Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

"Welcome, to Jurassic Park!"

You can hear it, can you?  The fanfare?  You hear it while you picture yourself in the Toyota Land Cruisers, which are painted bright green with stripes.  It's automated and you move through dense vegetation, in a secluded island off the coast of Costa Rica, and you near a large, wooden gate.  As you get closer, the music gets louder, the gates open and you go through it.  You have time to look up and notice how colossal it is.

Then you're inside.  Nature stretches before you and all around you. You have arrived, you're finally there, back in time, eons!


What child had not dreamed of seeing a dinosaur?  What child does not know what a dinosaur is?  In fact, what person has not at least heard the name Jurassic Park?

We all know what lies inside that lonely island.  We know about the different species of dinosaur that lives in their own ecosystem like they did eons ago.  They walk this Earth once again, thanks to the visionary, ambitious millionaire, John Hammond.

And this is the book that started it all, that made all that fantasy even remotely possible.  Michael Crichton makes the world of Jurassic Park a possibility in the science world.  A small sample from a mosquito frozen in amber was able to provide enough information to reconstruct a whole genome for dinosaurs, and therefore, clone them and bring them back to life.  It's magical, it's surreal, it's so close to a reality... that it's scary.  The possibility, even the small possibility of it becoming a reality, is a scary thought.  Nothing goes well when one wants to play God.

The story is simple.  John Hammond, a millionaire in his seventies, had the vision of making a park where dinosaurs could roam free.  Not only that, he envisioned making it a zoo.  People could learn about this lost world and walk through it.  But there are attacks being reported from nearby islands.  People are being bit by this animal, and they are describing it as a new species of lizard that walks on two legs, like a chicken.  And it chirps!  The investors are started to get restless, believing Hammond is being careless and that the park is out of control.  They want to close it, and Hammond will have none of it!  To prove them wrong, Hammond arranges a tour, for one of the investors and the main consultants for the park.  Yes, they're all in the book!

The ambitions, dressed-in-white, Hammond

The brilliant, sarcastic Dr. Ian Malcolm!
Everybody's favorite, smug mathematician!

The gorgeous Dr. Ellie Sattler (That smile! *swoons*)

The kids, Tim and Lex Murphy
(Although the ages were swapped in the movie)

And our Indiana Jones-like hero, Alan Grant!

Of course, trying to harness the function and behavior of nature doesn't end well.  Things go from bad to worse.  And if you've seen the movie, things get much, much worse in the book.

My experience?

I loved it!  Like, really, really loved it!  As a recently graduated biologist, this book was food to my scientific mind and soul.  Michael Crichton impressed me beyond all expectations.  The man was a brilliant mind, and had a way of of narrating and building Jurassic Park in a way that you start to wonder if the Park really exists.  (I think the island exists... but the Park?  Who knows?)

I picked up the book as soon as I found out that there were books of the movies.  It's somewhat lengthy, and it took me a while to read it, but, as you can see on the panel to the right, it made my "favorites" list!  Why?

Well, firstly, it was pure science!  Everything discussed in the book was either scientific or mathematical.  I am not that good in math, at least the one discussed in the book, but science hooked me in a way and never let me go!  What a book!  

When I first saw the movie, I instantly loved it.  I was really young, since the movie came out the same year I was born (1993), it made an impression on me.  Of course, I didn't understand the science behind it, but I was in too much awe to care.  Seeing beings that had been extinct for millions and millions of years, it was surreal, to say the least.  I watched the whole series again not long ago, including Jurassic World, and that inner dinosaur fan emerged once again.

I loved the ride in Universal Studios Orlando, the music as you walk in, the roar of the T-Rex... everything!  I've lived it in the movies, I've lived it in the park... why not in the book?  When the scene came, where the Park was being introduced, Mr. Hammond and I here shared basically the same feeling.

"Welcome!  to Jurassic Park!"
"Watch your head, Mr. Genaro!"

