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106th out of 1,133 books
—
14,715 voters
Congo
Deep in the African rain forest, near the legendary ruins of the Lost City of Zinj, an expedition of eight American geologists is mysteriously and brutally killed in a matter of minutes.
Ten thousand miles away, Karen Ross, the Congo Project Supervisor, watches a gruesome video transmission of the aftermath: a camp destroyed, tents crushed and torn, equipment scattered in t...more
Ten thousand miles away, Karen Ross, the Congo Project Supervisor, watches a gruesome video transmission of the aftermath: a camp destroyed, tents crushed and torn, equipment scattered in t...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
October 28th 2003
by Avon
(first published 1980)
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Nov 27, 2012
Michael Fierce
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of cryptid adventures and for those who love giant apes & gorillas
Michael Crichton, like, Stephen King, is one of those authors that puts out more books than they probably should. You can't help but wonder if he's just writing the book so it will turn into a blockbuster movie he can ¢a$h in on.
Doesn't really bother me but writers like that usually write a few great books and a slew of others that have you shaking your head, wondering,"WHY!?".
Luckily, Congo, isn't one of these.
But let me say this first:
I've always gone bananas over movies and books that have...more
I saw this on Chris' list and it triggered an old, funny memory. Now, I did read this book -- back in high school I went through a Michael Crichton phase and his books being as they are, I managed to read through his -- dare I say oevure? -- in a summer (don't recall which summer, tho')
The odd memory that Chris triggered however, has to to do with the movie Congo. I had a good friend in high school, wonderful fella, still a great friend. About the time we were seniors, he started dating -- or as...more
The odd memory that Chris triggered however, has to to do with the movie Congo. I had a good friend in high school, wonderful fella, still a great friend. About the time we were seniors, he started dating -- or as...more
15 likes · like · see review
Not bad in places...other times it's sort of a "puleez" book. Again Crichton has one that could have been better. The best I suppose I can say is..it wasn't as lame as the movie. So full of PC political rhetoric it seemed to me that any story got lost.
********************** Spoilers below Line ****************************
(view spoiler)...more
********************** Spoilers below Line ****************************
(view spoiler)...more
Feb 29, 2012
mark monday
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
blood-and-danger
i'm having a little trouble with myself right now. i just gave this one 4 stars and Inner-Snob Mark is getting very twitchy, almost trigger-happy, ready to take control of my favorite hand and bump this one down to 3 stars. never fear, i have a tight rein on Inner-Snob Mark and have carefully compartmentalized him away tonight. but he does have a few good points. my God, i gave the timeless classic The Last Unicorn 3 stars. i gave Room - which wrecked me emotionally and had me crying like someon...more
29 likes · like · see review
Michael Crichton's work should be considered the epitome of geek literature (AKA science fiction, genre fiction, or speculative fiction), but was somehow embraced by the mainstream -- so much so that even if the academic crowd doesn't take him very seriously, Crichton still addressed Congress. Genre fiction is such a dismissive term, so Crichton was given his own genre: it's not geek; it's a "techno thriller."
Congo, published in 1980, has all of Crichton's geekiest motifs, including a heroine wh...more
Congo, published in 1980, has all of Crichton's geekiest motifs, including a heroine wh...more
13 likes · like · see review
would have given this book five stars but i've seen the movie which traumatized me with it's badness. although i literally finished the book in the parking lot of the theater the weekend it came out so it was very fresh in my mind and ready to be compared for all its shortcomings. was it fair to the movie? no. was it fair that they actually charged people to see that piece of *expletive deleted*? no. i say that makes us even. my problems with the book. not too many. it did what it wanted to do....more
1 like · like · see review
This was a great book,
but don't read under this or it will ruin the story for you.
This book takes place in many continents starting in the USA. First with an American team of ERTS who search for important geological parts of the earth for which they can extract important minerals or deposits. They have anonymous companies hire them to retrieve these resources that they need in neutral and allied countries. In this book Congo they are searching for type 11b Diamonds with a boron coating on them....more
but don't read under this or it will ruin the story for you.
