Congo

Rating:
Summary: very exciting an thoughtful
Review: This book was a great, very enjoyable read. The movie didn't do it any justice. It is actually one of the worst adaptations in history, despite they had a good writer. A cast of caracters with different interests enters the dark and deadly Congo. Karen Ross is the most interesting of all. At the beggining one can't like her because she is cold and reserved, but then the reader starts rooting for her. She is under too much pressure to accomplish a mission with a goal that can be seen as greedy and evil. But she states that's part of her job. If her company doesn't do it, then they are finished, she says. Such indifference is hardly punished in the end. I like her because she isn't the stereotypical Good Girl-Sarah Harding-Ellie Sattler-Linda Hamilton-Michael Crichton rude macho heroine. She is just a computer expert like any other and has a very selfish behavior. Anyway, the reader later realizes all the characters are in it for fame and fortune (Peter Elliot is concerned of what to wear when the new species he has discovered is revealed.) The plot intelligently integrates all the different characters into the adventure, another weakness in the movie, in which Karen stupidly goes to the Congo to seek her ex-fiancee and even trusts that the company is funding the whole expedition only to seek him and not the diamonds. Looks like it's a new tendence to put characters in the wild seeking their lost love interest in movie adaptations (The Lost World). The ending is visually great and terrifying, however the epilogue is not very satisfying. Overall a very interesting, technical read that you won't put down

Rating:
Summary: deeper than most
Review: you idiots who panned this book wouldn't know a relevant or well thought out issue being presented if it were giving you head. maybe it is that you are scared to dwell on some of the issues brought up by this book. you know, most of you were looking for cheap thrills and non stop action. this does not surprise me. your search for something to keep you all pacified was not fulfilled, so you chose to deem this beautiful piece of acutely metaphorical literature unworthy. yes, this may be unworthy of your approval, but if i were michael crichton, i wouldn't give a damn about what you all thought. this book was written for free thinkers. perhaps you would get more out of this book if you THOUGHT.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but I didn't feel I was involved in the story!
Review: Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors and Congo just didn't get me involved like many of his other novels. The focus seemed to be more technology oriented (interesting though) than focusing on the characters or the suspense aspects of many of his other novels. One of my favorites is "The Great Train Robbery."

Rating:
Summary: A naturally exquisite novel
Review: It is a well-written novel about a team of American scientists that go to the Congo rainforest to investigate strange and unexplained happenings. It is full of extravagant detail. Each page is full of excitement and suspense. With each chapter, a new explosion of adventure occurred. There was always someting exciting happening so the novel was never boring. I even enjoyed the prologue! I urge you to read this marvelous novel by the author Michael Crichton, also author of well knownnovels such as 'Jurrasic Park' and 'The Lost World'.

Rating:
Summary: Read the book, forgo the tape
Review: Judith Ivy is the worst actress that ever was, and her only contribution to any form of culture is to single-handedly close down any TV show or play she's ever been in, so low sales of the taped version of COngo is guaranteed. Buy this tape if you want to suffer through hours of an affected Southern drawl that makes this Southerner flinch- her only talent is making one vowel into an entire sentence. Read the book or get something who can talk to read it for you.

Rating:
Summary: Schlock
Review: THIS is an author who writes "literature" according to Amazon's pre-publicity for Crichton's Timeline. Ha!

Rating:
Summary: Really good, if not anyhing else.
Review: I saw the ovie before i read the bok, the movie was OK, but it made me want to read this masterpeice of a novel. I really liked all the conversatons with that small comuter with the shortened words (For example 'TUF LUK' funny, FUNny, FUNNY!!!) I thought the book was MUCH BETTER then the movie, even if the movie had Bruce Campbell in it. So the next time you want to read about a jungle expedition, you have two choices, watch the really stupid Chef Boy Ar Dee commercial, or read this book. I suggest reading the book.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but a let-down.
Review: I have read almost all of the books by this superb author. I liked all of them. I saw the movie for Congo and I kinda assumed that the book would be remotely like it. NOPE. Well, I guess a bit. The book was too educational. If I wanted to learn about gorillas and stuff, I would ask my biology teacher. But I guess that's the point of books like these : if they didn't exist, we would never learn about gorillas and stuff. My only complaint is the ending, I waited the WHOLE story to get to the gripping and amazing ending like in all his other books. When I finished it last night, I was sorely dissapointed. Well, I guess all books can't be as good as others.

Rating:
Summary: I agree with the mathematician from New York
Review: I agree with the reviewer from New York. I can't claim I noticed any of these glaring errors myself, or would understand them if I did, but apparently they are there so I'll say my bit and leave. All these errors would be at least partially pardoned if this was a good novel. It's not. Somehow I managed to get through it, but it's not good. It's terrible. Too long. Awful. DULL. So there's TWO reasons not to read it. Why bother when there's so many better Crichton thrillers on the market? Go read "Airframe" or "The Lost World"!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, if perhaps a bit far-fetched.
Review: Darn floor. Big bite. So the apes can talk. But who among us would ever pick up Crichton's books to use them for research? This book provides exactly what one would expect: an entertaining, fast-paced story that is based on what is perhaps an outlandish theory. But isn't that what Crichton does best? If you like his other novels, you'll probably like this one.