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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 Booklist , September 1, 1995

Every Cretaceous critter in John Hammond's bioengineered dinosaur preserve was destroyed after the events of Jurassic Park. Yet five years later, carcasses of recently dead, supposedly extinct saurians are washing ashore on nearby islands. Time for intrepid scientists to discover and observe again. Onboard this time are the chaos and complexity theorist who almost died in Hammond's folly, a stuck-up rich guy paleontologist, an Amazon of a large-animal ethologist, a regular-guy engineering genius and his assistant, and two computer whiz kids who stow away to join the adults. And, of course, there are venal villains (three) trying to get to the salable goods first (guess what their fate is). Crichton adroitly combines popular scientific colloquy and ripping good, blood-and-guts (literally) action once again. If it all seems rather predictable, remember that the pleasures of familiarity and referentiality rank high among the rewards of popular fiction. Here such pleasures begin with the title, plundered directly from the granddaddy of the modern-day dinosaur romance, Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World (1912). Ray Olson

Copyright© 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title

Book Description

"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

Synopsis

Six years after the secret disaster at Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs have been destroyed and the park dismantled. But there are rumors that something has survived. "The action far surpasses anything in the original book . . . The suspense is masterfully stretched out, then released all of a sudden--just when you least expect it."--Entertainment Weekly. Previously published by Knopf.

Synopsis

The mega-bestselling author of such exciting novels as Disclosure and Congo unveils the electrifying sequel to his hit book/movie Jurassic Park--certain to be a surefire bestseller!.

Synopsis

The best-selling sequel to Jurassic Park and the basis for a forthcoming major motion picture from Steven Spielberg begins with rumors that something survived the disaster that closed the park. Reprint. Movie tie-in."