I read this right after reading Jurassic Park and as much as this book created the same fear and suspense, it didn't have the same great qualities as the original. I think the end of Jurassic Park definitely left space open for a sequel, but much of the science behind how the dinosaurs were created was randomly thrown out in this book and we just had to pretend we knew nothing about what had originally happened. 
 Malcolm is back (turns out he didn't die in the last book but was just in critical shape) and I'm happy about that. For some reason he is the only character from the original who is brought back which is strange because you would think that when confronted with his nightmare from six years ago he would first call on the others who know the truth. His personality has also changed a bit and it makes him less endearing but I can chalk that up to him having had a traumatic experience. The problem is we don't get to see the character development that led to him acting differently so it feels off. 
 I have a huge problem with the plot holes in this book. The first issue is that in the original, Wu and the other InGen scientists created all female dinosaurs to prevent reproduction. Wu was genuinely shocked to find out that there were dinosaurs reproducing on the island and we eventually learned that only the animals whose DNA had been 'fixed' with amphibian DNA were able to reproduce. Yet, on this new island pretty much all the dinosaurs are reproducing and Malcolm doesn't even care - if you knew that only certain species were able to reproduce and then you were introduced to a new island supposedly created by the same people - wouldn't you question that? 
 Also, at the end of Jurassic Park there was some hinting that some velociraptors had made it to the mainland and were surviving by eating crops that were high in lysine. Another control mechanism from the original book where all the animals were dependent on lysine tablets in order to survive because that is how they were genetically engineered. Well, pretty much throw that out the window because that has nothing to do with what is happening in this book and apparently the dinosaurs are not dependent on lysine - yet another thing I would have questioned if I were Dr. Malcolm. 
 Basically there were just huge plot holes and the only character that really returned from the last book has conveniently forgotten everything he ever knew about InGen - hopefully that doesn't bother you while you are reading. 
 The characters were also less genuine in this installment and sometimes their actions just made no sense whatsoever. Levine is a good example. On his first night on the island he is chased down by Velociraptors. He only manages to survive by getting high enough in a tree. Now, you would think this would be traumatic and that he would be scared of them (not to mention that as a scientist he would have observed how high they can jump, etc.) Well, forget that, when the rest of his group finds him he is happily studying dinos with no fear. Until he is later attacked by the same creature but with the children and another teammate - now suddenly he doesn't realize that these things can jump really high (didn't they jump to get him out of the tree?) and he comes out completely traumatized and in fear of his own mortality . . . maybe only the second near death experience counts? 
 On that note, here is another major issue for me - the velociraptors. In the original book they were ridiculously smart - as in they could outsmart the humans that created them. Now, in this installment they are nothing but vicious and nonsensical predators. In Jurassic Park we saw their nest and saw how they took care of the young, etc. In this version they apparently ate their own young and viciously attacked their own juveniles. Basically it is like they are completely different creatures. I wouldn't mind if some reasonable explanation had been given - like maybe they developed differently in this island versus the other one because of ____insert some scientific sounding reason here____ but there really was no reasoning. What made these creates incredibly scary was how smart they were, in this installment they were just mindless killing machines. 
 Characters: 
 I already discussed Malcolm so I will skip that. 
 The children: 
 Their only purpose was so that the grown-ups could explain the science behind what was happening in layman's terms. They also needed someone to do the computer work and we are totally supposed to believe that InGen's fancy computer system is super friendly and just hands out administrative passwords because the little 10 year old is just that good. 
 Sara: 
 She was the muscle in the story and the main problem I had with her was that no matter how injured she was, she was just able to get up and do whatever was necessary a few pages later. Thea author also felt the need to constantly remind us that even though she was strong she was still feminine. 
 Levine: 
 I have never wanted a character to just get eaten so badly! While I didn't care for Hammond in the first book, I understood him to an extent and enjoyed hating him. I think his death was rather poetic at the end. In contrast, the dumbest and most idiotic guy gets to live. At first I thought his only purpose was to provide funding for the trip in this book but later on it turns out he was also there to cause as many problems as possible. Also, he got bitten by compys and apparently completely did not notice that their bites have toxic effects - pretty stupid for a scientist. 
 Thorne: 
 Really like this new character and I wish we got to see him and Grant working together. 
 I know it sounds like I have been complaining a lot about this book, but the reality is that there were major plot holes and that really bothered me in a book like this, especially because Jurassic Park itself was such an intricate story. That being said, I still enjoyed the story - hence the three star rating. I think it could have been much better if the author had been consistent with the first book and had given a better background for the existence of this new island.