The Lost World (Crichton novel)
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| The Lost World | |
 First edition cover |
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| Author | Michael Crichton |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction, Techno-thriller |
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Publication date | September 1995 |
| Media type | print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 429 |
| ISBN | 0679419462 |
| Preceded by | Disclosure |
| Followed by | Airframe |
The Lost World is a techno-thriller novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1995 by Knopf. A paperback edition (ISBN 0-345-40288-X) followed in 1996. It is a sequel to his earlier novel Jurassic Park.
Like Arthur Conan Doyle's novel of the same name, Crichton's novel concerns an expedition to an isolated Central American location where dinosaurs roam - though in this case, the dinosaurs were recreated by genetic engineering, rather than surviving from antiquity.
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[edit] Plot summary
Six years after surviving the disaster on Jurassic Park, eccentric mathematician Ian Malcolm and spoiled, rich genius Richard Levine are researching InGen's mysterious Site B, and its exact location, after learning of its existence. Site B, an island named Isla Sorna, was the secret "production factory" for Jurassic Park, where dinosaur stock were hatched and grown, before shipment to Isla Nublar. Levine mysteriously disappears, and Malcolm fears he might have discovered the location of Site B, and in his impatience already set out for it without letting Malcolm know. Custom field vehicle creator Doc Thorne and his assistant Eddie Carr, who provided much of Levine's equipment, deduce the location of Site B, with the assistance of Malcom and two schoolchildren who assisted Levine, computer whiz R.B. "Arby" Benton and his friend Kelly Curtis. They organize a rescue operation and take with them two highly customized RVs, modified for scientific purposes, as well as a solar powered Ford Explorer, a motorcycle, and an observation platform called a 'high hide'. Stowed away with them as they leave are Arby and Kelly, who plan to rescue Levine as well.
At the same time, Lewis Dodgson, geneticist at Biosyn – InGen's arch rival – and two colleagues head to Isla Sorna, hoping to steal dinosaur eggs for their own company. Sarah Harding, a wildlife observer who had a previous relationship with Malcolm, accompanies them on the trip to the island. Dodgson throws Sarah overboard from their ship, thinking she will drown, and continues with his plan. Dodgson locates a nest of the Tyrannosaurus rex and, accompanied by George Basleton and Howard King, walks up to the eggs, carrying a box that emits painful ultrasonic frequencies that fend off the grown Tyrannosaurs. Dodgson tells Basleton and King to grab the eggs while he holds the adult dinosaurs at bay with the box, but Basleton freezes in fright once he sees the parents. Dodgson is forced to try to retrieve the eggs himself. While walking closer to the eggs, he steps on a hatchling Tyrannosaur, breaking its leg. The power cord for the box is pulled out of its battery pack, leaving the men defenseless. It takes the adult Tyrannosaurs a while to notice that the ultrasonic noise had stopped, but they soon move forward and attack Basleton, killing him. Dodgson makes a run for the SUV, but one Tyrannosaur pushes it off the hill before he can drive away. Dodgson falls out of the vehicle but survives. King is later killed by Velociraptors as he attempts to make his way across the island to the boat.
Coming across the baby Tyrannosaur, Eddie brings it back to the base camp, where Malcolm and Sarah fix its broken leg. The absence of the infant is noted by its parents, who track their offspring down by smell, leading them directly to the trailers. The T-Rex then pushes one of the trailers off the cliff, with Malcolm and Sarah inside. Both are rescued by Thorne, but Malcom's leg is injured, and he ends up spending most of the remainder of the story immobile and high on morphine (as he did in the previous novel). Meanwhile the group at the "high hide" are attacked by Velociraptors, who kill Eddie and abduct Arby. Thorne and Levine rescue Arby, and the survivors take shelter in an abandoned gas station set up by InGen for the island's workers when the island was still in use. There they encounter two Carnotaurus, but they manage to scare them away with flashlights.
Once daylight comes, Sarah attempts to get the Explorer back. After escaping a group of aggressive Pachycephalosaurus by hiding underneath the vehicle, she encounters Dodgson, who is also hunting for the SUV. Sarah pushes Dodgson out from under the vehicle, as revenge for his earlier attempt to murder her. He is then taken by one of Tyrannosaurs to their nesting site, where his leg is broken and he is left for the babies to eat. After Sarah fails to reach the helicopter in time, Kelly locates an abandoned building with a functional boat inside. After making a quick getaway from a group of Velociraptors, the survivors are able to reach the boat and escape the island. While on the boat, Malcolm and Harding tell Levine, to his dismay, that some of the carnivores, including the Velociraptors and the Procompsognathus, are infected with prions, and any animal bitten by them will be infected also. This means that all the dinosaurs on the island are fated to die due to spread of the prions. With that said, Thorne finally declares that is time for all of them to go home.
As with the first book, the characters have to fend off attacks from Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor. Throughout the novel, Malcolm and Levine talk about various evolutionary and extinction theories, as well as the nature of modern science and the homogenizing and destructive nature of humanity. The book also discusses the role of prions in brain diseases, which has been at the root of concerns over Mad Cow Disease.
[edit] Film adaptation
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction film and sequel to Jurassic Park. Both films were directed by Steven Spielberg. After the success of the first film, fans and critics alike pressured Michael Crichton for a sequel novel. Having never done one before, Crichton originally declined, but when Spielberg joined in urging him, a sequel novel was announced. As soon as the novel was published, a film was in pre-production, with a target release date of mid-1997. The film was a commercial success, breaking many box-office records when released. The film had mixed reviews, similar to its predecessor in terms of characterization[citation needed]. The film's title is slightly different than the novel's, adding Jurassic Park at the end to refer it to the original Jurassic Park film.
