The Jurassic Park series, Book 1 Michael Crichton Knopf Fiction, Sci-Fi Themes: Dinosaurs ****
Description
A method for developing living dinosaurs from preserved DNA has been exploited by a millionaire seeking to open the world's most unique theme park: Jurrasic Park, a
place where living dinosaurs walk the Earth again, to the wonderment and delight of all. But playing with nature is never a good idea, especially when dealing with some
of the most cunning predators the world has ever known.
Review
I always feel I should give Crichton's books two ratings - one for what he's writing, and another for how he writes it. The what, the story, is great, suspenseful and
full of action. The how, on the other hand... I often find his writing style dry, full of unnecessarily long scientific dissertations and chock-full of sexist stereotypes.
This book is no exception. Once you get past that, the tale itself is a good one. It is, of course, not exactly the plot used by the movie of the same name, so watching it
won't give away too many plot twists of the book, and vice versa.
Michael Crichton Knopf Fiction, Sci-Fi Themes: Time Travel ***
Description
Through the latest breakthroughs in quantum theory, the technology giant ITC has built the first working quantum computer. The main purpose of this vast machine is to
send humans to various places and times in our own history. In the final developmental stages, the project is kept tightly under wraps as the technicians struggle to work
out the last bugs before going public.
One of the archaeology professors working on an ITC-owned medieval site in southern France grows suspicious of his employers after a corporate visit, where the lawyer
representative apparently knows more about the medieval structures they are excavating than his team does. He demands a visit with the company president to explain.
Shortly thereafter, his team finds some very unusual items in the ancient monastery: a modern bifocal and a note, in the Professor's handwriting, among fourteenth-century
church documents. The note is two words long: HELP ME.
Review
On the whole, this was a fairly good story. The plot picks up fairly quickly, and hardly slows down. For once, our ancestors are not depicted as bumpkins, but as fully
intelligent - if distinctly more violent - human beings, perfectly capable of outwitting the supposedly more sophisticated twentieth-century students. Crichton seems to
have finally joined us in the modern world; he is no longer writing with as sexist an attitude as he has had in the past. He also added little in the way of his usual dry
science... though, for once, I thought he could have used a little more science and explanation. The ending leaves some plot threads disturbingly unresolved, and there
were a few more points I wanted clarified (including problems simply brushed aside with non-explanations), but otherwise this is a decent read. (And, again, it looks like
the movie bears little resemblance to the book, to the point that I never bothered watching it.)
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