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Author Michael Crichton created a blockbuster franchise with Jurassic Park, and these original digest novels continue the adventures for its millions of young fans!
A band of teenagers armed with video cameras and what they think are “the rules of the island” parachute into Jurassic Park. But their dream of making a blockbuster dinosaur documentary soon turns into a nightmare because dinosaurs don't play by anyone’s rules. Can paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and 13-year-old Eric Kirby (the stars of Jurassic Park III) save them? Or will they all become prey?
A band of teenagers armed with video cameras and what they think are “the rules of the island” parachute into Jurassic Park. But their dream of making a blockbuster dinosaur documentary soon turns into a nightmare because dinosaurs don't play by anyone’s rules. Can paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and 13-year-old Eric Kirby (the stars of Jurassic Park III) save them? Or will they all become prey?
123 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2001
2 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Scott Ciencin
178 books77 followersScott Ciencin was a New York Times best-selling novelist of 90+ books. He wrote adult and children's fiction and worked in a variety of mediums including comic books. He created programs for Scholastic Books, designed trading cards, consulted on video games, directed and produced audio programs & TV commercials, and wrote in the medical field about neurosurgery and neurology. He first worked in TV production as a writer, producer and director. He lived in Sarasota, Florida with his wife (and sometimes co-author) Denise.
(Also wrote under the pseudonyms Nick Baron and L.J. Oliver)
(Also wrote under the pseudonyms Nick Baron and L.J. Oliver)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 21, 2025
After reading Survivor, the first book in the Jurassic Park Adventures series, I finished the second book and will read the third and last book. I have to say this was somewhat of an improvement from the first one. This is told in third person and not in first person as the first book was trying to be like an autobiography.
In the second book, Isla Sorna has been turned into a wild animal preserve with humans staying on the island to study and preserve the dinosaur population. However, a group of teenagers illegally enter the island, filming the dinosaurs and hoping to become famous like Eric Kirby. He and Alan Grant have to stop those teenagers before they become dinosaur chow.
Like I said before, this was an improvement from the first book and I preferred the second one. I like how Alan and Eric get more character development in their conversations. Also I liked seeing Eric's conversation with his parents who were reluctant to let him go back to the island. The main antagonist was okay for one written for a children's book. His motivations was that he had parent issues besides the fact that he and his brother were rich but he wanted to be more rich and famous by trying to be someone he's not. And he would rather let his brother almost be killed by dinosaurs just to get his fame.
This book is rated 3 stars in my opinion. It's an okay book targeted towards young readers but enjoyable as you get to see the characters in peril with man-eating dinosaurs. Now I'm going to read the third book.
In the second book, Isla Sorna has been turned into a wild animal preserve with humans staying on the island to study and preserve the dinosaur population. However, a group of teenagers illegally enter the island, filming the dinosaurs and hoping to become famous like Eric Kirby. He and Alan Grant have to stop those teenagers before they become dinosaur chow.
Like I said before, this was an improvement from the first book and I preferred the second one. I like how Alan and Eric get more character development in their conversations. Also I liked seeing Eric's conversation with his parents who were reluctant to let him go back to the island. The main antagonist was okay for one written for a children's book. His motivations was that he had parent issues besides the fact that he and his brother were rich but he wanted to be more rich and famous by trying to be someone he's not. And he would rather let his brother almost be killed by dinosaurs just to get his fame.
This book is rated 3 stars in my opinion. It's an okay book targeted towards young readers but enjoyable as you get to see the characters in peril with man-eating dinosaurs. Now I'm going to read the third book.
January 15, 2021
I love the ideas in this book but there are too many of them for such a short book.
I think the major mistake was to have Eric return, maybe Grant too (it's pretty against his character). However, I LOVE the idea of a new ranger station on site B. It starts the bridge between the Jurassic Parks and Jurassic World. The ranger station works very well until an outside force causes problems, again, love this idea.
A group of mostly teens lead by a rich 18 year old who wants to take videos of the dinosaurs? Yes please. I especially liked that the 18 year old was the villain, happy to watch his brother die all for the fame.
However, there's too much changing POVs compared to the first book in this series. There's just not enough space to impart the complicated characters that appear. I think I'd love to read a book from the group of kids POV with the odd input from a ranger character we don't yet know. There was a hint of a psychological horror in this (though I suppose it IS a book for kids haha).
