To explain the scientist's mysterious reappearance in this book, though it's safe to say that Malcolm's resurrection probably has less to do with DNA recovery and cloning experiments (the process that brought the dinosaursīack from extinction in 'Jurassic Park'), than with the simple demands of making and casting a movie sequel. Crichton impetuously killed off in the book version of 'Jurassic Park.' Mr. The central hero of 'The Lost World,' improbably enough, is Ian Malcolm, the cynical chaos theorist Mr. Park,' and more or less an outline for what will surely be the movie sequel. It should, after all, as it's basically a retelling of his tried-and-true 1990 best seller, 'Jurassic Crichton's latest book, 'The Lost World,' fulfills all these criteria. Put plenty of technical, pseudo-specialist talk (about computers, medicine, biology or chaos theory) into your characters' mouths to give readers the illusion that they're learning something as they quickly flip the pages.Ĭertainly Mr. Include lots of frantic chase scenes or race-against-the-clock scenes that will translate graphically to the screen.ĥ. End each chapter on a scary, cliff-hanging note to make sure that readers will keep reading, regardless of the characters' vapidity.Ĥ.

Readers will automatically know whom to root for.ģ. Cast the novel with some really detestable villains (like the lying, scheming, man-eating Meredith Johnson in 'Disclosure') and some really nice, appealing heroes (like Meredith's poor, well-meaning victim, Tom Sanders) so inattentive Pick a hot-button subject like genetic engineering ('Jurassic Park'), sexual harassment ('Disclosure') or Japan's threat to America ('Rising Sun') and use it to lend your novel a glossy veneer of topicality.Ģ. Here's how to write a Michael Crichton best seller in five easy steps:ġ. THE LOST WORLD By Michael Crichton 393 pages. October 10, 1995, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final

The New York Times: Book Review Search ArticleīOOKS OF THE TIMES The Dinosaurs Are Back, and So Is a Late Hero

The lost world michael crichton