Jurassic Park and The Lost World

[Night Bear]

For those who love dinosaurs and science fiction, I highly recommend these two books to you. Sure, you may have seen the movies, but the movies are nothing compared to what really happened in the books. From a friendly raptor and juvenile T-Rex in the first book to a chaotic raptor pack and a mystery to the dinosaurs dying without being fully grown in the second book, this doesn't even scratch the surface of just how different these books are. I give them two claws up!

If any of you ever get the chance to read these books by Michael Crichton, buy the books and read them! ^^

[Ken'ichi]

OBJECTION!! *Slams desk and points* But I enjoyed the movies! D=

Back on topic XD I've been curious on reading these books. Next time I'm at the book store I'll keep an eye out for them.

[Night Bear]

Objection? XDDD

I do enjoy the movies too. Well the first more than the second. But I liked them all the same.

Cool. ^^

[EbonyPatriot]

Ack I still need to try and get my paws on a copy- I've been interested ever since I skimmed the SparkNotes for it. *Twitches*

Live long and prosper.
-EbonyPatriot

[Night Bear]

I've decided to post an excerpt from The Lost World concerning the chaotic pack. This is one of my fav parts of the book, and I wish they kept a similar scene in the movie.


WARNING! The following scene contains explicit violence. Do not read if you are weak of stomach!

A few feet ahead on the trail she saw a large tree with low-hanging branches. She acted without thinking, jumping to her feet, grabbing the branch, and swinging up. She reached safety just as a new dinosaur, with sharp-clawed feet, rushed through the mud beneath her, and chased after the fleeing green creatures. As this animal went away from her, she glimpsed a dark body, six feet tall, with reddish stripes like a tiger. Soon after, a second striped animal appeared, then a third-a pack of predators, hissing and snarling, as they pursued the green dinosaurs.

From her years in the field, she found herself automatically counting the animals that rushed past her. By her count, there were nine striped predators, and that imediately piqued her interest. It made no sense, she thought. As soon as the last predators were gone, she dropped down to the ground and hurried to follow them. It occured to her that it might be foolish to do so, but her curiousity overcame her.

She chased the tiger-dinosaurs up a hill, but even before she reached the crest she could tell from the snarls and growls that they had already brought an animal down. At the crest, she looked down on their kill.

But it was like no kill she had ever seen in Africa. on the Seronera plain, a kill site had its own organization which was quite predictable, and in a way was almost stately. The biggest predators, lions or hyenas, were closest to the carcass, feeding with their young. Farther out, waiting their turn, were the vultures and marabou storks, and still farther out, the jackals and other small scavengers circled warily. After the big predators finished, the smaller animals moved in. Different animals ate different parts of the bodies: the hyenas and vultures ate bones; the jackals nibbled the carcass clean. This was the pattern at any kill, and as a result there was very little squabbling or fighting around the food.

But here, she saw pandemonium-a feeding frenzy. The fallen animal was thickly covered with striped predators, all furiously ripping the flesh of the carcass, with frequent pauses to snalr and fight with each other. Their fights were openly vicious-one predator bit the adjacent animal, inflicting a deep flank wound. Immediately, several other predators snapped at the same animal, which limped away, hissing and bleeding, badly wounded. Once at the periphery, the wounded animal retaliated by biting the tail of another creature, again causing a serious wound.

A young juvenile, about half the size of the others, kept pushing forward, trying to get at a bit of the carcass, but the adults did not make room for it. Instead, they snarled and snapped in fury. The youngster was frequently obliged to hop back nimbly, keeping its distance from the razor-sharp fangs of the grownups. Harding saw no infants at all. This was a society of vicious adults.

As she watched the big predators, their heads and bodies smeared in blood, she noticed the crisscross pattern of healed scars on their flanks and necks. These were obviously quick, intelligent animals, yet they fought continually. Was that the way their social organization had evolved. If so, it was a rare event.

Animals of many species fought for food, territory, and sex, but these fights most often involved display and ritual aggression; serious injury seldom occurred. There were exceptions, of course. When male hippos fought to take over a harem, they often severely wounded other males. But in any case, nothing matched what she saw now.

As she watched, the wounded animal at the edge of the kill slunk forward and bit another adult, which snarled and leapt at it, slashing with its long toe-claw. In a flash, the injured animal was eviscerated, coils of pale intestine slipping through a wide gash. The animal fell howling to the ground, and immediately three adults turned away from the kill and jumped onto its newly fallen body, and began to tear the animal's flesh with rapacious intensity.

Harding closed her eyes, and turned away. This was a different world, and one she did not understand at all. In a daze, she headed back down the hill, moving quietly, carefully away from the kill.