Alan Grant/Novels

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Novels

Jurassic Park

Concept art of Grant, Tim, and Lex, based on the novel; however, Grant does not have a beard

In the Jurassic Park novel Grant is described as a bearded, forty-year-old chief paleontologist from Montana. Earlier, many years before the events of the novel, Grant had a wife; however, she died, leaving him widowed. At the time of the InGen incident and the time of the publication of the book it can be assumed that Grant was born in either the year 1950 or 1949. Grant tells Tim Murphy that he is a widower. It is revealed that he helped describe the Maiasaura with Jack Horner. Interestingly, Grant is based on Horner himself - one of the scientific advisers for Jurassic Park - rather than on Bob Makela (1940-1987), Horner's co-author for Maiasaura.

Grant had uncovered a Velociraptor skeleton in Montana, when he was invited to Jurassic Park. It was there that he meets one of Hammond's grandchildren, Tim Murphy, and becomes a father figure for him. Alan Grant confirmed the breeding problems of the Othnielia, Velociraptor, Maiasaura, Procompsognathus and Hypsilophodon.

Later, he witnesses the Tyrannosaurus escaping its paddock and attacking the remainder of the tour group. In the ensuing carnage Ian Malcolm is severely wounded when the Tyrannosaurus throws him in the air. Shortly following the attack, he escapes with John's grandchildren. Grant and the children successfully cross the Tyrannosaurus paddock and spend the night in a large tree. When they wake up, they cross over the perimeter fence, make it back to the visitor's center, and reunite with Ellie.

On returning to the Visitor Center, Grant realizes the Velociraptors had escaped. The laboratory holds syringes filled with deadly toxins in case the scientists ever needed to quickly kill a dinosaur. Knowing that Velociraptors probably were scavengers and would eat dinosaur eggs, Grant injects several incubating eggs with the poison and rolls them out toward the raptors. Two of the raptors die in this fashion (one ate the egg, the other took a bite of his comrade). However, the third raptor does not fall for this and Grant has to kill it by physically sticking it with the syringe. After Tim restores power, the living protagonists are saved.

Grant, together with Ellie, and Donald Gennaro, went to investigate an underground Velociraptor nest where they find a man-made underground chamber in which the raptors follow a strange pattern of order, possibly wishing to migrate off the island. The creatures go outside in response of the sound of helicopters. The Costa Rican air force has landed on the island and saves the survivors, but Hammond is not among them. Unbeknownst to the others, Hammond had been eaten alive by Procompsognathus. Grant then witnesses the Isla Nublar bombing and is detained by the Costa Rican government.

The Lost World

Grant is only mentioned very briefly in The Lost World when it is said that his proposed theory that Tyrannosaurus rex could not function in the rain was criticised, and also that he spoke in conferences in Paris and Peking to Dr. Richard Levine about new Tyrannosaur fossil finds. He was also apparently bound to silence regarding the events in Isla Nublar as well. Levine criticised Grant on his theory that a Tyrannosaurus could not navigate well in wet climates.

Quotes

• "Dinosaurs on the brain? Well, as a matter of fact, I have that same problem" - to Tim
• Tim Murphy: "Are you divorced?"
  Alan Grant: "No. My wife died a long time ago"
  Tim: "And now you're with Dr. Sattler?"
  Alan: "[Smiling] No. She's my student"
• Tim: "Are you going to marry Dr. Sattler?"
  Alan: "No, she's marrying a nice doctor in Chicago sometime next year."
  Tim: "Oh... Then who are you going to marry?"
  Alan: "I don't think I'm going to marry anybody"
  Tim: "Me neither"