All of my life, my biggest fear (other than the unknown) has been heights. I’ll admit it — I’m flat out terrified of steep drop-offs. Just ask anyone that was at the Cliffs of Moher with me — I cried like a little baby.

Yet now, I can honestly say that there has been a major paradigm in my list of fears.

What am I most afraid of now?

Velociraptors.

I just finished reading the book Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton for the first time this past weekend. I read it in a solid two days. My summation?

Awesome.

I grew up watching the film Jurassic Park, an absolute classic film by the great Steven Spielberg, arguably the best action/adventure director of all-time. I love the film. Love it. But nothing prepared me for the novel.

The novel, which begins in practically the same manner as the film The Lost World (Jurassic Park II for you newbs) with an attack on a little girl off the coast of Costa Rica by little dinosaurs named Procompsognathus (or aptly dubbed Compys). This gets your attention right away — dinosaurs off the island?! What are they going to do?!

The film starts off in a near similar manner, with a raptor attack upon a worker. This gives the idea of danger and a lack of control. With, of course, a dinosaur attack to scare the poop out of you.

Anyways, the two versions differ in a great way. For example: the character of John Hammond. Hammond is the man responsible for the park, in that he financed it all. For those of you who don’t remember him, he’s the old guy with the cool cain.

In the film, he is a loveable Walt Disney-esq character. He’s the man we all want for a grandfather — we’d kill to be little Lex and Timmy for him to spoil us and fill us with glee. He’s flippin’ Santa Clause.

However, the book is a different story. John Hammond seems like a nice guy. From the start. Then, we get to know him. And what does he become? Well, he becomes (to put it frankly) a dick. He yells at everyone. He’s fussy and stubborn, refusing to listen to reason and in it strictly for the money. He’s even mean to his grandchildren by the end of it.

So, what does this mean?

The story is completely different! Having the main characters with different personality traits creates the story into something different, and in this case, superior. That is, in the book being superior to the film. This, of course, is the normal case.

However, this case for me is different. I watched the film first. And loved it. A lot. Jurassic Park is a movie that has what some refer to as a “cult following”. And why not?

It has all the characteristics of a “cult classic.” People either love or hate the movie, nothing in between. It has strange characteristics, such as dinosaurs and chaos theory. And of course, Samuel L. Jackson.

But why am I now afraid of Velociraptors, all these years after seeing them on screen?
Michael Crichton’s writing style.

I cannot stress enough how suspenseful it is.

In the book, he uses many charts and grids to emphasize his points. At one point in the book, the main characters realize that the dinosaurs have begun breeding. There is a chart, which shows the projected amount of animals and the actual amount of animals found. The computer technician Arnold runs the system, which shows eight projected velociraptors and eight found. After they do a bit of scrambling with the system, he runs the power again. It shows there to be eight projected raptors again. This time, however, it shows there to be a total of 37 found.

I nearly pooped my pants I was so scared.

I know that it is just a story. I know that it isn’t real, that it never happened, and that it never would happen. But all in the same, I was scared for little Timmy, Lex, Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler and Dr. Malcom.

How can they deal with another 29 raptors on the loose?!

Two T-Rex’s are easy to handle, especially with the skills of Muldoon and his tranquillizer rocket launcher. But 37 raptors? Who the hell is going to be able to fight off that many raptors?

The book is so much more suspenseful, in every way, especially with the differences from the movie. I was never sure who would live and who would die, because it was different than the movie. Would Muldoon live? Would Hammond? Would Malcom? The kids? Anyone was fair game, and that was scary.

The raptors in the film are scary. Too much emphasis is placed on the Tyrannosaurus Rex and not enough on the velociraptors. In the book, the raptors are scary. Very scary.

The film talks about raptors attacking the fence in search of a weakness, all coordinated attacks from different angles. Well, the book introduces the raptors with such an attack, scaring the crap out of Dr. Grant and Ian Malcom. And me too.

I cannot stress this enough: raptors are scary.

Not only is the book so much more suspenseful and action packed (imagine fighting off a T-Rex that is swimming after you while trying not to fall off a waterfall), it is much more philosophical.

The movie includes a bit of Ian Malcom (played by legendary Jeff Goldblum) and his theories on life and chaos. Yet the book develops this into a much deeper level, giving a grand description of Chaos Theory and explaining how his Malcom Theory works, something that I can definitely take to heart.
Essentially, Ian Malcom is the greatest character of all-time.

No joke.

But, before this becomes a novel in itself, I should come to some sort of end. There is simply one thing I ask of you all.

Read Jurassic Park. It will give you nightmares about velociraptors. But that is a good thing. It will prepare you for when a real life John Hammond decides to create a chaotic world in which raptors get on the loose.

Until then, just read Jurassic Park. The only reason you’ll put it down is to check behind your back…for raptors.

Coming soon — a review of The Lost World by Michael Crichton.