Jurassic Park

A Novel

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Timeline, Sphere, and Congo, this is the classic thriller of science run amok that took the world by storm.

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

“[Michael] Crichton’s dinosaurs are genuinely frightening.” - Chicago Sun-Times

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, and 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.

Praise for Jurassic Park

“Wonderful... powerful.” - The Washington Post Book World

“Frighteningly real...compelling... It’ll keep you riveted.” - The Detroit News

“Full of suspense.” - The New York Times Book Review

©1990 Michael Crichton and © 2014 by Dinosaur Holdings LLC. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Scott Brick brings a chilling calm to the complex story with his deep, even tone and clear enunciation.... He does a particularly fine portrayal of John Hammond, the creator of the controversial park, giving the character a raspy edge that suits the dark agenda beneath his grandfatherly facade." (AudioFile)

CHAOS THEORY

DIET COKE SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED
Crichton was a genius. He was a rare kind of genius that could explain complex scientific concepts in an entertaining fun way to us laymen. I have compared him to Arthur C. Clarke, which is high praise indeed. Crichton has probably launched many careers in science with his ability to show the wonder and magic of science.

WHAT ABOUT THE FROGS
The first half of this book is full of all that wonder I mentioned above. Several different sciences were beautifully explained. Crichton also has a scene of tremendous suspense, involving a little girl and a dinosaur. If Crichton had no science in his writing, he still would be a popular writer with his abilities to build suspense, not just say this happened and than that happened. It is my own personal quirk, but I am not a fan of overly long chase scenes, shoot-em ups or things that explode. I know I am rare in that. Had this book ended at the halfway point (about 7 and a half hours), it would have got a glowing review from me. The last half of the book is mostly being chased, eaten, and thrown around by dinosaurs. There is still some science thrown in, but it reads mostly like it was written for the movie. This much running around lost its appeal for me and my mind kept wondering. I got impatient for it to get over with. The whole frog thing was disappointing also. He kept making it sound like some big deal and big secret no one knew about. Anybody with any minor interest in science knew the answer from the beginning. I still gave the book four stars, as the first half was so wonderful.

Slap her please
I would also like to ask from those who read the book, did you want to slap the crap out of that little girl as much as I did. I was hoping they would throw her to the dinosaurs before it was over.

Narrator
Scott Brick is one of the most prolific narrators around. He is hard to ignore, but I actually did for about two years. He used to have a tendency to read every sentence tremendous dramatic flair, even if it was some mundane chore like drinking a glass of water. In this book I was amazed by his performance. He already had the voice, but now his inflections fit the mood of each and every sentence. If you have been avoiding his narration, rest assured that you will love him in this reading.

WAITED YEARS FOR THIS!

Would you listen to Jurassic Park again? Why?

I've listened to John Heard's Abridged version of this book for YEARS. I've listened to it about 100 times. It's a CLASSIC. Now we have the FULL VERSION!

Any additional comments?

GET THIS RIGHT AWAY! It's a million times better than the amazing movie.

Great Narration, Great Story, missing details

The story is obviously great, Scott Brick is an excellent narrator, however for some reason they decided to leave out a lot of details whenever they are reading something that's on a computer screen. The part where Malcolm interrogates the control crew about the dinosaurs multiplying is truncated to the point that you have no idea what dinos have multiplied... it's a small gripe but it's a large plot point.

The movie is Great - the Book is BETTER!

Would you consider the audio edition of Jurassic Park to be better than the print version?

Dear Readers - Try to put the movie out of your head and prepare yourself for a far richer, more exciting and "Run for your Life" adventure into Jurassic Park!

I love love love the Movie "Jurassic Park" And like most, Jurassic movie fans, found myself, perhaps "instinctually" comparing the plot of the movie with that of the book….

Fortunately, having read many books, gone movie - I knew to "clear the slate" and begin anew, discovering a story even more exciting.

