Quite a tired cliché, but the book was better. I am not enthused to provoke it, but I make the exception because Stephen Spielberg's adaptation is so deserving of its cult classic status. That this book gave way to a movie of that caliber I think provides credibility to the excellence of the source. It might not be totally fair to give more credit to the book due to the movie it inspired, but I am going to do it anyway.

It is a gripping, suspenseful, and fun from beginning to end. The kind of read where it is frustrating to have to put it down when you have to finally put it down and do whatever life requires of you in that moment. Throughout the book you are lead from one crises to another, it felt a bit manufactured at times but ultimately worth the suspension of disbelief.

Interspersed within the excitement Crichton explores the theory of crisis theory, which provided a philosophical and existential layer throughout. It brought a pleasant balance to the non stop action unfolding in the surrounding pages.