Congo by Michael Crichton Book Review & Reaction | Delivers The Techno Thriller He Became Known For
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- Опубликовано: 25 ноя 2024
- Mike talks about the 5th book published under Michael Crichton's own name, the 1980 techno thriller Congo.
You can purchase Congo here: amzn.to/3kAiNmD (physical) amzn.to/3eAAX3K (digital) amzn.to/2Us0EN4 (audio)
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I have to tell you Mike, coming back from lunch and having a new video from you to watch while I make my coffee is a mini high point of my day. Never underestimate the capacity you have to make people's lives a little better, even if in a small scale. Keep doing what you're doing brother!
Thanks so much for saying so!
I just finished reading Congo today. Thanks Mike for the recommendation!
"If you can't explain it to a 6 year old, you don't understand it yourself" - Einstein. i think Crichton really took that to heart.
When I saw you and Daniel Greene's videos pop up back-to-back I said, "oh, yeah, oh yeah, exactly what I needed!"
Thanks for all the great content Mike! Your videos helped keep me positive while battling a cold over my weekend!
Happy to help!
Eaters of the Dead was his take on Beowulf, Congo was his take on the Allan Quartermain books. I see a trend on early 80's Crichton.
I read this during my Crichton discovery in the late 90's. I remember liking it.
I need to read this book. I remember renting the movie from Blockbuster with my family as a child. "Amy, good guerilla."
Thanks for the continuous content and good vibes Mike. You’ve become apart of my routine the last six months and have 100% impacted how much I am reading, what I am reading, and how much money I am spending on books. I enjoy coming here to unwind or relax and I find myself constantly in a better mood after watching. Thanks for all you do!
P.S. I haven’t joined the MC read along but I’ll be on board with Dragon Republic to finish the month!
They couldn’t even keep how the gorillas attacked the same between the book and movies. The books method is some terrifying, violent stuff and one of the most memorable things I’ve ever read
Dude you are amazing! Congo was a favorite movie of mine and I'm definitely interested in the book
+The artists known as Zack No way. that crappy movie wasn’t amazing, it was tedious. The novel itself is amazing!
@@deshaunbethea5254 Well he's entitled to his own opinion. What're you gonna do?
@@justinratcliffe947Nothing and you’re right. My apologize!
This movie rocks, I really could not tell it was a guy in a suit, I really couldn't. And even if I could, it takes hard work to be in those sweaty suits and can barely see anything. I think haters don't care what hard work goes on in those suits.
the most interesting aspects of this book were for me, the seamless blending of fictional and actual history, and the homage to the classic authors of adventure stories, from rider-haggard who is mentioned in the book, to burroughs and howard.
I remember reading this around junior high or early high school and was just enthralled. I loved Amy, and the villain, holy crap! For whatever reason, the thing I recall distinctly, which now in retrospect isn't as cool today, is the fact they had computers and electronics specifically designed for jungle. I couldn't believe it, how could you take a computer out in the mud/wet/etc. And this was published in 1980?! The man was a genius.
Great work Mike! Thanks for continuing the great content. Hope all is smoothing out with work/life balance.
Loved the movie, although even as a kid I knew it wasn't perfect. I hope I'll get around reading this one day
I just finished Disclosure and that one is my favorite Crichton book to date!
I remember reading this back in the day before seeing the movie, but it the movie was hyped up soo much with pepsi and Amy.... good review... I just did't like the ending, but now 30 years later I would if would be better
What great timing! I just finished the book. This is probably my third favorite of Crichtons works, behind the Great Train Robbery (2nd) and Dragon Teeth (1). I loved the geology in this one. Surprisingly unexpected but it was really interesting to read about what I’m learning about in university. Geology rocks!
I haven't read any Michael Crichton books yet but Sphere is near the top of my TBR list!
Just discovered your channel looking for a Congo book vs movie review and you absolutely delivered! Instant sub! Good stuff man, thanks!
Love this book!
+Wendigo Love the book too Wendigo. I like the book, on the other hand I don’t like the crappy film adaptation that came out 26 years ago in 1995!
Congo is next on my list. Got a copy recently.
On a different note, I LOVE THAT SHIRT! And Congo is great. Loved reading 80s tech in 2023. MC had some damn good insights 📻
I just wanted to say "The diamonds are here!"
I'll see myself out.
My mom LOVES the movie.
@@corinnereneesbookreviews9896 Good for her. She's open minded
@@corinnereneesbookreviews9896 one of my favorites, I'd take this movie vs today's cgi any day, so over done and over the top these modern movies, this movie is perfect for adventure!
Glad i just got this. My brother in law recently read it and loved it. ( i subbed him to your channel last time i was there haha)
Have always wanted to read this, will def check it out now thanks Mike ! Great review as always
The computer tech didn’t hold up, I skimmed those parts, but a lot of this book had me on the edge of my seat! It almost felt like horror at times because I was so on-edge.