Naturally, the book covers in greater details the scientific and technical details and there are more characters and greater character development. All of which, fans of Michael Crichton will know to expect.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but Mr. Bricks is wonderful and believe him to be the perfect choice in Narrator for "Jurassic Park".

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and No. I fell asleep while listening to the book and dreamt I was being chased by dinosaurs! …..Aaaaggghhh! I would not recommend that to anyone.

Any additional comments?

Final note: I read the book prior to seeing the movie when I was in my 20s. Having seen the movie numerous times, earned a BA, a JD and a few grey hairs, I can tell you I enjoy the story just as much today as I did 20 years ago. - In my book, Jurassic Park is the ultimate summer read.

A Good Listen With Only a Few Minor Quibbles

I really enjoyed the movie more than the book. I thought the special effects really brought the dinosaurs to life realistically--so much so that I even had a dream about that brontosaurus, the one that was peacefully munching leaves high up in the trees.

Perhaps it is an effect of time or failing memory, but I really didn't think the book was THAT dramatically different from the movie. If you loved the movie, you will certainly love the audiobook. But if I was forced to pick between either seeing the movie or listening to the book, I'd pick the movie. Again, this is NOT to say that there is any reason at all you should not purchase this audiobook.

My minor quibbles? The girl, Lex, was endlessly annoying. Her whining was too repetitive and drove me crazy to the point of wanting to swat her. And Malcolm's philosophizings went on for too long and came a bit too often for my tastes. Did these things ruin the listening experience for me? Not at all.

And then, dare I say this? Putting on my helmet for protection . . . Scott Brick has become my least favorite narrator, to the point of not even considering a book narrated by him. It is due to his over emoting. But the reviews of this particular narration bordered on an almost unanimous adoration of the man, so I opted for getting the audiobook, due to the pull of nostalgia. I would say he gave the best possible narration for my ears, and yet that silky, sweet tone of voice at times made me cringe (as it IS a relatively long listen at 15 hours.) If you are a Brick fan, you will most likely be very impressed by this narration. If you are not, you will still love the book.

So there it is.

Fantastic Story, Boring Narrator

I've read this book many times, but this is my first time listening. The narrator reads in a dull, monotone voice that took me out of a story I love very much. I wouldn't recommend the audio book version.

Bogged down and became irritating

The story started out interesting, and Scott Brick's fine narration made it a delight to the ear. Eventually, though, the story devolved into one chase scene after another. I was thinking, "don't these animals ever get satiated? And why don't they eat those herds of herbivorous dinosaurs instead of relentlessly pursuing scrawny humans?"

Hunt and chase scenes are exciting on the big screen, but become tedious in an audiobook.

But what really turned me off was the kids. Or more specifically, the girl. Incredibly irritating. I was hoping the T-Rex would devour that bratty little girl, who was constantly whining about how tired, hungry or bored she was, asking stupid questions, and yelling "I hate him!" at the T-Rex. She was like fingernails on a blackboard, and I ultimately started fast-forwarding to get past her.

I would have given this a 5-star review at the end of Part 1, but by halfway through Part 2, it was an effort to keep listening.

What a fun listen...

I've never seen the movie or read the book (hard to believe but true) but sure had lots of fun listening to Scott Brick tell me this certainly written to be an action movie book. I am sure the action and dinosaurs were more fun to watch... but I have enjoyed all the information which wouldn't have made it into a movie. What an imagination Mr. Crichton and amazing reading Mr. Brick together you make a brilliant team.

I don't think this is one I will read over and over, but it was sure fun on this first read.

Lots of Science

Well, that was fun and science heavy. I guess I've watched the movies before and never really read the book, so it seemed like time.

The book is far less horrifying to me than the movie, but I startle very easily and have a bad scream reflex. So me watching the movie is far more dramatic than me reading the book, even though the book also has a certain level of stress and suspense.

I liked it.