[edit] Differences between the film and the novel
The 1997 film adaptation's plot differs significantly from the novel; most significantly, at the end of the film, a Tyrannosaurus rex attacks San Diego.
- In the film, Ian visits Hammond, who reveals site B and who also appears at the end of the film. In the first novel, Hammond died.
- In the book, Ian Malcolm still suffers greatly from his wound in the first book and film, though in The Lost World film adaptation, he suffers little pain from the wound.
- In the book, Malcolm came to Isla Sorna to rescue Richard Levine, but stayed to study how Dinosaurs became extinct. But in the film, Malcolm goes to rescue Sarah Harding, and wants to leave as soon he finds her.
- In the film, Ian Malcolm publishes a book about the incident on Isla Nublar, but the story isn't widely believed, destroying his reputation. In the novel, Malcolm starts giving speeches about the extinction of dinosaurs, improving his reputation.
- In the film, Sarah and Ian have a relationship. In the novel it is said that their relationship ended with Sarah's trip to Africa.
- The characters of Richard Levine, Jack Thorne, Lewis Dodgson, Howard King, George Baselton, Arby Benton, and Martin Guitierrez do not appear in the film. The main antagonist of the novel, Dodgson, is replaced in the film by Peter Ludlow; the 'know-it-all' figure of Baselton is replaced by Robert Burke; and the henchman King is replaced by Dieter Stark.
- The "Great White Hunter" figure of Roland Tembo from the film has no real equivalent in the novel.
- In the novel, five people arrive on the island along with the trailer and Ford Explorer: Malcolm, Thorne, Eddie, Kelly, and Arby. Sarah swims to the island after being thrown overboard from a ship by Dodgson, who arrives with King and Baselton. In the film, Malcolm, Eddie, Nick Van Owen, and Kelly arrive in an attempt to rescue a missing Sarah. The second team consists of Tembo, Ajay Sidhu, Ludlow, Burke, Stark, and the rest of a rather extensive InGen team.
- In the novel, Dodgson attempts to steal dinosaur eggs, to use the dinosaurs as experiments for Biosyn. He only brings two people with him, Howard King and George Baselton. In the film, Peter Ludlow attempts to capture some of the dinosaurs, intending to bring them to San Diego to create another Jurassic Park for InGen. He brings a very large team with him that includes Tembo, Ajay Sidhu, Burke, Stark, and Carter.
- In the novel, Kelly is a middle school student who became an assistant for Levine. In the film, she is Ian Malcolm's daughter. Malcolm has no children in the novel.
- The film's Sarah Harding is a mixture of her own character in the novel, and that of Richard Levine, a character who didn't appear in the film.
- In the novel, the character of Eddie Carr was much younger than that in the film. The film's version is instead based on Dr. Jack Thorne, and is only given Eddie's name. Likewise, the film's character Nick Van Owen is based on the novel's version of Eddie.
- In the novel, InGen has gone bankrupt and does not play a pivotal role. Instead, a team from rival company BioSyn seeks to exploit the island. The film replaces this with a divergent group within InGen that has broken off from Hammond's ideals.
- The novel does not feature an adult Tyrannosaurus rampaging in San Diego, unlike in the film. Because of the Rex's rampage in the film, Isla Sorna's existence is revealed, leading to the events of Jurassic Park III.
- Peter Ludlow does not die like Dodgson does in the novel. Although he is still killed by the infant Tyrannosaurus and his leg is still broken by the adult Tyrannosaurus, he is not killed in the Tyrannosaurus nest but is instead killed in the cargo ship's hold as he tails Malcolm and Sarah, who are trying to trap the rampaging adult. He follows the Baby T-rex's howls into the hold, failing to notice the adult Tyrannosaurus approaching from behind.
- The characters John Hammond, Tim Murphy, and Lex Murphy make cameos in the film, but are merely mentioned in the novel.
- The novel mentions that Jurassic Park was destroyed along with all of the dinosaurs by the Costa Rican military, though in the film, the park's fate is never mentioned (in a deleted scene on the DVD it was briefly explained that the Jurassic Park facility was destroyed). This could explain the film's tagline "Something has Survived."
- In the novel, Eddie is killed by a group of Velociraptors. In the film, he is killed earlier, as two Tyrannosaurus rex adults devour him while he rescues Ian, Sarah, and Nick.
- The novel had many scenes involving Velociraptors; the only part of the film that featured Velociraptors was a scene where the survivors attempt to reach a station across the Velociraptor nest. All but Malcolm's group were killed by the Velociraptors.
- The scenes in the film featuring the "compy" dinosaurs are not in the book and are adapted from similar scenes in the original Jurassic Park novel. The pre-credit sequence of the film is closely adapted from the original Jurassic Park's Prologue chapter. The death of Dieter Stark mirrors closely the death of John Hammond in the original novel.
- Prions and the DX disease are not referenced in the film. At the conclusion of the novel, all of the dinosaurs are fated to die off due to the uncontrolled spread of prions (the result of using ground-up lamb as dinosaur feed). In the film, Hammond turns the island into a preserve so that the dinosaurs can live free of human interference.
[edit] Dinosaurs featured in the novel
- Apatosaurus
- Carnotaurus
- Gallimimus
- Hypsilophodon
- Maiasaura
- Mussaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Procompsognathus
- Stegosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Velociraptor
- Unknown Tree Herbivore: Possibly Othnielia or Microceratops
- Levine examined a beached specimen, his best guess was a Ornitholestes. He was not able to make a precise identification, but the lab discovered chromatophores in the tissue sample he sent to Malcolm, possibly suggesting the Carnotaurus.
[edit] External links
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