I knew we were about the same age but we’re exactly the same age. 1997?
I loved this book i read this sometime around 2016. Im really into 80,90s retro technology, so i felt right at home with the tech talk. To me the movie was not that bad. I liked it. Mainly because i did not read the book when i seen the film. And how can anyone not love Tim Curry in anything? "You have a really bad attitude, everybody says that" "HAVE SOME OF MY SESAME CAKE" two of my favorite movie quotes. Happy reading :) :)
Such a great review I’m halfway through reading this now
Yay, Stargate shirt!
Still have not read him. I don't know how I've missed his books!
Ohh!!! I will definitely read Congo. Great video Mike
This needs to be remade into a miniseries, I’m looking at you HBO, A24 Productions.
Is it a big book?
I'm about 1/4 through Sphere and absolutely loving it
Nice Stargate shirt. Hope it "Takes You Back to the Paradise City"
Hey Mike, as a huge Michael Crichton fan, I love the Congo book and hate the movie adaptation myself too dude. Also despite that Paramount pictures unnecessarily distributed the film under their name for unknown reasons, in 1979 before the book was being finished in 1980, Crichton apparently wanted Disney’s 20th century studios (Formerly known as 20th century fox) to adapt his novel into a movie (Due to them had been acquired the rights to it) after they adapted another famous animal-themed science-fiction book with primates into a series of films and television shows by another well-known author Pierre Boulle of the same name since 1963 to 1968-present called Planet of the Apes. I’m not making this up and Wikipedia’s article has it.
I remember liking the movie as a kid, not sure how it would hold up though lol
To me, it's one of my favorite movies ever for adventure.
I loved this book
Yay! Sitting at the campground with my coffee in my Yeti Mug watching the Congo review!
The book was better than I remembered and I think a lot of it was that I didn’t remember a lot of it in the first place. Sadly the movie was clearer in my mind than the book. As I was reading though I started thinking…”who was Tim Curry in this?” And when I looked it up on IMDB and saw the name I remembered that he was an add in and then I remembered why the movie was
So bad. That said…the big terrifying river ride was way more scary in the book because he EXPLAINED why it was supposed to be scary.
Great book! Loving the re-read! Now can’t wait for your Sphere review and REALLY looking forward to re-reading Jurassic Park! My personal entry to Crichton.
This is one of my bucket list Crichton books, I've read many of his books after high school, but never found my way to this yet.
So, I'm gonna do something about that this summer, THEN will see how bad the movie is, lol
I watched the movie last night and... oh boy!!! was that shocking indeed!
Love your channel Mike 😎✌
I did watch the Congo movie and I thought it was okay. The book is always better than the movie. : ) Now I am going to have to read The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.
Love the book. Love the movie. LOVE the t-shirt!
Would like to see reviews with spoilers please! Having read the books its nice to hear opinions on specific details,
I'm currently reading Gone With The Wind, about 1000 pages, so overwhemed of the vastness and given it's a war story is even harder, it's hard to stay interested in books vs movies for me, but I want to get better at picking it up and finishing my books. I'm truly in love with the movie for the book I'm reading but Congo to, that's why I was hoping the book would be more like it. I was hoping it wasn't as technical as Jurassic Park...read some and the science was so hard and didn't seem like an adventure story like the movie. For me, I was hoping Tim Curry character was in the book, he was such an interesting character. Wanted to know if Michael gave similar depictions what the lost city of zinj look like, if it looked like the movie at all with that setting. I love Amy and his trainer, he sounds cute in the book with her to. I like that Karen is nice in the movie, other wise she could just be the villian in the book, where here she's the hero with her cool lazer gun and exploding volcanos. I hope the book is that kinda exciting.
As soon as i head Kurtz and Zaroff, i hit the subscribe button.
Happy to have you!
Three thoughts:
1. Love the shirt. I recently finished my marathon rewatch and I still love Stargate.
2. Hope you're not abandoning book quotes altogether at the beginning of your reviews. I totally understand that you might not always have time or the book might not have many quotable moments. Just wanted to say I'm a huge fan of those.
3. I am really enjoying your Crichton re-read. Bringing back some good memories. Except for most of the movies. Heh. Those movie adaptations were mostly terrible. I remember really enjoying Congo and Sphere and then watching the movies and felt such a huge letdown.
Your face, when trying to figure out why they made the movie the way they did, is great 😂
Great book! Great review!
Yo, bring this book to the Fox Den and you can read some of your favorite passages to me while we sip nice IPAs
It's a date.
Munro is the best human character, Amy is the best character!
Fair enough.
Great video! I think it's a toss up between Congo and Sphere for my favorite Crichton novel so far. I prefer novel over the movie. Had it's flaws but damn it was good. Thoroughly enjoying the read along so far.
