Book: The Lost World
Author: Michael Crichton
Published: 1995 (Knopf)
Pages: 393
Oh, man, you gotta love this book jacket copy:
Fuck yes something has survived, and that something is
dinosaurs, and someone’s experimenting on them and making them go all rampage-y
on a secret island that some kids and a few interchangeable biology doctors
have to go find.
If you are looking for well-rounded characters that are,
like, real people – look elsewhere, y’all. I couldn’t keep the docs straight,
since only the lady one had a distinguishing characteristic (she was a lady).
But that was surprisingly okay, because between them they all debated about
extinction theories and genetics and animal culture and it was really
interesting.
The plot read like the wind, too, without spinning its
wheels on manufacturing anguish. Even the romance between the lady doctor and
one of the other doctors was presented as long past its burning point and used
as a surprisingly concise, human shorthand of why she still felt so loyal to
him and his causes.
I do generally like my novels with more meat on their bones
(ha!), and I’m still not convinced Crichton is a good writer, really, but he’s
got good ideas, and it’s fun to read him explain them in prose.
This goes back to my friend’s bookshelf (finally – how long
have I had it? No, don’t tell me).
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