Review: The Lost World

Michael Crichton, The Lost World (Alfred A. Knopf 1995)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8650.The_Lost_World?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZTz8SLnWSd&rank=1

6 stars. Technothriller with dinosaurs. What’s not to like?

First of all, the notion that anyone in this fictional world hasn’t heard of Jurassic Park and its demise is ludicrous – nondisclosure agreements or not.

That aside, the now dino-phobic Dr. Malcolm is recruited by rich investor Richard Levine to go dinosaur hunting in Costa Rica.

Levine is called to Rojas near Panama to examine a carcass – of some large lizard. He says to Marty Gutierrez, field biologist, ‘It’s not a damned lizard.’ He cuts a sample from the femur before the Public Health men destroy it. There are rumours of other ‘aberrant forms’. The animals are said to crave the lysine in genetically modified soybeans.

Ed James meets Dodgson and Basildon at 2 AM. They want to know about ‘Site B’. ‘Find Levine,’ says Dodgson.

Levine lands with Diego the pilot on Isla Sorna. Elizabeth Gelman, head of research at the San Francisco Zoo, has examined Levine’s sample. It looks like a lizard, but with the smooth muscle fibers of a warm blood, nucleated red blood cells of a bird, and a radio tag. ‘Somebody’s raising these things,’ she says.

Engineer Jack Thorne has built all the equipment to be ‘lightweight and strong’. Hyena expert Sarah Harding flies from Tanzania. Mechanic Eddie Carr discovers the dino-factory, disused for years, has power.

This isn’t just dinosaurs and screaming humans. There are the dastardly capitalists trying to steal intellectual property. There is Levine trying to study the animals and Malcolm trying to test his theories about evolution and extinction. But it’s once the humans start to interfere with the natural processes that the dino-shit starts really hitting the fan.

Once the action starts, there’s no let up. Sarah and Kelly are battling raptors, while Levine and Malcolm deal with angry tyrannosaur parents.

A dense jungle is the perfect setting for suspense. You hear breathing, but all you can see is a chain-link fence. Suddenly, you realise the raptors have chameleoned into the patterns of the fence and the shadows cast by the windows.

The tension increases as some of the humans (Dodgson) are trying to kill other humans (Sarah). The rescue helicopter comes and goes.

As the scientists examine each element, we learn more about the science. For example, Sarah explains predator/prey ratios to Eddie while pondering the surprising large numbers of velociraptors.

6 stars. The perfect technothriller.