The Folio Society accomplishes something unique amongst the publishing houses, and that’s not just celebrating some of the finest book titles that endure, but they conquer it with an extra touch of class. An independent publisher, they champion both fiction and non-fiction by focusing on the best of the individual genres, ones where we find writers who have honed that rare equilibrium between intelligent, informed, and welcoming – all huddled inside the wonderful shape of a perfectly crafted book.

Today, I feel privileged to share my review of Michael Crichton’s iconic Jurassic Park from Folio, the story inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s iconic, game-changing movie that certainly changed my life forever when I first saw it as a young teenager. Crichton’s book was originally released in 1990, and it’s been quite the number of years since I first read it, but with a new franchise ahead and, frankly, any excuse to immerse into Isla Nublar, this felt like a great time to enjoy it – and review the Folio Society’s wonderful edition.

If Jurassic Park hasn’t been part of your life until now, I wholeheartedly endorse both the book and the film, in distinct ways to – with the book being a little grislier (in a few places) than the film, yet many elements overlapping in totally constructive ways. If anything, they complement each other for this story from the mind of Michael Crichton. If you don’t know the central story, it’s revealed through the misty clouds of the Island itself, because after investors in lead character John Hammond’s secret theme park insist on testing its existence with experts, which includes a select group of scientists and observers who are invited to tour the Park and discover what Hammond has helped create, what could possibly go wrong when you’re trying to bring dinosaurs back to life?

Crichton’s novel takes that human fascination with palaeontology and pushes it up a level… and then more again. You sense the research and scientific insight within the book, but obviously this is also a work of fiction which lingers on the edges of fringe science throughout – and as exciting as that is, his book also brings important moral and ethical questions including discussions about DNA manipulation, conversing about the very nature of humanity being egotistical enough to believe they can control something that the planet once destroyed, and also a comment on that false god power that lingers through every part of our life, covering the environment and politics, all the down to the invisible scientific line that steadily changes when it comes to the unknown nature of discovery.

While deeply thoughtful and compelling, I’d probably forgotten how gruesome it is, especially early on, where no human of any age is left out of a slow Compsognathus slaughter, we are – after all – dealing with predators of the animal kind. And then the latter Velociraptor escapes and hunting, as well as the big (and little) T-Rex encounters which only add to the fictional environments coming to life.

What’s also particularly fun is comprehending how the characters from the book came to life onscreen, although sorry for the missing Roberta Carter and Ed Regis – the pair become a bit of an amalgam in the form of Gennaro – yet the majority of the rest remain. Dr Alan Grant might look a little different, and loves kids instead of initially hating them, but everyone else is very much in a similar vein, and it works for the overall balance.

Hammond is the big shift though, because while he’s still transfixed by his creation, without that Richard Attenborough realisation/human touch that appears in the movie, he’s much more of an unusually calm megalomaniac with hints of anger which could be a representation of toxic politicians on social media today. In the sense that he’s a key player but doesn’t blame himself for the chaos created in any form, instead it’s someone else’s fault, and his journey is also a particularly intriguing one.

I did find Lex frustrating and somewhat of a stock character. While this might relate to the era the book was originally released in, she’s definitely underdeveloped despite her young 8-year-old setup, and I put this into the context up against the older Tim, because she’s continually represented as a bit of a pest – with her only true positive traits being good with animals, but we see this so rarely, it doesn’t make much difference. In truth, her brother Tim is the adult, and his dino-relationship/mutual understanding with Dr Grant firmly places them as the adults and ‘men’ of the situation. I like that in the film version, they’re much more balanced. I also need to mention Nedry’s extended death sequence, which is much more brutal, but feels oddly right for the chao he causes.

And, yes, there’s so much to love here, and I adored this revisit. I have judged it as a book first and foremost, and it’s absorbing and while I personally can’t split the two, as the film is so engrained in my head, it’s a page turner. As a whole, the positives outweigh anything else, and I enjoyed seeing which parts Spielberg picked out, and how visual Crichton’s work remains. For me, the amalgamated version film version sits easily alongside the book, as they equally champion and enhance both creative outputs.

The other huge reason we’re here is this exceptional Folio Society version, and the feel of the book, with its reptile-like slipcase, alongside the literal weight of the book is a beauty. It’s bound with soft-touch lamination and textured spot varnish, whilst also being set in Dante with Manito as display, and all this adds to the moment of disappearing into the story.

The book features six full-page colour illustrations, and one black and white illustrated title double-page spread, with illustrations from artist Vector That Fox. The Folio Society also say they collaborated with American palaeontologist Steve Brusatte, who studies the anatomy and evolution of dinosaurs, to make sure the accompanying images were as accurate as possible – and these do look great. They’ve also recreated every computer graphic and graph from the original book, keeping that vibe of the first release, and placed in the appropriate sections – it’s interesting to see the old computer graphics, and something I recall from my childhood and early system use.

Overall, all these special extras add to the unerringly unique atmosphere of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. When you’re accompanying it with occasional Ian Malcolm speeches, made famous thanks to Jeff Goldblum, and did make their way from the page to the screen, you’ve got a lot to love here. There were also a number of longer sequences I’d forgotten about, including T-Rex river chases, the Auxiliary Power elongated issue, that Raptor ‘nesting’ end, and even how you can see little bits of each film (so far) in specific setups here.

Jurassic Park also offers that deeper character study, and even with the film being so dominant, it doesn’t take away the sheer brilliance of the overall story and gripping narrative from this original Crichton work. Of course, all this is supported by The Folio Society, who have done it again with their exquisite aesthetic, because in truth; this is how all your favourite books should be.

Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, from The Folio Society is out now, click here for your copy!