Product Description

It is now six years since the disaster at Jurassic Park; six years since the extraordinary dream of science and imagination came to a crashing end - the dinosaurs destroyed, the park dismantled, the island indefinitely closed to the public. There are rumours that something survived.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18369 in Books
• Published on: 1997-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Possibly the best book in the world
This is a must read book. The story follows on from where Jurassic Park (the novel) left off. The Lost World is an action packed adventure from start to finish. If you have seen the film then you have to read the book to see how superior it is. If only the film had been made to the same story line as the book.

Milestone
It's been over six years since I first read this book. I was too young to understand a lot of it at the time, so it became one of my "once a year books". Every time I read it, things become more & more apparent, little extras of the story unfold that previously passed by unnoticed. This might be because I can now understand a lot more of the book, but I think one of the reasons is the incredible detail that Crichton put into his books. If you're a fan of his previous work you'll know what I mean.

The Lost World follows on, in some form, after the events that occured in the book Jurassic Park. This time the centre character is eccentric mathematician, Ian Malcolm. He has changed a little since the previous book, but a lot of his characteristics have remained. Along with him, a few new characters come into play. Sarah Harding, Richard Levine, Kelly & Arby, Thorne, and Eddie are also main characters in this book, as Malcolm & Levine attempt to track down an island where Levine is adament that dinosaurs are living and breeding. Malcolm, as pessimistic as ever, takes time to come to terms with the idea, but never lets lose his sectre about Jurassic Park.

The Lost World is, in my opinion, a much more enjoyable read than it's predecessor, mainly because of the detail & research that has gone into the book. It focuses a lot more on Ian Malcolm this time around, but all the characters mentioned are a big part of the story. If you like dinosaurs, Crichton, or if you simply just want to sit down & be taken away to another, incredibly well written world, then read this.

So much better than that dreadful film.
For some reason, when making 'The Lost World' into a film, Spielberg chose to completely ignore the plot of the book, much to my sorrow. The story of the book involves a similar fact-finding expedition, but here Dogson (the guy who bribed Nedry in the first book) is on the island trying to further his own purposes.

The book is far more action orientated than 'Jurassic Park', with several gripping chases involving the raptors. But the science is not completely gone and is represented by Ian Malcolm's discoveries about the nature of the dinosaurs and their unnatural ecosystem. Crichton has also managed to recapture the sense of wonder so important in the first book.

As for the dinosaurs; the old favourites are back, T-rex, raptors, compys and dilophosaurs; there also a few new additions including the bone-headed pachycephalosaurs; best of all is the new carnotaurus, to which Crichton gives the tension-building ability to change colour and mimic texture like a chameleon.

There are flaws in the book, but they are largely they are continuity problems with JP. For instance, here it turns out that tyrannosaurs can see you if you don't move. And most obviously, the fact that Ian Malcolm (who died at the end of the 'Jurassic Park' novel) is the main character.

Continuity aside, this is a great read and a must for fans of dinosaur stories. But make sure you go for 'Jurassic Park' if you have to choose between the two.