I first read this book around 1996. I reread this in 2020, and my memory of the book had long been overridden by the Lost World movie, which has a little in common with this book. I also read Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World (from 1912) right before rereading this book, and Lost World Jurassic Park is thankfully much less racist than that one.
This sequel to Jurassic Park was not as exciting or as fun as the original Jurassic Park, but it was still good. The plot focuses on several scientists/teachers/professors: Thorne, a wealthy retired professor who now builds highly complex RVs, Richard Levine, a paleontologist, Sarah Harding, a carnivorous animal behavior specialist of some sort, and Ian Malcolm, who we all thought was killed off in the original Jurassic Park (or at least that is what JP book says), but has somehow recovered and is now back to being a mathematics professor. The book also has two children tag along, perhaps as an effort to convince parents that the future movie version of Lost World was family friendly and meant for kids, Arby and Kelly. Past me might have said the kids are annoying and shouldn’t be included, but I actually found that the kids were fine and once again ended up being the much needed computer experts. I especially liked Arby, who has a complicated childhood as an only child with professional yet mostly absentee parents. (Your mileage may vary – the movie version of kids I think was rolled into one child who may or may not have been a little annoying. The kids in the book were fine with me.)
The plot focuses on Thorne, Malcolm, and Eddie Carr, an engineer, (and the kids, hiding in the RV) traveling to Isla Sorna (Site B) to rescue Dr. Levine. Sarah Harding shows up a few hours later, to join in the rescue attempt, by hitching a ride with geneticist Lewis Dodgson (the guy who was trying to steal the Dino embryos in the first Jurassic Park book). Dodgson, along with two other colleagues, is still trying to get his own dinos by stealing eggs.
Site B was the breeding laboratory for dinosaurs that were then transferred to Jurassic Park, and like most things involving genetics, there was a lot of trial and error before getting things right. This site was abandoned after the whole InGen was shut down after the every of Jurassic Park, and many dinosaurs got out and are now living and breeding on the island (this is background, not part of the actual book plot, although I would read that book).
The plot mostly focuses on a.) finding Dr. Levine, b.) studying the behavior of dinosaurs in the “wild”, c.) understanding what is causing the dinos to act more erratic than usual , d.) surviving, and e.) not being killed off by “the bad guys”. The bad guys were never really a threat to anyone except Sarah Harding on the boat, and unlike the movie, there wasn’t a whole troop of guys with guns trying to kill the dinosaurs, mostly just Dodgson, who was trying to steal eggs.
Since I’ve just read A.C. Doyle’s Lost World, I would like to mention that Crichton’s Lost World has many more dinosaurs, fewer highly problematic “ape-men” (none), and was a whole lot less racist. I thought Isla Sorna having sheer cliffs making an entrance or exit to the island hazardous was similar to Doyle’s Lost World plateau, but there were not that many similarities between the two. The only small criticism for this book is that the ending seemed anti-climatic to me. There are no big discoveries (other than prion disease, which I had no idea what I prion was when I was 15-16 years old reading this book, but I do now), no big resolutions. This book did not seem that suspenseful, and I was never that worried for most of the protagonists, but that might be because I’ve already read this book and seen the movie.
All the familiar dinosaurs from Jurassic Park are back – T-rexes, hadrosaurs, velociraptors, triceratops, as well as a pair of camouflaging predators that can match their backgrounds like chameleons or octopi. Is this a feature of the Indominous Rex in Jurassic World? I’m not sure.
Lost World Jurassic Park was fun, escapism fiction for me, and I’m glad I reread it. I struggle with some of Crichton’s later works, when scientists somehow are always the “bad guys”, climate-change denial runs rampant (State of Fear), evil scientists are working on human-chimp hybrids (Next), and I don’t even remember what scientists did wrong in Micro, only that almost all of them were killed off in horrific ways. Those books turned me off to Crichton’s work in general. But, after rereading this one, I think I might continue my reread of Michael Crichton. The two Jurassic Park novels may well be the first science fiction books I ever read, and I have a special place in my heart for these two books.

