Crichton is my palette cleanser. I've had this in my collection for years and finally read it and I enjoyed it. I honestly like how unlikable all the characters are. Characterization is often secondary in Crichton books so it was refreshing to see a little depth, and having them be imperfect and selfish. There was suspense and I learned a ton about the Congo and gorillas haha. The story follows a team as they enter the Congo rainforest, looking to secure a drilling claim before another country does for blue diamonds, the key to future tech. Their first expedition ended in destruction and the whole team being wiped out. So it's a race against the clock to get to the location first and secure it against whatever destroyed the first team. Lead by a single minded, ruthless scientest, a mercenary for hire, a doctor whose trained a gorilla to sign and said gorilla, a long with guides. They enter the Congo with other countries vying for the claim close behind, civil and political unrest in the region and a screenshot of a mysterious white gorilla on scene of the previous expeditions destruction. Fun, interesting and read like a movie, it was true to Crichton's style. I made the mistake of watching the movie right after, which I hadn't seen since I was a kid, and boy did they destroy everything that made this book good.

This book was so well written a little bit darker than some of his other stories but definitely worth the read! I’m usually not into this type of book but the writing style kept me hooked.

Admittedly, what brought this up from a 3 star for me was that I was just really interested in the science and history packed into this. It’s like a snapshot of computer science and a bit of spec fiction coupled with interesting stuff about primates and diamonds. The actual structure and plot is pretty basic, but I found it to be fun.

Amy sad:(