I could have used more from the Performance

I love the Jurassic Park Novel but I found this performance to be lack luster. There were just many periods while listening where it fell flat for me. Jurassic Park is a scientific book and there is a lot of explanation but I found the narrator got into a repetitive tone that would just bore me.

Exciting but flawed

Often when reading a book after having seen a film adaptation of it, you'll find that the book tells the superior story due to the extra depth given to the characters and the extra time afforded to explaining the various plot twists and turns. With Jurassic Park however, the book made me realise how cleverly Spielberg et al had been in their interpretation. The book is exciting and provides a similar sense of wonder, however some of the characters, dialogue and pacing are simply not very well done at times. For example, I spent large parts of the story wishing that one of the younger characters would hurry up and get eaten, they were that irritating. Other characters seem present only so they can spout long philosophising monologues that rarely make much sense. Still, overall it is exciting and fans of the film and the genre will certainly enjoy it.

Jurassic Park!

Any additional comments?

An excellent novel, fast paced, exciting, thrilling add in the huge frigging dinosaurs and what else could you ask for?

I used to have an old abridged version of this on cassette when I was a kid and I listen to it so much it eventually wore out so I was extremely excited to see that this unabridged version was coming out.

Scott Brick was an perfect choice of narrator because he is a master at building up tension when needed in a story telling.

I think I saw the film 5 times at the cinema when it came out and loved it, (I was twelve back then so who can blame me!) but the book is so very much better and that is saying something. CGI effects in film can date with time but your imagination’s special effects never do. I absolutely love this Audiobook.

Excellent Ride

You all know the plot from the film - mad billionaire creates a theme part full of genetically modified dinosaurs. I have to say though, and a lot of this is to do with the narration (Scott Brick is a favourite of mine), the audiobook is much more exciting.

Despite the T-Rex making the front cover, it is the velociraptors that stole the show; from seemingly adorable babies to cunning, predator adults. Kudos to Dr Grant, if I was him, I would have left Lex behind - she was incredibly annoying and kept putting them in danger, wee pain!

Even if you've seen the film you will enjoy this

Where does Jurassic Park rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I most like fiction, history and fantasy and never really listen to horror suspense books, but i'm glad i did. it is a good book .

What other book might you compare Jurassic Park to, and why?

don'l really listen to many in this genre so i cant really.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favourite?

Hammond as he is very different in this to how he was portrayed in the film.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

there were definite gasp moments.

Any additional comments?

I would highly recommend this book to people. I gave it a five star as I'm a huge JP fan but peeps i tell thee its entertaining and tense as hell.

Narrator made this unlistenable

Whilst the basic premise of Jurassic Park is an incredible piece of sci fi and the film is one of my favourite movies of all time, this audio version just didn't do it for me. Firstly Michael Crichton has this habit of writing 'Grant said' & 'Malcolm said' & 'Hammond said' repeatedly over and over and over again. Said, said, said, said...It gets tedious and after a while it's all you can notice and it starts to grate on you. Secondly the narrator's voice is so dull. He sounds bored and makes little effort in distinguishing between the different characters voices. I stuck it out for just over 3 hours but that was enough. Not for me.

Just great

Having grown up with the film, the book delivers even more joy as an adult.

Great book, doesn't detract from the film at all

This book was great, I'm a big fan of the franchise and I was worried that this book would make the films seem week… I was wrong. If anything, this book strengthened the story even better.it's great to hear what the characters are thinking and their ration now behaving the way they do, it really gives more dimension to this story. Also Scott bricks narration is as always utterly fantastic… You can't go wrong with Scott brick

Loved it!!!

The story was very gripping, of course I had expected it to be different from the film but not as much as it was and I really enjoyed it.

You'll never need to guess who's saying what.

Repetitive use of 'X said' which is really off putting. It might be in the book, but if two people are having a conversation it's so annoying.

Lex us so whiney I wanted the raptors to eat her

I love the premise of the story but good god that character is annoying and unnecessary