Have you reviewed Jurassic Park yet? I can’t find a video on your channel
We are doing them in publication order. So Jurassic Park will be after Sphere.
Such a brilliant book!
Haha....love your Stargate shirt!
Peter didn't strike me as all that different from Karen, by the end of the book. Peter started having tunnel vision about the apes the same way that Karen had tunnel vision about the diamonds. Both of them showed an uncomfortable lack of concern for the safety of their porters due to said tunnel vision in the later part of the novel.
I love a good techno thriller and Congo was pretty good. Not my favorite but still a solid read. The adaptation was hot garbage and yet still managed to scare the crap out of 10 year old me 😅
😂
Wow Mike and I are the same age
I read the book first of course. Then oddly enough I saw the movie adaptation on Netflix so I decided to watch it. I only got about 20-30 minutes in and simply couldn’t take it anymore. It really was painful to watch.
Shut up
Hello thank you for the book review I love that book! I agree with your take on the movie adaptation, it was baaad, the movie over-condensed the whole story.
Not related but for me the worst book to film adaptation was Sahara by Clive Cussler, amazing book, climactic ending and a good read, if you havent read it, i would suggest it. The movie didnt even try to stay close to the narrative of the book. It's no wonder any of Clives other books have been adapted into movies haha.
Just started on Crichton, started with eaters of the dead, then jurassic park. Definitely going to read congo now
I just finished this book and I've got to say that I prefer the movie. In the movie if someone uses a satellite it doesn't then spend the next 15 minutes explaining the history of satellites. And Ernie Hudson rules
The movies good. Fuck the haters
Yeah that's when it can get tedious if it's to techinal and all science. That's why I found the movie was so enjoyable. It seemed more like Indiana Jones which I love, then the boring science parts in book and movies.
Omg I’ve never seen the movie but noooo. Karen is so driven and logical in the book. She’s a woman on a mission. Nothing is stopping her. Chasing a man? No way.
I think it was more their way of making her on a noble quest, not one just for monetary rewards. But yeah, I can see how it appears that way. Such a mess.
Hey Mike I just saw your videos about you were starting manga, Hunter x Hunter is a hight recommendation with a great magic system. And please can you make a video about best magic systems that are incorporated in great fights in books?
I love Michael Crichton but this book fell way too short for me. The thing is I can’t even really pinpoint the problem. Somewhere between the pacing and the structure of the novel. I loved Amy and the premise of the book is great. The science is great, as you expect from him and I think he is a great writer IMHO, but I put this book down way too many times to give it anything more than 3-stars. After your review, I’m definitely not checking out the movie. 😂
Always wanted to read Congo. Haven't been able to jump on any of the michael crichton books yet. But I hope to in the future.
Movie was terrible imo.
Jump on Jurassic Park next month. It’s SO much better than the movie, more like horror than the movie.
@@katieamarsh already read it. It's really good. I don't know if I liked it better than the movie though. Liked Lost World too.
I've read quite a few crichton books. Congo just wasn't one of them.
Shut up
I've been following along with you on the read-along and loving it. Congo was awesome, but I think I still liked The Great Train Robbery more. I told my brother that I liked Congo and he told me that it was good but also silly and kinda slapstick! The audacity!
Anyway, here's my review if anyone's interested:
ruclips.net/video/Z0lGTdIA4tg/видео.html
I've added Crichton to my used bookstore searches. It's fun to re-read and to catch up on what I didn't read the first time through. And I'm pretty sure that Dune is the worst adaptation ever (the first one).
Reading this in 2024 I'll say the massive downfall of this book to me was how utterly stupid all the characters seem to be. Towards the end they just make baffling dumb decisions. And it really seems to fall heavy into the "experts who know nothing about their field" trope. The gorilla expert is continuously baffled about gorilla behavior and their natural habitat. The geologist doesn't know how volcanoes work, the guide/military guide decides to put up defenses out in the open when there are perfectly good ruins to take shelter in. And then at the end they all seem to not care at all about all the people who have died and keep on screwing around like nothing happened. It all just started smaklcking you in the face that these aren't real people responding to a situation in a believable way. And its too bad because it was really engaging for the first half of it.
"You,..ugly." - Amy
I remember staying up late with this page turner. The movie was such a letdown.
Shut up
:D
Mike: Crichton puts that hard science into terms you and I can understand....Me: skips the science cause I'm totally lost...
Why do you always drink in your videos? Never seen any other youtubers do that.
Because other youtubers make about 10-100 cuts in their videos. I do them in one take. My apologies for getting thirsty from talking for 20 minutes without a break?
I like it. To me it feels like a conversation with a friend. I got my coffee, he has his.
Why do people ask such STUPID questions?!
I love it. It's like your "thing". I love that your vids don't feel pieced together.