Jurassic Park

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Audie Award, Science Fiction, 2016

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.

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

Critic Reviews

"Frighteningly real...compelling.... It'll keep you riveted." ( The Detroit News)

"Crichton's dinosaurs are genuinely frightening." ( Chicago Sun-Times)

"Full of suspense." ( The New York Times Book Review)

"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.

119 of 123 people found this review helpful

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.

64 of 73 people found this review helpful

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.

38 of 47 people found this review helpful

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.

35 of 44 people found this review helpful

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.

27 of 35 people found this review helpful

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.

15 of 20 people found this review helpful

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.

24 of 37 people found this review helpful

A Great Story, Malcom Whining and Lex..teen drama.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Tough Call. The Jurassic Park Movie was great, the story more in depth, odd seeing the movie first. Good was the Narration, bad was Malcom (The mathematician) 20 minute diatribes that I ended up just fast forwarding. Lex the little girl was whining all through the book (probably true to life) Good was it was just a good story line, Adventure and Scary Dinosaurs..

What did you like best about this story?

The narration was top notch. As much as I hated Malcom and Lex, the Narrator brought it out just as strong as all the other characters

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Solid narration from top to bottom.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Did it 10 years ago !

Any additional comments?

I found myself glad this one was over. Not exactly sure, probably more of I already knew the story. But it ended well, one of my wishes was met and one was gone in the end. Guess who!

7 of 11 people found this review helpful

better movie than a book

In a rare statesment, I must say that I enjoyed this story more as a movie than I did a book. jurassic park is one of my favorites ... and qas surprised at how slow the book moved. I enjoyed some of the characters more here than the movie; and vice versa.

The book, rightfully so, spends a lot of time in the technical aspect of things. With this it makes the story profession slower.

it was a good book ... just wish I had read it years ago before being spoiled by the movie. lol

5 of 8 people found this review helpful

Finally!!!

Loved this book as much as the first time I read it! Happy to see audible finally get it. Really solid story and great reading. .

8 of 13 people found this review helpful

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.

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

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!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

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.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

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.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Just great

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

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Better than the film.

Really enjoyed this book, far better than the film. I would recommend this to everyone

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved it.

Jurassic park is a classic book and Scott Brick does it justice with his narration.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

If you enjoyed the films you'll enjoy this even more and amazing read couldn't put the book down

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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

3 of 4 people found this review helpful