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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.
But there are rumors that something has survived.
©1996 Michael Crichton (P)2006 Books on Tape
- Listening Length15 hours and 18 minutes
- Audible release dateDecember 17, 2007
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB0011FSS66
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 15 hours and 18 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Michael Crichton |
Narrator | Scott Brick |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | December 17, 2007 |
Publisher | Random House Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B0011FSS66 |
Best Sellers Rank | #935 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #96 in Suspense (Audible Books & Originals) #104 in Science Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #205 in Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) |
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, poorly shipped and packaged
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2023
This review is about how the product was packaged and shipped as the title states. The book itself is awesome and as an avid reader I recommend it whole heartedly. I purchased what I thought would be a nice hardcover to add to my collection. Upon opening the package there is an obnoxious tag on the books cover, I can’t remove it without tearing the lovely cover. Which for me is one of the reasons you get a hardcover. There are smudges on the inside of the cover where the sharpie that was used to cover up the original price leaked. Besides those marks, there’s one more on the back that looks like someone got a regular pen mark on it.Just to sum it up if you’ve read this far, fantastic book, poorly shipped and packaged for the money spent, leading to a 3 star review.
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2023
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 12, 2020
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 16, 2023
As a fan of the Jurassic park movies this book is different but not in a bad way. Obviously the movies changed things to make the story more action oriented. This is definitely worth a read for fans as it's different enough to feel fresh while still maintaining some familiarity with the larger scenes.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 7, 2007
"The Lost World" was much better on paper than it was on film. The film took a great deal of liberties with the story, going as far as adding entirely new characters and plotlines as well as borrowing from "Jurassic Park" to move the story along. This review, however, is of Michael Crichton's wonderful book and not the film loosely based on it.
I'm one of those people who usually sees a film before I read the book it is based on. With the "Jurassic Park" flicks, I really enjoyed the first one and hated the second one. With this in mind I was hesitant to pick up either of Crichton's dino books. After reading "Jurassic Park" though, I found that not only was the story different, it was much better. That made me wonder if "The Lost World" would do the same. As expected, "The Lost World" did not let me down. It was almost entirely different from the film. The primary plot of this story is that one Richard Levine is curious to find out if a "lost world" actually exists. He has been researching odd animal findings in and around Costa Rica and believes that somehow a few dinosaurs actually survived extinction. Not knowing about John Hammond's business venture in building a dinosaur park where dinos actually exist, he picks the brain of Dr. Ian Malcolm in hopes to convince him to help him seek out this "lost world." Of course, Malcolm is the wonderfully cynical mathematician from "Jurassic Park." He was thought to be dead but through the wonders of the written word, Crichton revives him. As Levine presses Malcolm for help, he eventually decides to go it alone and ends up trapped on Isla Sorna, also known as Site B. At this point the story drops (for the most part) all arguments over evolution and extinction and becomes a rescue mission. Malcolm, along with the likeable Dr. Thorne, the headstrong Dr. Harding, field technician Eddie Carr and two very intelligent stowaways, sets out to save Levine's life and hopefully protect the secrets of Site B.
Of course, no Crichton novel is worth a dime without a decent villain. In this case, we revisit BioSyn's Lewis Dodgson, the catalyst for most of the chaos in the first book. He, along with two counterparts, sets out to collect a few eggs from Site B for his own gain. Dodgson is sinister, calculating and very sure of himself. I'll let you find out for yourself just how much of a problem he becomes in the "lost world."
As in "Jurassic Park," Crichton often goes off on long scientific tangents explaining the habits of lions and jackals in Africa. He also gives drawn out explanations on why or why not the dinosaurs were wiped out by asteroids. But just like in his first dino book, Crichton pours out this information in a way that, to me, doesn't bring the action to a screeching halt. I enjoy reading these little tidbits of scientific information, but I can see where others might find them to be a bit too much info to take in while your being attacked by velociraptors.