This book takes place in many continents starting in the USA. First with an American team of ERTS who search for important geological parts of the earth for which they can extract important minerals or deposits. They have anonymous companies hire them to retrieve these resources that they need in neutral and allied countries. In this book Congo they are searching for type 11b Diamonds with a boron coating on them....more
Michael Crichton books all start off with this huge technological hook and are excellent at grabbing you by your ear and dragging you along, but somewhere along the way he fizzles. It's like he has this great idea, but can't figure out a way for his protagonists to create a successful ending. Andromeda Strain, the virus floats off into space--woo hoo. Sphere--the whole adventure was imaginary, woo hoo. Congo, earthquake wipes out all the lovely evidence and negates the whole adventure...boo hoo....more
7 likes · like · see review
Honestly, the amount of research and detail that is put into this book is has to be at the top of the list. For this reason, the book deserves at least a 3/5. The originality behind the book is also unique and Michael Crichton's ideas for an animal/human species breed is amusing. However, I thought that the character development got lost in the story and the ending did not live up to my expectations. I did learn a decent amount about African history and ape behavior, but the story could have bee...more
I would give 1/2 a star if I could. He gets that simply because he managed to get words on paper. I have never hated a book so much in my life. I was actually angry at it throughout, but kept going hoping it would get better. I thought it was ridiculous, had bad character development and a boring plot. I can't believe they even THOUGHT to make it a movie, but am not surprised that stunk as well. It is a credit to Mr. Chrichton, however, that it made me realize how good his other books have been....more
Taken for what it is, Congo is actually an entertaining read. It follows Dr. Karen Ross, Dr. Elliot, and his gorilla-friend Amy (who has the wonderful ability to speak using Ameslan!) in the Congo. Dr. Ross is pursuing a rare blue diamond that has certain attributes which would enable technology to make a tremendous leap forward; Dr. Elliot is in the Congo to help Amy identify and get over her nightmares.[return][return]This is a Crichton novel, so of course there are other 'teams' also after th...more
Ah Congo. You are Joe's first Crichton (you never forget your first), and a god in the pantheon of semi-sciency adventures. Swashbuckling and debonair, you seamlessly blend "When Apes Attack" with "If I Could Talk With the Animals," and we are mightily entertained.
Stuck in O'Hare (again, shocker), I bought me another Crichton book to wile away the hours. I think this may become something of a tradition, as Jurassic Park was purchased in the same terminal H bookstore and with the same raging weat...more
Stuck in O'Hare (again, shocker), I bought me another Crichton book to wile away the hours. I think this may become something of a tradition, as Jurassic Park was purchased in the same terminal H bookstore and with the same raging weat...more
2 likes · like · see review
Congo by Michael Crichton is about a woman scientist named Karen Ross who wanted to find information about a lost city in the Congo and find her missing fiance, who was missing for weeks after disappeared from an expedition. The lost city is known as Zinj. Along the journey to find the lost city of Zinj, Karen goes with her friend named Peter Elliot. Elliot has a gorilla named Amy who is able to communicate with others by using sign language. In addition, Elliot wanted Amy to go back to her home...more
May 16, 2013
Jaredb
added it
This book is about a young female named Dr. Karen Ross, who is trying to get her boss at Earth Resources Technology Services (ERTS) to allow her to lead an expedition to Congo in search of blue diamonds. The reason that the team is sending an group there is to investigate how their team that was sent to Congo earlier was killed. They have footage of a gray figure that goes in front of the camera screen, which they believe to be a gorilla. She ends up meeting a man, Dr. Elliot, who has been train...more
Although the scenario is somewhat naive - an unknown mutant subspecies of gorilla has for generations defended a lucrative diamond mine in the heart of the Congo jungle - this book played a big part in my career in gorilla conservation. In it Crichton describes the use of satellite data to prospect for the Lost City of Zinj in the central African jungles. With uncanny synchronicity, at the same time as I was reading about it, NASA was imaging the gorilla habitat in central Africa using radar onb...more
Congo wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it seems to read like a typical Crichton book: Lots of detailed build-up; a climax that comes and goes faster than a Kardashian marriage/divorce; perfunctory wrap-up; acknowledgements.
