‘Jurassic’ Sequal Not As Good As Original

It was with great anticipation that I awaited “The Lost World” by Michael Crichton, the sequel to his hugely popular “Jurassic Park.” What would happen? Would some devious new scientist with underworld connections re-open Jurassic Park? What would happen to Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Tim and Lex?

The answers were upsetting. First of all, there is no Jurassic Park anymore. “The Lost World” is about a small section of the area used for the park. The park was a front for some shady dealings that park-founder John Hammond was involved in.

The dinosaurs are the saving grace of “The Lost World.” Only the tyrannosaurus and the velociraptor return. This time, however, the tyrannosaurus is king of the book. (How would a wimpy raptor ever overthrow the mighty T-Rex anyway?)

The new dinosaurs are the stegosaurus, parasaurolophus, pachycephalosaurus and the carnotaurus, which you should keep an eye on. As my little brother excitedly says, it changes color like a chameleon.

As for the familiar characters, only Ian Malcolm (who died in a T-Rex attack in the book but, apparently, was only slightly dead) and Dodgson are back.

All the other characters are carbon copies of characters from the original. There’s a computer-whiz kid and his friend; the kids’ mentor, a scientist; and several others, including Malcolm’s sometime-girlfriend, Sarah Harding. Crichton had a great combo before, so why change it?

All it all, it seems like Crichton had a grudge against “Jurassic Park.” He destroyed some great characters and replaced them with strangers. The continuity between the two novels stinks and, if you forget the dinosaurs, the new novel does too.

It was quite a disappointment for a kid with a younger brother who could tell me information about any given dinosaur on any given day.