A review by toeffy
Congo by Michael Crichton

adventurous informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Not bad but somewhat disappointing

When in the mood for a science-based thriller you can't go wrong with Michael Crichton... Or so I thought, because apparently you can.

First of all, there was waaay too much technical and historical info dumping. The actual story takes place in the last 20% of the book, the rest is page after page of tech speak interspersed with historical trivia about the exploration of the Congo. This book should have been marketed as "fictional non-fiction" instead of "gripping thriller". 

And that's my second issue with this novel, there's not much story to begin with and what little there is... Is no thriller. It's bland. Illogical. Requires way too much suspension of disbelief. It feels like the author went through a checklist of stereotypical African dangers (Pygmies, cannibals, hippos, corrupt war lords, ...) and made the protagonists encounter them all over the span of a few days. And the encounters themselves were hardly dangerous, rather they were used for more info-dumping. All tell, no show. 

Explanations for certain plot points were either not provided at all (why did the "monster" use such a specific killing technique?) or were implausible (why did they even bring Amy? There was no guarantee whatsoever that she would be useful - the money it took to bring her would be better invested in a heavily armed squad of mercenaries). 

So, overall it was a tedious and disappointing read. Not awful, but thoroughly meh.