So far, the books I’ve read of Crichton’s get me excited with intriguing concepts and storylines, but then leave me feeling that he didn’t do as much as he could have with the “ingredients” he had in place.
[spoiler alert…but do you really need the alert after this many...more
So far, the books I’ve read of Crichton’s get me excited with intriguing concepts and storylines, but then leave me feeling that he didn’t do as much as he could have with the “ingredients” he had in place.
[spoiler alert…but do you really need the alert after this many...more
Feb 07, 2013
Al
added it
Amazon.com Review
...more
If you saw the 1995 film adaptation of this Crichton thriller, somebody owes you an apology. While you're waiting for that to happen, try reading the vastly more intelligent novel on which the movie was based. The broad lines of the plot remain the same: A research team deep in the jungle disappears after a mysterious and grisly gorilla attack. A subsequent team, including a sign-language-speaking simian named Amy, follows the original team's tracks only to be subjected to mor
Feb 03, 2013
Portia S
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Portia by:
Crichton
I thought that this was well written, well researched and it banished for me several misconceptions created about the Congo. It also reminded me that our own Earth is vast with undiscovered secrets and phenomena that remain hidden from us. I want them to remain hidden...
I was totally enamoured with the adolescent gorilla, Amy. She was wonderful and quite ingenious, a little snarky and mischievous, but a good girl all the same. Crichton made the switch quite gently from allowing the reader to see...more
I was totally enamoured with the adolescent gorilla, Amy. She was wonderful and quite ingenious, a little snarky and mischievous, but a good girl all the same. Crichton made the switch quite gently from allowing the reader to see...more
This is the first Crichton novel I have read, but it will not be my last. I completely enjoyed the book, which is a nice mixture of history, suspense, drama and technology.
The story concerns an expedition sent by the company Earth Resources Technology, Inc., into the deep rainforests of the Congo in search of blue diamonds. The expedition discovers the lost city of Zinj, but on the night of the discovery is completely wiped out. The destruction is caught on video, which records a grunting, heav...more
The story concerns an expedition sent by the company Earth Resources Technology, Inc., into the deep rainforests of the Congo in search of blue diamonds. The expedition discovers the lost city of Zinj, but on the night of the discovery is completely wiped out. The destruction is caught on video, which records a grunting, heav...more
In this book a exploration team is sent out to find blue diamonds but when the people check up from them on camera in Houston they are all found dead. So in order to figure out what happened they send another team into Congo.
This story takes place around the 1980's in Congo jungle. It is in the rainforest so it is very damp and moist. Because the story takes place around 1980 the technology is different which effects the story and makes it a little different from how it would have been in our...more
This story takes place around the 1980's in Congo jungle. It is in the rainforest so it is very damp and moist. Because the story takes place around 1980 the technology is different which effects the story and makes it a little different from how it would have been in our...more
If you've only ever seen the movie (in all of it's pure 90's awesomeness), then you haven't treated yourself to the greatness that is Michael Crichton's novel Congo. I fell in love with Crichton's writing about eight years ago upon reading Jurassic Park. Like the movie, Congo follows Peter Elliot and his sign-language speaking gorilla, Amy, as they search for an ancient lost city called Zinj. That's about as much as the book and movie have in common. Action and science meet in this techno-thrill...more
Jan 29, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011,
science-fiction
Having never seen the movie, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I avoided the movie, in fact, because I had heard that it was terrible. After having read the book, I think I'm glad I didn't see it. The book wasn't terrible (the two stars reflect that), but on the other hand, it wasn't great, either. Funny enough, I found this book far less believable than some of Crichton's other novels including Sphere. (Maybe because Sphere established its own set of rules from the beginning and, therefore...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Kirkus Review: Entertainer-educator Crichton, that clever devil, has done it again - by dressing up one of the oldest book/movie scenarios around with enough capsulized science, history, and geography to keep readers happily on their toes. It's an expedition to darkest Africa, to the northeast corner of the Congo rain forest in Zaire, in search of a lost city (Zinj) full of diamonds and danger. Old hat, right? Wrong. Because this expedition, led by Karen Ross of Earth Resources Technology Servic...more
Pretty dated, very neat story, enjoyed it quite a bit. Has a lot of references and asides that appear to be true history.
