New October releases

Sorry for the silence over the past week. I had some personal issues come up that pretty much consumed all my free time, but now I hope to continue blogging regularly. There are still plenty of books to review.

There also are three titles coming out this month that should satisfy anyone looking for paleo-fiction. The first, The Sky People by S.M. Stirling, has actually been out for a while but it is now coming out in paperback. The novel is set in an alternate timeline where Venus has been terraformed by aliens and turned into a preserve for Earth's prehistoric species. The Sky People is meant to be a homage to the pulp sci-fi of yesteryear, and it looks fun. You can read more about the title on the publisher's web site. The paperback should be out in bookstores on Oct. 2.

Next up is the comic Neozoic, which is set in a world where the asteroid (or comet) that killed off the dinosaurs missed. Dinosaurs and mammals have evolved side-by-side in an uneasy co-existence. You can read a preview of the comic here and my review here.

Last up is Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, which was recently reviewed on this site. No need to go into any great detail about this title, since I just finished a Dinotopia week.

It is pretty unusual for so many works of paleo-fiction to be released at the same time, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara by James Gurney (2007)

Hardback cover blurb

After many years of searching, artist James Gurney has discovered in a used bookstore a never-before-seen journal by the nineteenth-century explorer Arthur Denison. Denison’s previous travel accounts, published as Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and Dinotopia: The World Beneath, introduced a lost island where dinosaurs and humans live together in peaceful interdependence.

Now Professor Denison and his saurian companion, Bix, set out on a perilous journey to the forbidden empire of Chandara. When their personal invitation from the emperor goes missing, they are forced to cross the border penniless and in disguise. Every step of the way, Denison documents in exquisite detail the creatures, characters, and architecture he encounters: a village composed of three ships propped up on end, a fifty-foot-tall Brachiosaurus outfitted for fire fighting, an Allosaurus tending its hatchlings, young pilots air jousting on giant pterosaurs, and a lot more.

The land of Dinotopia is conjured by a brief but vivid narrative and a beguiling variety of visuals, including maps, cutaway views, and mechanical diagrams. The lives of the humans are intertwined with those of the dinosaurs and ancient mammals, all of which are actual species portrayed according to the latest scientific research. By turns whimsical, dramatic, and philosophical, the journal radiates a life-affirming vision that will cast a new light on the overlooked wonders of our own world.

My thoughts

The Italian explorer Marco Polo made many hard-to-believe claims about his famous journey to China – some people even question whether he went at all – but the one thing he never did claim to see was dinosaurs. Only in the world of Dinotopia would such a thing be possible.

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara is essentially a retelling of Marco Polo's travels, but set in the imaginary continent of Dinotopia. The book, the fourth in James Gurney's series, returns to the journal format of the first Dinotopia. Not only is Journey to Chandara the best sequel in the series, in some ways it surpasses that first work.

Journey to Chandara takes place not long after the events of The World Beneath, with the scientist and explorer Arthur Denison anxiously awaiting word about whether he will be allowed passage to the mysterious city. Chandara, we learn, is one of the great centers of Dinotopian civilization, rivaled only by Waterfall City. Relations with Chandara have soured because the democratic-minded people of Dinotopia objected to the city’s style of government, with the Emperor Hugo Khan ruling supreme. Chandara cut off trade and diplomatic relations with the rest of Dinotopia as a result, and it has been so long since anyone has visited the city that little is known about it.

Denison and Bix, a Protoceratops, are invited by Hugo Khan to travel to Chandara, which will make them the first outsiders to journey to the city in decades. Events take a turn for the worse when their invitation is stolen by the villainous Lee Crabb, but instead of giving up, the two set off on the journey in hopes of eluding the border guards and making their way into Chandara. Along the way they will brave bandits, predatory dinosaurs, hostile environments and a culture that is wary of outsiders.

In many ways, Gurney seems to be trying to recapture the spirit of the first Dinotopia book in Journey to Chandara. Both start with the artist stumbling upon one of Arthur’s forgotten journals, and both share similar images, such as a group of kids running along a beach with a sauropod or a visit to a snow-covered mountaintop temple. The difference here is that Gurney has refined his skills as both an artist and a storyteller. Journey to Chandara combines the first-person narration of first book with the focused storyline of The World Beneath. The characters are not just wandering Dinotopia to see the sights. They have a goal in mind and must undergo hardships to reach that goal. They meet interesting characters along the way and come across several different cultures that parallel real-world civilizations, but with their own twists – my favorite being a group of very anti-Pilgrim Pilgrims.

Of course, Dinotopia is most famous for its dinosaurs, and keeping with the Asian theme of the setting, several species of feathered dinosaurs discovered in the Gobi Desert make appearances throughout Journey to Chandara. Sporting feathers or scales, the terrible reptiles are depicted with an amazing amount of realism, and they are incorporated into human society in imaginative ways. After all, what kid wouldn’t want to ride in a school bus carried on the back of an Apatosaurus? The landscapes, architecture and people are all painted with the same painstaking detail.

The production values of the book also are top-notch, with a map of Chandara printed inside of the dust cover, the cover stamped to look like dinosaur hide and the book sporting a cloth bookmark. Sure, these are tiny things, but they make readers feel they got the most out of paying the $30 cover price.

The Dinotopia books are children’s books, but Journey to Chandara has plenty for dinosaur-loving adults as well. This is a book that parents will want to read even when their kids are not around, if just to ogle at the gorgeous illustrations.

Trivia

• Marco Polo is not the only explorer Gurney is channeling in Journey to Chandara. Part of Denison’s travels also mirror the real-world adventures of British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton, particularly his trip to Mecca.