Many reviewers find this book to be subpar. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it is a sequel. Sure, Malcolm shouldn't be back in action, but he's such a fun character that I'm willing to let Crichton slide here. I'll also concede that doctors Harding and Thorne closely resemble Grant and Sattler from the first book. I'll also admit that the two kids are nothing more than a rehash of Hammond's grandchildren. However, Crichton puts a very good spin on an old tale with "The Lost World." In my opinion it moves at a much faster pace than its predecessor. Although the characters aren't very well developed, we are given enough information to care about or hate most of them. Also, there are quite a few differences between the actions and even the biological makeup of many of the dinos in this book and "Jurassic Park," but these differences do help to move the book along.
"The Lost World" isn't a perfect book. It revisits old territory but still manages to give the reader a lesson or two about extinction and chaos theory. I give it five stars because it works wonderfully as an action yarn and it's nice to catch up with one of my favorite characters, Ian Malcolm.
Highly recommended.
I'm one of those people who usually sees a film before I read the book it is based on. With the "Jurassic Park" flicks, I really enjoyed the first one and hated the second one. With this in mind I was hesitant to pick up either of Crichton's dino books. After reading "Jurassic Park" though, I found that not only was the story different, it was much better. That made me wonder if "The Lost World" would do the same. As expected, "The Lost World" did not let me down. It was almost entirely different from the film. The primary plot of this story is that one Richard Levine is curious to find out if a "lost world" actually exists. He has been researching odd animal findings in and around Costa Rica and believes that somehow a few dinosaurs actually survived extinction. Not knowing about John Hammond's business venture in building a dinosaur park where dinos actually exist, he picks the brain of Dr. Ian Malcolm in hopes to convince him to help him seek out this "lost world." Of course, Malcolm is the wonderfully cynical mathematician from "Jurassic Park." He was thought to be dead but through the wonders of the written word, Crichton revives him. As Levine presses Malcolm for help, he eventually decides to go it alone and ends up trapped on Isla Sorna, also known as Site B. At this point the story drops (for the most part) all arguments over evolution and extinction and becomes a rescue mission. Malcolm, along with the likeable Dr. Thorne, the headstrong Dr. Harding, field technician Eddie Carr and two very intelligent stowaways, sets out to save Levine's life and hopefully protect the secrets of Site B.
Of course, no Crichton novel is worth a dime without a decent villain. In this case, we revisit BioSyn's Lewis Dodgson, the catalyst for most of the chaos in the first book. He, along with two counterparts, sets out to collect a few eggs from Site B for his own gain. Dodgson is sinister, calculating and very sure of himself. I'll let you find out for yourself just how much of a problem he becomes in the "lost world."
As in "Jurassic Park," Crichton often goes off on long scientific tangents explaining the habits of lions and jackals in Africa. He also gives drawn out explanations on why or why not the dinosaurs were wiped out by asteroids. But just like in his first dino book, Crichton pours out this information in a way that, to me, doesn't bring the action to a screeching halt. I enjoy reading these little tidbits of scientific information, but I can see where others might find them to be a bit too much info to take in while your being attacked by velociraptors.
Many reviewers find this book to be subpar. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it is a sequel. Sure, Malcolm shouldn't be back in action, but he's such a fun character that I'm willing to let Crichton slide here. I'll also concede that doctors Harding and Thorne closely resemble Grant and Sattler from the first book. I'll also admit that the two kids are nothing more than a rehash of Hammond's grandchildren. However, Crichton puts a very good spin on an old tale with "The Lost World." In my opinion it moves at a much faster pace than its predecessor. Although the characters aren't very well developed, we are given enough information to care about or hate most of them. Also, there are quite a few differences between the actions and even the biological makeup of many of the dinos in this book and "Jurassic Park," but these differences do help to move the book along.