The pacing was really good.  I never got bored, not even once.  It took a long while to actually get to the Park, but I didn't mind.  I was too involved in the occurrences at the beginning to mind.  There are a few... incidents that take place that introduce you to the mystery behind the island of Mr. Hammond.  Crichton places you in the dark, like any human being not involved with the Park.  And slowly, he introduces you that there is something BIG going on in that island.  You live through the minds of the clueless, wondering what is out there, attacking children, and you get no answers... until Hammond invites you to his jet (or helicopter?) and takes you into Jurassic Park.

As I said, the book is relatively lengthy.  It's around 450 pages, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat.  It is narrated in third person, in many points of views and minds, and you get to be with all the characters while they find themselves trying to survive among the dinosaurs, trying to stay alive in the Park and trying to hide from the threatening, colossal Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The book is somewhat... complicated, though.  Keep in mind that this story has a significant change in the science/paleontology world, and Crichton tries to present the ways the dinosaurs were cloned and the way they live.  He is very detailed and thorough when it comes to explaining the science behind it, so it might be complicated for younger readers.  To be honest, there refer to many species of dinosaurs, and I had google handy on my phone to see pictures of them.  Even though Crichton was very descriptive, I still found myself a little lost when it came to names (I mean, Compsognathus?  Really?  At least they call them Compys in the book).

The book contains every scene in the movies, ranging from the trilogy and having a few scenes from Jurassic World (although few).  Some scenes are familiar, some never made it to the movies (such a shame...).  That being said, it is much more entertaining and much more thrilling.

I thought the movie would ruin the book for me, but that was not the case.  It is relatively different, though familiar.  The characters have different fates and they do different things and much more than they do in the movies.  As always, the book was BETTER.  Who doesn't want more of the T-Rex popping out when you least expected?  The T-Rex has more "screen-time" in the book, just saying...

Rexy!

Do I recommend it?

Tough one.  I want to say yes, because it might be one of the best (and only) scientific books I've read!  But, it is relatively complicated.  It has graphs and a LOT of scientific terms that made me squeal in excitement every time I came across them, but would probably do nothing to people who have nothing to do with science.  As I read the chapter of the tour, where Dr. Wu (Yes!  He's there too!) explains how he cloned the dinosaurs, I knew almost all the processes used (restriction enzymes, manipulating genes, making them lysine contingency... so on.).

That being said, I don't think one should be an expert in science to read it.  In fact, if you aren't a science expert, then I do recommend you read it.  Why?  First, the book explains the processes and terms in vivid detail, therefore, you don't need to have a science major to know what is going on.  Crichton made sure you could enjoy it without having to go to the internet for reference.  Second, the book will have a bigger impact on you if you know less of the science behind it.  Since he explains it all in the book, you come to understand the how and be impressed by it.  It's a work of fiction, so I sometimes found myself more aware of the factual errors of the science behind it, rather than just enjoy the world he was building for me.  It's like trying to make sense of the science behind Harry Potter (which, I'm ashamed to admit, that I've done while watching the movies and reading the books.  How does magic even work?  Where does it come from?  A gland?)  

Believe me, you'll get to enjoy the journey of it all much more.  Whether it impacts you with science, or the idea that it might become a possibility (maybe someone is already working on them!  It took Hammond five years, after all), needless to say, it will impact you.

Take the time to explore Jurassic Park as it should have been.  Go through all the attractions with Grant: the aviary, the T-Rex's paddock, the sectors, the lodge!  Meet the dinosaurs face to face.  Learn from the brilliant Michael Crichton.  Learn how dinosaurs would've lived if they lived today.  And of course, learn the catastrophic consequences of manipulating nature and the ecosystem, of altering the way Earth works, and bringing something from the past.  We are not here to play God; let the Park show you that lesson.  Let Crichton show you the consequences of it.  Enjoy!

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to have a Jurassic Park marathon, drinking from my souvenir cup and wearing my T-Rex shirt.  Don't judge me.  Bye!

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Hope you enjoyed that review as much as I did!  I will be posting more reviews soon!  Feel free to comment your thoughts below and share your ideas!  Happy reading!