Congo

Rating:
Summary: Mmm...I devoured this book!
Review: This is one of my favorite novels, and Crichton is a delightful author. He confirms this with Congo, Spehere, Eaters of the Dead, and so far Timeline. Congo is about a team hired by a corporation to go out and find out what tragedy fell upon a previous expedition. There's plenty of action to keep you wanting more, and then enough to turn the page. The movie cut out the scene about the crashed airplane, and threw in a love story which is ashamed. Anyway, do yourself a favor and read this book!

Rating:
Summary: A cool page turner.
Review: once you start reading, it's hard to put it down, this thiller grips all of your senses & you become part of the book. highly recommended reading. the only thing i don't like is they changed the cover on the book in opinion it gives too much away. they should've stuck with 1980-1993 cover i loved the embossed lettering & the artwork for the front cover please bring that one back. all i have to say is read the book ignore the film
it's bad.

Rating:
Summary: Great beginning, and middle but the last 20 pages...
Review: I loved the whole book exept for the last 20 pages. it seems likecrichton was getting borred so he rapped it up in a really pathedicmanner. . also he should not have added the epalog (sp?), cuz itruined the whole felling that you got while reading the book. He screwed it and I am so suprised that the editers let the ending fly. the epalog really. . . gives too many facts and distroyes the idea that the book is fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Goes up and down.
Review: I enjoyed this book a lot for the most part, although there were a couple parts in the book when I lost interest but of course it gets better and I was hooked again! I thought that Amy, the gorilla was great, and that although the characters weren't that greatly developed I thought that the action really recovered for it. Although I found that Monroe was very delightful to read about! Over-all this book is very good, it deserves four stars- definitely a must-read!

Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: Well... all I can say is, I didnt like it. The first part of the book gets you interested and you feel like you want to read more. That was the good part. The next few hundred pages is like an instruction book on how to travel to the Congo. The last 20 pages were good, though. So, If you like to be bored, or if you are just wanting to know how to travel to the Congo, pick up this book. Otherwise, leave it right where you found it.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Cool
Review: Congo, what an amazing book! The tale of a group of explorers who go into the jungle, and then a group of bloodthirsty gorillas rain down on em like a plague. Very awesome, riveting book, way, way better than the movie. Amy is one hilarious gorilla (not an insult, she actually is a gorilla). Yep, good action sequences, cool gorillas, and a relatively believable concept. The reason it gets four stars instead of five is because of the long explanation sequences that occur frequently throughout the book. For example, there will be like five pages about the advancements of teaching apes sign language, and by the time you get through that, you don't even remember what was going on in the story. Coulda done without that, but otherwise a very good book. The movie is nowhere near as good, because the story is shorter and the acting sucks. Even Tim Curry and Ernie Hudson (two great actors for my money) can't breathe life into it. So, in conclusion, skip the movie, sit back, and check this out. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: I Thoroughly Enjoyed This One
Review: A small field expedition from the Earth Resources Technology Services (ERTS) is sent to the congo to find a lost city. In the early morning they establish a satellite link with ERTS headquarters in Houston. When Houston connects, they see the images of smashed tents, crushed bodies, and dark shapes moving about the foliage. The connection dies when something approaches and systematically destroys the video equipment. ERTS needs to find the lost city because of the huge supply of technologically essential type IIb crystals located inside, so ERTS quickly arranges a new team. Complete with a sign language speaking gorilla and an arsenal of highly sophisticated technology, the team descends into the Congo rainforest. One of the great things about this book is that it captures the old-fashioned romanticism of hacking through unexplored jungles like a great 19th century explorer, But it also explores in great detail the complexity of modern technology. The characters enter the jungle with GPS systems, image intensifiers, electrified base perimeters, and the ever-present satellite link with Houston. All luxuries that Henry Stanley and David Livingstone had no access to in the 1800's. The book is surprisingly believable and well researched. All throughout the book, the author backs up the fiction with fact, going in depth into technological advances, primate behavior, and geological activity. The technical jargon makes it difficult to read at times but it's not enough to discourage one from finishing the book. Do not let the gruesome prologue deceive you however; this book does go pretty slow for a few chapters. But if you stick with it, it is well worth your time. The suspense is high from the moment they enter the jungle, and the threats include rebels, cannibals, superstitious natives, hippos, volcanic activity and the mysterious creatures that destroyed the first expedition. If you liked Jurassic Park or the Lost World, be sure to read Congo, it's non-stop excitement to the very end.

Rating:
Summary: Great work by Crichton!
Review: Personally I found this book to be intriquing. The characters and the setting are not a typical science fiction read. Although the books facts about the rainforest and the people are off, I found the story to be plausable. Crichton uses a setting for this novel which sets it apart from other works in the same genre. The characters are believable and some are even likeable in this story. Personally I would recommend this book to begining science fiction readers and casual fans as it is not steeped in science fiction lore. Great book and should be on every Crichton fan's bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: Congo--out of the jungle and into your hands!
Review: I have been a frequent reader of Michael Crichton and I love his unique style and prose. This has to be one of his best works ever~I loved it! If you have a love for suspension and little-known historical facts, pick up this book and let the pages turn!

Rating:
Summary: Good... but not great.
Review: I read this book before reading any other novels by MC, and thought that it was great. Then I read Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and relized that this wasn't as good as I thought. The reason probably being because of the difference in time from this book until Jurassic Park. The technology in this book is somewhat outdated; whereas Jurassic Park's isn's as old. I mean, I don't think anyone has cloned a T-Rex yet. I think that the movie also played a part in the blandness of this book. I never thought that a movie could actually do this, but right now I don't want to think about Amy or Peter or any of the other annoying characters. Very well researched and pretty fun to read. Stay away from the movie thought... believe me.