The Lost World: A Novel [Print] [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Crichton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 1996

"HARROWING THRILLS . . . FAST-PACED AND ENGAGING."
--People
It is now six years since the secret disaster at Jurassic Park, six years since the extraordinary dream of science and imagination came to a crashing end--the dinosaurs destroyed, the park dismantled, the island indefinitely closed to the public.
There are rumors that something has survived. . . .
"ACTION-PACKED."
--New York Daily News
"FAST AND GRIPPING."
--The Washington Post Book World
"A VERY SCARY READ."
--Entertainment Weekly
"AN EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT TALE."
--St. Petersburg Times

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written in the wake of Jurassic Park's phenomenal box-office success, The Lost World seems as much a guidebook for Hollywood types hard at work on the franchise's followup as it is a legitimate sci-fi thriller. Which begs the inevitable questions: Is the plot a rehash of the first book? Sure it is, with the action unfolding on yet another secluded island, the mysterious "Site B." Is the cast of characters basically the same? Absolutely, from a freshly minted pair of cute, compu-savvy kids right down to the neatly exhumed chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (who was presumed dead at the close of JP). But is it fun to read? You betcha. Hollywood (and Michael Crichton) keeps telling us the same old stories for a very good reason: we like them. And the pulp SF formula Crichton has mastered with Jurassic Park and The Lost World is no exception. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly

One fact about this sequel to Jurassic Park stands out above all: it follows a book that, with spinoffs, including the movie, proved to be the most profitable literary venture ever. So where does the author of a near billion-dollar novel sit? Squarely on the shoulders of his own past work?and Arthur Conan Doyle's. Crichton has borrowed from Conan Doyle before?Rising Sun was Holmes and Watson in Japan?but never so brazenly. The title itself here, the same as that of Conan Doyle's yarn about an equatorial plateau rife with dinos, acknowledges the debt. More enervating are Crichton's self-borrowings: the plot line of this novel reads like an outtake from JP. Instead of bringing his dinos to a city, for instance, Crichton keeps them in the Costa Rican jungle, on an offshore island that was the secret breeding ground for the beasts. Only chaos theoretician Ian Malcolm, among the earlier principals, returns to explore this Lost World, six years after the events of JP; but once again, there's a dynamic paleontologist, a pretty female scientist and two cute kids, boy and girl?the latter even saves the day through clever hacking, just as in JP. Despite stiff prose and brittle characters, Chrichton can still conjure unparalleled dino terror, although the wonder is gone and the attacks are predictable, the pacing perfunctory. But his heart now seems to be not so much in the storytelling as in pedagogy: from start to finish, the novel aims to illustrate Crichton's ideas about extinction?basically, that it occurs because of behavioral rather than environmental changes?and reads like a scientific fable, with pages of theory balancing the hectic action. As science writing, it's a lucid, provocative undertaking; but as an adventure and original entertainment, even though it will sell through the roof, it seems that Crichton has laid a big dinosaur egg. 2,000,000 first printing; BOMC and QPB main selection.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034540288X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345402882
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (628 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Crichton was born in Chicago in 1942. His novels include Next, State of Fear, Prey, Timeline, Jurassic Park, and The Andromeda Strain. He was also the creator of the television series ER. One of the most popular writers in the world, his books have been made into thirteen films, and translated in thirty-six languages. He died in 2008.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#50 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#62 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#62 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#70 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#50 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#62 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#62 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#70 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Micheal Crichton delivers again February 24, 2000

By "b_a_f_"

Format:Mass Market Paperback

So far, my favorite book is "The Lost World", despite some of it's obvious flaws. Such would include the large number of inconsistancies between Jurrassic Park and this sequel, and obviously the only reason Crichton wrote this was because Universal wanted a sequel for Jurassic Park, but these are easily forgiven over the quality of the work. As opposed to the first Jurassic Park, Crichton takes much more time in his visual descriptions of the actions in this novel, giving a better sense of the passage of time. One would notice that this book is noticably longer than the first. Crichton, like usual, is a master of educating his readers while entertaining them, better than many writers. Of course, one has to mention the often frightening edge-of-your-seat suspence that makes this novel impossible to put down. If you read this book and find yourself still craving knowledge and dinosaur action, I would suggest the novel "Raptor Red" by Robert T. Bakker. This book is also extreemly informative as well as action-packed, however it does not have the real scary edge of The Lost World or Jurassic Park. On the other hand, it is written from the Raptor's perspective, and is a real interesting twist on normal dino stories.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, A Sequal thats Worth the Time March 3, 2000

By Stephen Pospisil

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I'm quite skeptical about sequels, especially when the first was simply so clever. I could never have expected The Lost World to be so much different, and yet every bit as good as its predecessor. Perhaps one my favorite aspects of this book is that Crichton takes a risk (which is quite renowned for now) and offers an entirely new breed of dinosaur toward the end, the Chameleon-Raptor mix. The moment I begin to see this being, I envisioned one of the most devastating beasts the World would have ever known. I wish there had been more dealing with this creature throughout the adventure, but I was pleased to see Crichton back off the complex, realistic style he's so fond of and side track down a more creative, "what if" path. This book is not JP and it doesn't read like JP did, but I consider it worth every dime that JP was.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Site B Revisited April 21, 1999

By [e-mail]

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I've just re-read The Lost World back-to-back with Jurassic Park, and the sequel suffers somewhat by comparison. It's a lot bleaker than the movie version, with a smaller, less hospitable island, and the creatures wasting away from prion diseases (mad dino disease!) The T-Rexes display proper Spielbergian family values, but the raptors (and others?) seem to be afflicted with terminal behavioural problems; the outlook for them is not good. Where The Lost World loses out, compared to the first story, is in the plot and the human action. In Jurassic Park there was a terrific buildup and a scramble for survival, truly compelling stuff; in the sequel, we have a sort of field trip/rescue operation which only occasionally gains momentum. That said, there is plenty of food for thought, with Ian Malcolm & Co never at a loss for a theory or three concerning extinctions. Some people have said that Arby and Kelly add nothing to the story and might as well not be in it at all; I say that at least they're smart and sensible (unlike poor Lex in Jurassic Park, who has some of the dumbest lines ever printed.) So to sum up, not bad but lacks the bite of the original.