I think the major mistake was to have Eric return, maybe Grant too (it's pretty against his character). However, I LOVE the idea of a new ranger station on site B. It starts the bridge between the Jurassic Parks and Jurassic World. The ranger station works very well until an outside force causes problems, again, love this idea.
A group of mostly teens lead by a rich 18 year old who wants to take videos of the dinosaurs? Yes please. I especially liked that the 18 year old was the villain, happy to watch his brother die all for the fame.
However, there's too much changing POVs compared to the first book in this series. There's just not enough space to impart the complicated characters that appear. I think I'd love to read a book from the group of kids POV with the odd input from a ranger character we don't yet know. There was a hint of a psychological horror in this (though I suppose it IS a book for kids haha).
March 21, 2023
While not quite as engrossing as the first entry in this series, if you've got a dinosaur loving bibliophile at home, this is the book for them. A group of teens try to make a name for themselves and garner fame and fortune by dropping into Isla Sorna (Nublar? can't remember) and doing a found footage film of themselves surviving dino encounters. Needless to say, they get in over their heads and must be rescued by some old favorite characters. 'Nough said.
June 11, 2022
Not bad for a little sequel story for the kids.
June 2, 2025
This one is probably my favourite out of the Adventures trilogy.
I fully believe Ciencin read the books by Crichton before making this, because I think it shows. That or him and Crichton thought similiarly.
First of all, there's the same problem as in The Lost World: the predator:prey ratio is out of balance. This was mentioned in the first book, but it's definitely handled better here.
Second: THE DINOSAURS ARE ANIMALS!
A group of Triceratops approach the antagonist, and when he does something wrong that bothers them, they attack! YES! THIS BARELY HAPPENS! If a carnivore gets scared, it'll evaluate the threat, you can't hunt if you get hurt, and the carnivore needs to hunt to survive, an herbivore doesn't care, if you scare one, it'll run you down.
Of course, I am disappointed with how the antagonist survived this encounter, but I'll take any wins this franchise gives at this point.
Other than that, I quite enjoyed the characters in this book, a lot of the character development that got brushed over in Jurassic Park 3 shows here, and I'm all for it!
Not my favourite book in the world, but it's worth the read.
I fully believe Ciencin read the books by Crichton before making this, because I think it shows. That or him and Crichton thought similiarly.
First of all, there's the same problem as in The Lost World: the predator:prey ratio is out of balance. This was mentioned in the first book, but it's definitely handled better here.
Second: THE DINOSAURS ARE ANIMALS!
A group of Triceratops approach the antagonist, and when he does something wrong that bothers them, they attack! YES! THIS BARELY HAPPENS! If a carnivore gets scared, it'll evaluate the threat, you can't hunt if you get hurt, and the carnivore needs to hunt to survive, an herbivore doesn't care, if you scare one, it'll run you down.
Of course, I am disappointed with how the antagonist survived this encounter, but I'll take any wins this franchise gives at this point.
Other than that, I quite enjoyed the characters in this book, a lot of the character development that got brushed over in Jurassic Park 3 shows here, and I'm all for it!
Not my favourite book in the world, but it's worth the read.
October 2, 2014
This obviously is a book for young teenagers. I only started to read it because I read everything with "Jurassic Park" on it. However, my expectations were VERY low. Most non-Crichton Jurassic Park stories (like all of the comics and games) have very juvenile and crappy plot lines. However, this book pleasantly surprised me.
At first, there is the setting, the premise:
One of the most unrealistic part of Jurassic Park III is that the protagonists run into predators each step they take. However, in real ecosystems you need of population of at least 1,000 herbivores for each carnivore. So, carnivores are a rarety. If the protagonists wanted to see a Spinosaur, they would have to LOOK days for it. However, Tron Denning rescues JPIII. During the events of JPIII it was obvious to Alan Grant that the island had FAR to much predators. He knew that the ecosystem of the island was out of balance. Grant tells the UN General Assembly that, unless humans interfere, the dinosaurs of Isla Sorna will face extinction! He proposes to build a Ranger Station on the island, from which scientists can monitor the animals and help to bring balance to the predator/prey ratio.
