bibliomaniac33's review against another edition
2.0
I read this the first time in the 1990's and 1 starred it and am only slightly raising the rating 30 years later to 2 stars, simply because I enjoyed the parts with Amy the gorilla so much this time around. This is now officially, after two reads, my least favorite Crichton book.
namastayyy's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
If the book werent overwhelmingly focused on 80s data science, I think this would be a pretty fun adventure novel to satisfy your inner Airport Dad.
The gorilla stuff and the 3rd act is fun and there are a couple of really vivid and exciting scenes, but for whatever reason it takes 200 pages for the jungle expedition to really take off because Crichton is obsessed with realism and needs to explain every moment of gear prep and beurocracy leading up to this.
Christ sakes we will be in the middle of a volcano erupting and there will suddenly be a big aside on data transnission software and how computer chips are forecasted to evolve in the mid 80s?
Really just Crichton and his obsession with everything but the interesting part of the novel, which is the sign language gorillas and jungle expedition in to a mysterious city with a crazy history.
Like hello, Mr Crichton, we have a gorilla here smoking cigarettes and drinking champagne! Can we turn the camera away from scholarly papers on sattelites please? Lol
The gorilla stuff and the 3rd act is fun and there are a couple of really vivid and exciting scenes, but for whatever reason it takes 200 pages for the jungle expedition to really take off because Crichton is obsessed with realism and needs to explain every moment of gear prep and beurocracy leading up to this.
Christ sakes we will be in the middle of a volcano erupting and there will suddenly be a big aside on data transnission software and how computer chips are forecasted to evolve in the mid 80s?
Really just Crichton and his obsession with everything but the interesting part of the novel, which is the sign language gorillas and jungle expedition in to a mysterious city with a crazy history.
Like hello, Mr Crichton, we have a gorilla here smoking cigarettes and drinking champagne! Can we turn the camera away from scholarly papers on sattelites please? Lol
thluke91's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kandicez's review against another edition
4.0
Gorillas are my favorite animal, but they scare me too. I loved this, and was actually, really scared! Unusual for me.
zombiepond's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lloydie666's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25