For some reason, I had always been under the impression that Crichton's sequel to Jurassic Park was an entirely different book that took on an entirely different tone than the first book and also explored entirely different themes. This is not correct. The Lost World felt entirely like a straight-up sequel without anything new and meaningful to leave behind. This makes perfect sense; Crichton never intended to write a sequel, and only did so after his fans and Steven Spielberg pressured him. It was a cash grab, then, plain and simple. And it kind of feels like one.
The Lost World isn't without its merits. It's an exciting book that moves along at a great clip while exploring a lot of science and biology along the way. But there was no real climax or closure to speak of, and any semblance of "conflict" was thrown out the window when the only non-reptilian antagonists were aimless buffoons from the get-go. It was pretty easy to figure out who was surviving the trip to Isla Sorna and who wasn't. (Women and children? Untouchable. Any non-academically inclined grown man? Food.)
An easy and worthwhile read, The Lost World just didn't impress me in a significant way. It's worth a few hours if you love the author or the subject material, but most could probably do better elsewhere.
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