But hasn't Dr. Grant seen Jurassic Park? Everyone knows that the island is far too dangerous for humans. That was the reason the UN had restricted acces to the island. However, Dr. Grant uses the testimony of Eric Kirby. If a 13 year old boy -without weapons, provisions or training- can survive 8 weeks on the island, a highly skilled military group could certainly make a permanent camp.
This premise shows to me that Denning really did his homework and did a lot of thinking before making up this story. This is certainly the kind of thing I'd like to see in the next JP movie. 4 STARS.
Now that the stage is set, let us focuss on the play itself:
Eric visits the Ranger Station during his X-mass break. A few teenagers trespass on the island to film the dinosaurs and become famous. Eric urges Dr. Grant to go after them and rescue them. However, because of the X-mass break, the Ranger Station is understaffed. With only a handfull of soldiers Eric and Grant go after the trespassers. Very soon, they are hunted by a group of Carnotaurs. I'm not gonna tell you how it ends... :)
I have some problems with this story. I think there are quite some things that wouldn't have happened if the whole Ranger operation was properly planned. Furthermore, most of the story we see the protagonists being hunted by the Carnos. Although I enjoyed it, I don't think it is the best example of storytelling. So, "it was ok" --> 2 STARS.
So, in general I give the book 3 STARS. Every true Jurassic Park fan (not the ones that never heard of Michael Crichton or Gerry Harding) should read it once.
At first, there is the setting, the premise:
One of the most unrealistic part of Jurassic Park III is that the protagonists run into predators each step they take. However, in real ecosystems you need of population of at least 1,000 herbivores for each carnivore. So, carnivores are a rarety. If the protagonists wanted to see a Spinosaur, they would have to LOOK days for it. However, Tron Denning rescues JPIII. During the events of JPIII it was obvious to Alan Grant that the island had FAR to much predators. He knew that the ecosystem of the island was out of balance. Grant tells the UN General Assembly that, unless humans interfere, the dinosaurs of Isla Sorna will face extinction! He proposes to build a Ranger Station on the island, from which scientists can monitor the animals and help to bring balance to the predator/prey ratio.
But hasn't Dr. Grant seen Jurassic Park? Everyone knows that the island is far too dangerous for humans. That was the reason the UN had restricted acces to the island. However, Dr. Grant uses the testimony of Eric Kirby. If a 13 year old boy -without weapons, provisions or training- can survive 8 weeks on the island, a highly skilled military group could certainly make a permanent camp.
This premise shows to me that Denning really did his homework and did a lot of thinking before making up this story. This is certainly the kind of thing I'd like to see in the next JP movie. 4 STARS.
Now that the stage is set, let us focuss on the play itself:
Eric visits the Ranger Station during his X-mass break. A few teenagers trespass on the island to film the dinosaurs and become famous. Eric urges Dr. Grant to go after them and rescue them. However, because of the X-mass break, the Ranger Station is understaffed. With only a handfull of soldiers Eric and Grant go after the trespassers. Very soon, they are hunted by a group of Carnotaurs. I'm not gonna tell you how it ends... :)
I have some problems with this story. I think there are quite some things that wouldn't have happened if the whole Ranger operation was properly planned. Furthermore, most of the story we see the protagonists being hunted by the Carnos. Although I enjoyed it, I don't think it is the best example of storytelling. So, "it was ok" --> 2 STARS.
So, in general I give the book 3 STARS. Every true Jurassic Park fan (not the ones that never heard of Michael Crichton or Gerry Harding) should read it once.
February 27, 2025
While it had a slow start, some parts are absolutely gripping and give you the sense of truly living through a Jurassic Park movie. It was great getting to interacte more with Alan Grant in this one, and of course, Erik Kirby is a fantastic protagonist to follow.
Also loved the representation of the young band of filmmakers, and how utterly annoying their leader was. You feel terrified for them as they make this little 'adventure' with terrible intelligence.
Also loved the representation of the young band of filmmakers, and how utterly annoying their leader was. You feel terrified for them as they make this little 'adventure' with terrible intelligence.
March 8, 2013
I liked this book because it had a lot of action. There was danger around every corner- so it was super suspensful. It kind of went behind the scenes of Jurassic Park III.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series- and hope it'll be even more action packed. Even the title just grabs you, "Prey!"
I can't wait to read the next book in the series- and hope it'll be even more action packed. Even the title just grabs you, "Prey!"
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews