A review by mullane45
Congo, by Michael Crichton
4.0
3.5 rounded up.
I picked this up as something throwaway that I could read while the Euros are happening and taking up most of my time/brain, but I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected.
Essentially a classic adventure story combined with a techno-thriller, we follow a group of scientists as they journey into the depths of the Congo rainforest in search of rare diamonds that are going to be essential in getting what would become the digital age off the ground. Tagging along is a primatologist and his tame gorilla Amy, who was rescued from the Congo, and whom he's taught more sign-language to than any other ape in history. The team find themselves in a race against time to beat a rival group to the lost city where the diamonds are said to be found, battling against the dangers posed by a local military uprising, the indigenous people of the region, and the primal rainforest itself. Perhaps worst of all is the suggestion that there might be something else out there in the wilds. Something previously undiscovered. Something that brutally killed the previous expedition...
It's a bit dated in places - written in 1980, it presents emerging technology with a science-fiction-like eye, at times written in the style of an essay, complete with footnotes and references. Crichton takes his time to explain complex technological (and biological) concepts to the reader, which would today be explained instantly with words like "Photoshop" or "the Internet". This isn't a complaint - it never feels like a lecture, and it's actually quite neat to read. For instance: "experts anticipated that by 1990 there would actually be one billion computers - most of them linked by communications networks to other computers. Such networks didn't exist, and might even be theoretically impossible. (A 1975 study by the Hanover Institute concluded there was insufficient metal in the Earth's crust to construct the necessary computer transmission lines.) - See? Fun!
It's also dated in some other ways - references to Czechoslovakia are fine, one character light-heartedly using a derogatory term to refer to all Asian people is not.
For the most part though, this a fast-paced, rollicking adventure, which neatly contrasts a world on the cusp of a digital revolution with the more natural and primal one that's being diminished in its wake. Fans of the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy will also find much to enjoy in Amy, the intelligent gorilla, who adds another layer to proceedings.
Very, very readable.
I picked this up as something throwaway that I could read while the Euros are happening and taking up most of my time/brain, but I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected.
Essentially a classic adventure story combined with a techno-thriller, we follow a group of scientists as they journey into the depths of the Congo rainforest in search of rare diamonds that are going to be essential in getting what would become the digital age off the ground. Tagging along is a primatologist and his tame gorilla Amy, who was rescued from the Congo, and whom he's taught more sign-language to than any other ape in history. The team find themselves in a race against time to beat a rival group to the lost city where the diamonds are said to be found, battling against the dangers posed by a local military uprising, the indigenous people of the region, and the primal rainforest itself. Perhaps worst of all is the suggestion that there might be something else out there in the wilds. Something previously undiscovered. Something that brutally killed the previous expedition...
It's a bit dated in places - written in 1980, it presents emerging technology with a science-fiction-like eye, at times written in the style of an essay, complete with footnotes and references. Crichton takes his time to explain complex technological (and biological) concepts to the reader, which would today be explained instantly with words like "Photoshop" or "the Internet". This isn't a complaint - it never feels like a lecture, and it's actually quite neat to read. For instance: "experts anticipated that by 1990 there would actually be one billion computers - most of them linked by communications networks to other computers. Such networks didn't exist, and might even be theoretically impossible. (A 1975 study by the Hanover Institute concluded there was insufficient metal in the Earth's crust to construct the necessary computer transmission lines.) - See? Fun!
It's also dated in some other ways - references to Czechoslovakia are fine, one character light-heartedly using a derogatory term to refer to all Asian people is not.
For the most part though, this a fast-paced, rollicking adventure, which neatly contrasts a world on the cusp of a digital revolution with the more natural and primal one that's being diminished in its wake. Fans of the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy will also find much to enjoy in Amy, the intelligent gorilla, who adds another layer to proceedings.
Very, very readable.