"The Lost World" isn't a perfect book. It revisits old territory but still manages to give the reader a lesson or two about extinction and chaos theory. I give it five stars because it works wonderfully as an action yarn and it's nice to catch up with one of my favorite characters, Ian Malcolm.
Highly recommended.
Top reviews from other countries

Michelle
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delight, 5 stars!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 21, 2022
Having enjoyed Jurassic Park I was eager to dive into this one and wow, this was equally as thrilling as book one.
This author is an absolute master of raising your anxiety and creating tension you feel you can touch.
This book is fantastic in so many ways. It gets right under your skin and it's frightening but equally it's making you think about science, the planet, our existence.
Ian Malcolm goes down as an unforgettable character for me. What a legend.
And while there was traces of it in book one, this book has amazing females characters. I've many complaints regarding male authors and their female characters but credit where its due, Crichton nails it. There's no damsels in distress here. I hope teen girls are picking this book up and being inspired by the confident inspirational females in this book.
This duology was a delight. I've no idea why I waited so long to read it.
Five stars.
This author is an absolute master of raising your anxiety and creating tension you feel you can touch.
This book is fantastic in so many ways. It gets right under your skin and it's frightening but equally it's making you think about science, the planet, our existence.
Ian Malcolm goes down as an unforgettable character for me. What a legend.
And while there was traces of it in book one, this book has amazing females characters. I've many complaints regarding male authors and their female characters but credit where its due, Crichton nails it. There's no damsels in distress here. I hope teen girls are picking this book up and being inspired by the confident inspirational females in this book.
This duology was a delight. I've no idea why I waited so long to read it.
Five stars.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Meh..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 23, 2018
I thought after reading Jurassic Park that I would like this just as much. I was mistaken. I think the problem with this book is that Jurassic Park had a point, which was that when science becomes a business it can have very deadly results that never served any purpose other than to satisfy the greed for money of the investors and the lust for fame, recognition and power of scientists and everyone else involved.
I don't see what the point of this story was in comparison and that lead to disappointment. It's basically just more consequences of the actions of conceited people and a dead character even reappeared.
It's actually quite funny that this book was obviously only written to capitalise on the popularity of the first meaning that it's subject matter is somewhat hypocritical.
I don't see what the point of this story was in comparison and that lead to disappointment. It's basically just more consequences of the actions of conceited people and a dead character even reappeared.
It's actually quite funny that this book was obviously only written to capitalise on the popularity of the first meaning that it's subject matter is somewhat hypocritical.
6 people found this helpful
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Alyssia Cooke
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the original
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 9, 2020
Whilst I did enjoy this, I wasn't as enthralled with this second installment as I was with the first. It was very slow going to begin with and seemed to take far too long setting the scene before throwing you into the dinosaurs. When the action starts however, this novel really does take off with a bang and you are flung around for one hell of a ride. I did find it somewhat more predictable than the initial novel though, with the who lives and who dies being less of a surprise or shock and more, yep, saw that coming. Jurassic Park really put you through a roller coaster, not knowing which characters would come out the other side vaguely in one piece... this didn't quite manage that and so didn't keep me hooked to the edge of my seat in the same way.
One of the reasons I loved the initial book was because of the focus on the scientific and moralising aspects, often using both together. This had some of the science, although less of it and somehow less interesting, and almost none of the moralising. It is very clear from the beginning who the bad guys are and there are no murky shades of grey where you feel sympathy for a character who is perhaps doing something the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. Other characters aren't really fleshed out, in fact Malcolm is the key player and that's only because all of his characterisation was laid out in Jurassic Park. This doesn't add to it or even enhance it and little effort is made with the other characters either.
So all in all, I found this to be a thinner and weaker novel than Jurassic Park, but it was still a good read and is a fast paced science fiction thriller that should keep you on your toes if you want a relatively easy read. I would certainly recommend starting with Jurassic Park however; it isn't completely necessary, but there is some important background and it gives at least one of your characters a fully fleshed out character as well.
