Recently I finished my 21st book of the year, first book of August, that being Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and I have to say, this has to be among the most entertaining novels I've read in 2026 and it will certainly remain a memorable book in my memory. Spoilers ahead!
I should mention, I have not watched the film, but after finishing this I might and then maybe I'll compare the two and make another post, but for now, my knowledge of Jurassic Park is only this book.
While I could go on like most people who've read the book about Crichton's ability to portray small bits of terrifying horror, how he eases the reader into the fragility of Isla Nublar, how he builds up to the crucial moment where everything goes wrong and more. I could make my amateur observations and criticisms, but I want to highlight two different things instead. Two characters who are polar opposites.
Ian Malcolm and John Hammond.
Both left a deep impression on me for various reasons, outside of both being stellar creations by Crichton.
Ian Malcolm, the mathematician who spent over half the book dying in a hotel bed has to be one of the standout characters of the book, but among his many philosophical statements, discussions of chaos theory, and of course, him rightfully dogging on Hammond at every point he can, the thing that remained with me till the end of the book was this one line,
"Discovery is always rape of the natural world. Always."
I thought about this line, more and more as I continued reading, even between my breaks of reading, this quote remained in my mind as something essential, something important, something relevant especially now as deregulation and AI "advancement" continues, where scientists and so-called scientists try to break boundaries that they do not understand in the slightest, boundaries where the consequence is either ignored or misunderstood. Going back in history the same could be said when the Portuguese started to expand their influence into Africa in 1415, and introduced an age of slavery like nothing seen before, when Columbus arrived to the shores of San Salvador and began a career of butchery, when Europeans finally found ways to infiltrate Asia, when America began its Cold War and so much more. This quote also perfectly ties back to another thing that Ian Malcolm said, when he emphasized the importance of discipline when given great power and what happens when someone (like Hammond) possesses great power, but no discipline.
Speaking of John Hammond....
The cheery CEO of InGen, the whimsical owner of Jurassic Park, the delusional old fool who could never admit his own faults at any point. It's difficult to describe how infuriating Hammond made me throughout the book, and that speaks to Crichton's capabilities in creating such an important idiot. Up until the last two chapters revolving directly around Hammond I had mostly believed that he was just a happy idiot with too much money, but the cracks in his facade became obvious whenever he put on his hand on someone's shoulder, as if reminding the individual who he spoke with, who was really in charge (which makes the end of the last chapter rather funny). Hammond was greedy, like most CEOs, additionally, he was also cheap like most CEOs and that cheapness and willing ignorance regarding the security of the island and the dinosaurs caused the deaths of many people. In his second to last chapter is when we really see his mask vanish, Hammond blaming Wu and Arnold for being inadequate and not up to the task as simple mishires while barely acknowledging their gruesome deaths spoke so much of his own convinced delusion that the park could still be saved while still having hope for more parks in the future. His utter disregard to any concern raised by Muldoon about security played so well that you could feel Muldoon's frustration while being frustrated yourself. The obsession of authenticity concerning his "product" while not even bothering to understand it can be compared to Heinrich Schliemann's destructive attempt at archeology. The final straw of Hammond is again in his second to last chapter when he ends up injuring himself while running away and soon after hears his grandchildren messing around in the Control Room, cursing them while he laid there in pain, admitting to the reader that the only reason he brought them was to prove to Gennaro that the park was completely safe. Hammond's death at the hands of the compys is ironic in a way I can't exactly describe, something about the man who desired authenticity to its truest degree dying at the hands of his made manifest dreams.
I can say for certain that I will read the sequel, The Lost World and will make a post about it probably, but before I get to that distant date I do want to recommend that you read Jurassic Park, a genuinely fantastic and unique book that should be read and held in the same regard, if not higher than its adaptation. A certified 5/5 novel for me.
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