm makes another appearance by wanting to visit the island and see the dinosaurs again. In that regard, his personality is very different than readers are accustomed - that, and he is alive, which he wasn't at the end of the first novel. One of his colleagues finds Site B, another island where dinosaurs were being produced for the park. Naturally, said colleague visits it alone, and Ian and several other colleagues must rescue him.
Of note are the reasons for the velociraptor's unseemly lifestyle - because as recreated animals they are missing a very important part of evolution: the social aspect. Also interesting are Malcolm's discussions on evolution and Darwin's theory. Crichton was no slouch when researching what he wrote about, and this is no exception. Of course, Crichton has an agenda in writing such a book, and that is to beware human existence and technological advancement. As Malcolm said,
"Human beings are so destructive, I sometimes think we're a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean. We destroy things so well that I sometimes think, maybe that's our function. Maybe every few eons, some animal comes along that kills off the rest of the world, clears the deck, and lets evolution proceed to its next stage."
The Lost World is a thrilling adventure that should not be missed by any reader who enjoys dinosaurs, thrillers, excitement or adventure. And since nearly everyone likes dinosaurs, it should be a required read...for most. For those that dislike the character Dodgson from both the original and the beginning of The Lost World, it is worth finishing merely to see Dodgson's comeuppance.
Book Review: A rip off from Arthur Conan Doyle's book
Summary: 1 Stars
The original Lost World was written by Arthur Conan Doyle, the same guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes stories. Michael Crighton [used] the idea and wrote his version. There're only very minor differences between the two books and it makes me upset that a great author like Conan Doyle came up with an idea and Michael Crighton stole it. If you want the good original Lost World with innovative ideas, get the Conan Doyle version of it.Book Review: A sad excuse for a sequel
Summary: 1 Stars
I am a huge fan of the "Jurassic Park" novel so I had been eagerly anticipating the reading of its sequel, "The Lost World." Having finished it, I now wish I would have saved my money and time. There are so many things wrong with this book that I don't have enough space to list them all, but I will list the main failings of this book that landed it within the genre of junk literature along with romances and that sort of worthless ilk.
First of all, as previous reviewers have also noted, didn't Ian Malcolm die in "Jurassic Park?" Crichton's use of Malcolm without giving any other explanation other than that "it was an exaggerated and overblown rumor" after killing him off in the original book shows a flippant disregard for his fan's intelligence.
Secondly, with the exception of Ian Malcolm, the characters are entirely too simple, one-dimensional, and formulaic. Its disappointing that such a usually imaginative writer such as Crichton could have been so lacking in the creation of complex characters.
Thirdly, the book is inflicted with an anti-scientific attitude, with a disparaging respresentation of the academic world as a collection of prententious, overweening, and pedantic fools obsessed with their own narcissistic fantasies and grandiose ideals who are so locked up within their caged world of theories and hypotheses that they have become completely disengaged from reality. The objections presented by Ian Malcolm against natural selection as an satisfying explanation for evolution is so outdated that the eminent zoologist Richard Dawkins had perfunctorily dismantled them years ago in his extraordinary "The Blind Watchmaker." The fact that Crichton would put such weak assertions into Malcolm's mouth shows me that he had been extremely lax toward doing thorough research on the subject of evolution, probably only reading the creationist viewpoint. Philosophically, the rest of the book is infused with a load of postmodernistic thinking, which is especially evident on the last page.
The fourth reason this book really sucked. The inclusion of the two children was severely irritating, almost making those parts unbearable to read. I also hated the villains and felt they were absolutely pointless. They didn't add anything to the story, didn't do that much in the story, and didn't last that long to really affect the reader in any way.
Fifth reason this book really sucked. Throughout the first part of the book in which the research group had first landed on the island, our heroic group is almost completely left alone by the giant inhabitants of the island. However, the last half of the book the characters can't even pick their nose without having a dinosaur breathing dangerously down their neck. The dinosaurs are made out to be super genius dinosaurs, being able to radar into where their eggs or babies are, even if they are miles away, overblown intelligences that rival those of their human prey, and a stamina and speed that our modern technology cannot equal. Those pesty velociraptors are too ridiculous to believe in, being able to outrun vehicles, run for miles and miles without losing any energy, never having to rest, and relentlessly attacking the humans as if they have no other care in the world.
Conclusion: "The Lost World" was as bad as the movies that it inspired. Obviously created purely for commercial reasons; action we have seen in a million different movies, cheap thrills, Hollywood entertainment that isn't in the least believable and lacking in any actual substance, Michael Crichton has written a book for those of us who like our reading quick and easy, served up for us like a Happy Meal at McDonalds.
Book Review: A superb book!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Lost World was an interesting read, and the characters were so well developed. I never wanted the book to end, because it was so thrilling and action-packed. There are many unpredictable events that occur, which is one of the many reasons why this book is so great. This was one of my favorites, and is one of Michael Crichton's best.