One of the reasons I loved the initial book was because of the focus on the scientific and moralising aspects, often using both together. This had some of the science, although less of it and somehow less interesting, and almost none of the moralising. It is very clear from the beginning who the bad guys are and there are no murky shades of grey where you feel sympathy for a character who is perhaps doing something the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. Other characters aren't really fleshed out, in fact Malcolm is the key player and that's only because all of his characterisation was laid out in Jurassic Park. This doesn't add to it or even enhance it and little effort is made with the other characters either.
So all in all, I found this to be a thinner and weaker novel than Jurassic Park, but it was still a good read and is a fast paced science fiction thriller that should keep you on your toes if you want a relatively easy read. I would certainly recommend starting with Jurassic Park however; it isn't completely necessary, but there is some important background and it gives at least one of your characters a fully fleshed out character as well.
One person found this helpful
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ShropshireBookWorm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crichton Delivers Again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 24, 2020
When this book was first published many readers were critical, claiming that Crichton was cashing in on the success of the original Jurassic Park. And whilst there are many elements of the original novel in this sequel, it still works perfectly and keeps the magic of genetically manufactured dinosaurs alive!
The story is relatively straightforward, with genetesists looking for "Site B"; the development site of the dinosaurs from the original novel with two sets of protaganists racing each other for the prize. With only one original character returning from the original, it doesn't simply continue on the saga and introduces new ideas and opinions. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses but I feel that their development wasn't as strong as those form the original. That said, they work for this story (which isn't too long) and with a short timeframe in which to complete their mission, the drama unfolds very quickly and probably doesn't allow for greater depth of character development.
OK, there is a great deal of predictability and some very far-fetched ideas, but this is science fiction and can only be approached with an open mind. Having re-read this (many years after originally reading it upon it's release), I have come to appreciate it a lot more than maybe I did first time around and I would encourage doubters to give it a go.
A fun read, that won't take too much time, and in typical style Crichton delivers a great tale based on great, fast-paced drama surrounding cutting edge technology of the time .
The story is relatively straightforward, with genetesists looking for "Site B"; the development site of the dinosaurs from the original novel with two sets of protaganists racing each other for the prize. With only one original character returning from the original, it doesn't simply continue on the saga and introduces new ideas and opinions. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses but I feel that their development wasn't as strong as those form the original. That said, they work for this story (which isn't too long) and with a short timeframe in which to complete their mission, the drama unfolds very quickly and probably doesn't allow for greater depth of character development.
OK, there is a great deal of predictability and some very far-fetched ideas, but this is science fiction and can only be approached with an open mind. Having re-read this (many years after originally reading it upon it's release), I have come to appreciate it a lot more than maybe I did first time around and I would encourage doubters to give it a go.
A fun read, that won't take too much time, and in typical style Crichton delivers a great tale based on great, fast-paced drama surrounding cutting edge technology of the time .
2 people found this helpful
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Luke
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some good moments but mostly sentimental
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 17, 2019
So I saw both the first movies before reading this and the original Jurassic Park book. Both are quite different from the films and so that makes me feel conflicted as I loved both of the movies.
I do like the philosophical bits by Malcolm and some of the more science-based explanations behind the dinosaur behaviour and such though.
It's written relatively well, not mind-blowing, but easy to read which I guess is good writing.
If you've read the first or seen both films, I'd give this a read as its fun to see the differences and how Michael Crichton intended the story to be told.
I do like the philosophical bits by Malcolm and some of the more science-based explanations behind the dinosaur behaviour and such though.
It's written relatively well, not mind-blowing, but easy to read which I guess is good writing.
If you've read the first or seen both films, I'd give this a read as its fun to see the differences and how Michael Crichton intended the story to be told.
2 people found this helpful
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