Baz's Reviews > Congo

Congo is very well researched (which is clear from the bibliography alone). And while some of the information is outdated now (forty years after the book was written), it was certainly ahead of its time.

That being said, this might just be the last Michael Crichton book that I read. While his writing has certainly improved since reading The Terminal Man (published 1971), his archaic personality that he inputs into his narration unfortunately has not (though I held out hope).

His (obviously personal) negative opinions of women and other races are peppered throughout the narrated dialogue and this is hard to get past... even for me, a white man.

While we shouldn’t judge an artist for their art alone, in this instance, the distraction of Crichton’s obvious misogyny and racial ignorance affects the reading of this and so affects my rating. I love the premise of this book. The delivery fell short.

Some great action and fantastic characters are reeled in by chapters that leave the reader feeling short-changed by scenes that are under kneaded.

3 to 3.5 stars.