This book has many characters. Dr.Levine, Dr.Thorne, Dr.Harding and Dr.Malcolm are the scientists. There are also two kids who stowaway in a trailer that was shipped to the island named Arby and Kelly. At the beginning all of the characters could not wait to get on the island. But by the end they could not wait to get off. In the end it took all their effort and a lot of teamwork to finally get off.

The Lost World has many exciting scenes but there was one that is particularly enjoyable. In this scene Crichton writes about a dinosaur that was like no other. What happened was this: Outside it was getting very dark. They had just gotten to a small 7-Eleven kind of store. Arby was injured and Dr.Harding started to treat his wounds. Dr.Thorne went outside to get some fuel for a jeep. There was this chain link fence that he thought looked very strange. He was not sure what it was but it almost looked like the fence was rippling. Then all of a sudden the lights in the store came on and that is when he noticed two dinosaurs staring straight at him. The dinosaurs had excellent almost perfect camouflage. Then he saw the dinosaurs turn white, then started changing again and before he knew it the dinosaurs disappeared again. however they were not gone. They had really just changed their color. Levin also sees the dinosaurs and calls it a "chameleon dinosaur".

This book shows the power of nature and that humans can't control it. It combines scientific facts and lots of imagination. So if you like heart pounding science-fiction adventures, you will love The Lost World !