A tour-de-force in storytelling. I first read this in my early 20s and, whilst it was superb even back then, I didn’t fully grasp some of the clever theoretical underpinnings with which Crichton imbues this novel. Specifically, my greater (though still not academic) understanding of chaos theory now truly enables me to empathise with the frustrations of Malcolm in the face of Hammond’s intransigent arrogance, the result of which leads to his - and his guests’ - fate. In part a criticism of science for science’s sake, in part a criticism of capitalism and power, in part an adventure in the lives of those who should never have had to face such danger. Brilliant.