Oh Look, Another Book! - audiobook club read for February was Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

 

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, a
nd all the world can visit them - for a price.

Until something goes wrong...

In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller.

Review

If you’re looking for a science-fiction thriller that feels tense, intelligent, and surprisingly personal rather than just loud and action-packed, Jurassic Park absolutely delivers. Beneath the dinosaurs and the disaster, this is really a story about people — brilliant, flawed people — who believe they can control something far bigger than themselves.

From the moment the park is unveiled, there’s this quiet sense that it’s already too late. The achievement is extraordinary, and you can understand why everyone is dazzled by it. But threaded through that awe is unease. The systems are impressive. The science is groundbreaking. And yet, the more they explain how secure everything is, the more you feel the cracks forming underneath.

What makes the story work so well is that the disaster doesn’t feel random. It feels human. It grows out of pride, ambition, budget cuts, optimism, and the assumption that being clever is the same as being prepared. Through characters like Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm, you see that tension play out — the difference between studying something and surviving it. Grant adapts because he has to. Malcolm questions because he sees the bigger pattern. Neither of them are caricatures; they feel like people reacting in real time.

The supporting characters add even more nuance. Henry Wu isn’t a wild-eyed villain here — he’s thoughtful, uneasy, aware that they may have pushed authenticity too far. John Hammond isn’t purely malicious either. He genuinely believes in his vision of a park for children. That sincerity makes his refusal to let go — even when things unravel — oddly tragic.

The children give the story an emotional anchor. Tim Murphy is curious and surprisingly capable, while Lex Murphy reacts in ways that feel very real for someone under that kind of stress. Their presence keeps the story grounded; it’s not just about ideas and consequences, but about people trying to get through something terrifying.

As an audiobook, the experience feels immersive rather than overwhelming. The measured explanations of genetics and systems theory don’t bog it down — they build tension. Listening to the calm breakdown of how everything works only makes it more unsettling when it starts to fail. There’s something particularly gripping about hearing order dissolve into chaos.

By the end, I didn’t just feel entertained — I felt thoughtful. Jurassic Park isn’t powerful because of spectacle alone. It lingers because it asks uncomfortable questions about control, responsibility, and what happens when ambition outruns humility.

And as for the inevitable question — do I prefer the film or the book? As iconic as the film is, for me it has to be the book. The depth, the nuance, the darker edges and sharper consequences make it a richer experience. The film thrills; the book unsettles. And in this case, I’ll take unsettled every time.

Five Stars

Buy Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jurassic-Park-A-Novel/dp/B00U8GUFAG