Few more quotes: (Internet was down or they'd be in my updates.)
Pg. 111: ....experts anticipated that by 1990 there would actually be *one billion* computers--most of them linked by communications networks to other computers. Such networks didn't exist, and might even be theoretically impossible. (A 1975 study by the Hanover Institute concluded there was insufficient metal in...more
Few more quotes: (Internet was down or they'd be in my updates.)
Pg. 111: ....experts anticipated that by 1990 there would actually be *one billion* computers--most of them linked by communications networks to other computers. Such networks didn't exist, and might even be theoretically impossible. (A 1975 study by the Hanover Institute concluded there was insufficient metal in...more
"Congo," copyright 1980, is about a race, of sorts, a high-technology, geeky scientist-adventurer race between a Japanese-German consortium and an American high-tech commercial interest, both in search of "blue diamonds" that will give the winner a ginormous edge in future technology.
It is known that the blue diamonds are somewhere in the Lost City of Zinj. The thing about lost cities is that they tend to be located in inconvenient places. This one is in the depths of the Congo jungle, in the sh...more
It is known that the blue diamonds are somewhere in the Lost City of Zinj. The thing about lost cities is that they tend to be located in inconvenient places. This one is in the depths of the Congo jungle, in the sh...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The last book I read was Congo which is a book that takes place in Africa. This novel starts with an exploration team searching for diamonds that gets ambushed by some sort of white animal while the team is broadcasting to the company they work for. This company then sends a new group of people to accomplish what the first group couldn`t which is finding the diamonds. This new group has an adventure with danger constantly and finds out what the creatures were and where they came from. They also...more
What an excellent story! Congo was a thrilling story full of suspense. Michael Crichton did an excellent job at creating a great piece of literature. He filled this book with literary devices. The story has interesting themes, symbolism, and foreshadowing. Congo also has character development. The main character started off without much respect at work, but by the end of the story she was treated completely different.
This novel mostly takes place within Congo Rainforest. Eight American geolog...more
This novel mostly takes place within Congo Rainforest. Eight American geolog...more
3/10
A research team heads to Zaire in 1979 in search of diamond superconductors. They discover an ancient ruin guarded by unknown terrors. Crichton, as usual, chooses an interesting premise for this novel, exploring the boundary between human and animal in the context of a thriller. Well, the theme recurs at least, but Congo deals with it in the dullest way possible.
The scientist Peter Elliot's relationship with Amy, his pet ape, is well described, and it's one of the few interesting parts of th
...more| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiossa's Senior 5...: Dan Wilson: Book Review 5 | 1 | 3 | Feb 07, 2013 06:38pm | |
| Action/Adventure ...: August Group Read (Hot Setting): Congo by Michael Crichton *Spoilers* | 5 | 24 | Aug 18, 2012 02:32pm | |
| The Sword and Laser: Congo- Book or film? | 28 | 193 | Aug 10, 2012 11:28am |
Michael Crichton was an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. His books sold over 150 million copies world wide, and among his best-known works were techno-thriller novels, films and television programs. His works were usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. Many of his future history novels had medical or scientific underpinnings, reflec...more
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Nov 23, 2012 05:56am