I loved this book. And I loved it because I took it for what it was: a fast-paced read, minus the science and philosophy rambling, with dinosaurs. I read a few comments from other paleoarch folks — my degree was strictly archaeology, but I digress — and I totally agree. Grant wouldn’t be breaking off bits of bone in his dig if he’s this experienced. We wouldn’t be tossing aside broken bones because no bone is useless. But hey. I didn’t really care as I was reading. I loved the movie back in the day, and the book just heightened my sense of nostalgia while also giving me a new perspective on a lot of plot elements the movie left out.

Crichton’s style was appealing too. Sometimes you just need to read a book that isn’t weighed down by too much of anything, and this was that book for me. I’m interested in trying more of his pieces in the future to see if it was just a fluke that I enjoyed this on a story I already knew, or if I genuinely want more of his work.

I took off a star because of all the huge science and philosophy discussions. I enjoyed them to a degree, but after a while I just wanted to get back to the action, not feel like I was back in a social anthropology lecture with horrendously dry assigned readings.

Check it out on Goodreads!