Jurassic Park

Written by Michael Crichton

Published in 1990 by Alfred A Knopf

The novel begins with the problem of an unidentified three-toed lizard attacking children in Costa Rica. When a dead lizard is sent to a lab, it is believed to be a dinosaur. The lab calls the paleontologist, Dr. Alan Grant to confirm. When Grant receives a fax of the lizard's skeleton, he is shocked to see that it is in fact a dinosaur. Before he can continue the investigation, Grant and his research partner, Dr. Ellie Sattler, are flown to Isla Nublar, an island off Costa Rica, as consultants for InGen, a bioengineering firm.

(Three-toed lizards attack Tina)

John Hammond, the owner of InGen and a financial supporter of Grant's fossil digs, has turned Isla Nublar into a zoo called Jurassic Park with live dinosaurs. Donald Gennaro, Hammond's lawyer, is concerned about the safety of the park. Gennaro brings Grant, Sattler, and the mathematician Ian Malcolm, to tour the island in an attempt to determine whether the place is safe enough for visitors. Malcolm is convinced that the island is doomed, and makes repeated reference to a mathematical chaos theory as he predicts disaster. While Grant, Sattler, Malcolm, Hammond and his grandchildren tour the park, Dennis Nedry, the computer technician who designed the park's complicated computer network, is secretly working with the rival company Biosyn to steal fifteen dinosaur embryos.

(Grant, Lex, and Tim tour the park)

Nedry shuts down the park's security system to steal the embryos, and all of the park's other systems start to malfunction. Nedry gets lost on his way to the docks and is killed by an escaped dilophosaur, a venom-spitting dinosaur. Meanwhile, the power outage has left Grant, Malcolm, the park publicist Ed Regis, and Hammond's two grandchildren, Tim and Lex, stuck in their electric guided-tour cars just outside the tyrannosaurus paddock.

(Nedry prepares to steal the eggs)

The power outage has also disabled the electrified fences around the dinosaur paddocks. The t-rex breaks through the dormant fence, eating Regis and severely injuring Malcolm. Grant and the children are forced to flee out into the park on foot. While Robert Muldoon and Gennaro search for the others, they find Malcolm and bring him into the care of Sattler and the park's veterinarian, Dr. Harding.

(The T-Rex escapes and hunts down Malcolm)

Before long, Arnold has the computer system running again and the power back up. Malcolm warns that, according to chaos theory, things will soon get much worse. Grant and the kids make their way back to the visitor center, narrowly escaping the t-rex again. But by the time they get back to the lodge, the power has gone down again and the velociraptors are loose. The raptors kill Arnold while he tries to turn on the generator, and surround the lodge. Grant is forced to leave Tim and Lex in the cafeteria while he goes to turn on the power. Wu is killed while helping Sattler distract the raptors from Grant. Grant finds Gennaro, and turns on the generator. Meanwhile, a raptor stalks the kids in the cafeteria, but Tim locks it in the freezer.

(The raptors stalk the children in the cafeteria)

Since everyone who knows how to use computer system is now dead, Tim, is left to reactivate the electric fences himself. He manages to do so just before the raptors are about to enter the electrified bars on the lodge skylight. Grant, Gennaro, Sattler, and Muldoon venture out to find the velociraptor nest, hoping to determine how many raptors remain on the island. While walking Hammond trips and falls down a ravine, where he is attacked and eaten by a group of small dinosaurs. Malcolm also dies from complications from his earlier injury. Finally, the Costa Rican National Guard show up, take everyone away, and blow up the island. Grant, while waiting for the Costa Rican officials to release him, is told that unidentified lizards that have been seen traveling in packs through the jungle on the mainland. The lizards have fled deep into the jungle, and now no one knows where they are.

(Gennaro,Hammond, Malcolm, Grant, and Settler in the park)

Novel Summary adapted from www.sparknotes.com