• It is interesting to see how our knowledge of dinosaurs has changed over the series. For example, in The World Beneath, Gurney painted an Oviraptor with scales, but in Journey to Chandara, the dinosaur sports feathers.

• A few Ice Age mammals also make appearances in Journey to Chandara, including one that essentially plays the role of Santa Claus. (Santa Claws, anyone?)

• The Web site ExpandedBooks.com recently posted a preview of the book and an interview with Gurney:

• The official web site www.dinotopia.com has previews of Journey to Chandara as well as ordering information.

Reviews

• LJay (Dinotopia message board)

Dinotopia: First Flight by James Gurney (1999)

Hardback cover blurb

THE STORY OF DINOTOPIA UNFOLDS!

The much-anticipated third book in James Gurney’s Dinotopia series takes us back to Dinotopia’s ancient past, where the empire of Poseidos is about to use its robotic technology to capture the peaceful dinosaurs of Dinotopia. Only Gideon Altaire and his faithful mechanical friend, Fritz, can stop this evil plan. But first they must escape Poseidos and win the trust of the prehistoric creatures.

This dramatic addition to the award-winning Dinotopia series tells a tale of partnership and courage, where humans and animals fight side by side to over the greatest challenge yet to free Dinotopia. As a special bonus, the front cover opens up to reveal an easy-to-learn board game. By detaching the game cards fro the back of the book, players can join Gideon on his adventure, experiencing his crushing setbacks and his high-flying triumphs.

My thoughts

If Dinotopia was the equivalent of a novel, then First Flight is the equivalent of a novella. The third book in James Gurney's series is about 100 pages shorter than the others, and as a result, it doesn't quite have room for the epic story it wants to tell.

First Flight is set a few thousand years prior to the events in the first two books, when the human empire of Poseidos was at its height. Poseidos is an island kingdom where advanced technology has replaced biology and its citizens drive around in vehicles shaped like dinosaurs. True dinosaurs are not allowed on the island but are instead confined to Dinotopia, which the empire's leaders are planning to invade.

Gideon Altaire is a young-pilot-in-training who gets kicked out of flight school for being a little too high-minded for his own good. Shortly afterward, he finds a small pterosaur that has injured its wing. Instead of turning the creature over the authorities, Gideon befriends the small animal, who leads him to a group of humans secretly working to protect Dinotopia's saurian inhabitants. The meeting sets off a series of events that will eventually lead to Gideon becoming the first human to fly on the back of a Quetzalcoatlus -- the first skybax rider.

Dinotopia has always been a children's book series, but First Flight is probably the only title in it that was targeted almost exclusively for children. The text is the uncomplicated, third-person narration used in The World Beneath, and the front cover of the book folds out to unveil a children's board game. The final two pages of the book are punch-out cards to be used in the game, and while I understand the reasoning behind that, I've always been a little wary of books that encourage kids to rip up their pages.

The artwork is superb, as usual for Gurney. There are not many dinosaurs in First Flight when compared to the previous two books, but there are plenty of pterosaurs as well as a gang of furry little extinct mammals that play a key role in the plot. (There also is a rather odd-looking mammal-like reptile I had no idea existed until I encountered it in this book.) The main problem is that the art and the scant 60 pages of the book don't leave much room for a story. Readers instead get a CliffsNotes version of a story that moves far too quickly and glosses over many details. It would have been nice to spend more time the odd characters or watch Gideon wrestle with the decision to betray the empire that he has called home, but there simply isn't room.

First Flight is still worth owning if you are a Dintopia fan, given the quality of the art more than makes up the cover price. Kids also will like the book and the simple board game that comes along with it. Just remind them that it's not always cool to tear pages out of a book.

Reviews

• None
  

Dinotopia Lost by Alan Dean Foster (1996)

Hardback cover blurb

This thrilling tale of high adventure set in the world of James Gurney’s Dinotopia, the extraordinary uncharted island where humans and dinosaurs live in harmony, features all the colorful wonder and wining characters that have won this “land apart from time” millions of fans all over the world.

In all Dinotopia’s countless centuries, rarely has a vessel reached her peaceful shores except as a splintered wreck, until a mighty, storm-swollen breaker hurls the pirate ship Condor beyond the treacherous fangs of the coral reefs that surround the island. When marauding pirates capture a dinosaur family, young skybax pilot Will Denison leads a tiny band of rescuers on a pursuit that takes them into the perilous Rainy Basin, where tyrannosaurs still stalk the steamy forest long abandoned by civilized Dinotopians. Doggedly tracking the invaders, Will and his dinosaur companions must face both the cruelty on ancient instincts and the brutality of modern ignorance as they race toward a fateful confrontation at the breathtaking climax of a once-in-a-lifetime typhoon.

A harrowing tale of suspense, courage, and triumphant cooperation between creatures great and small, Dinotopia Lost will be relished by both newcomers to this exotic and magical realm and those who have already made the voyage.

My thoughts

Throw together Treasure Island with a lighthearted version of Jurassic Park, and you will end up with something very much like Dinotopia Lost.

Dinotopia Lost is the first in what became a series of novels set in artist James Gurney’s Dinotopia. Most of the books are for kids, but Dinotopia Lost was written for adults and kids alike.

The plot is pretty simple. A group of scurvy pirates safely land their ship on the coast of Dinotopia after a storm surge carries them over the coral reefs that protect the island continent. The pirates, of course, have never seen dinosaurs before, and mistaking the animals for dumb beasts, they capture a family of the ostrich-like Struthiomimus so they can sell the dinosaurs to the outside world. One of the dinosaurs escapes and alerts a nearby village of the danger. Skybax rider Will Denison leads a rescue mission to free the family, but complicating things is the fact that the pirates are walking right into the carnivore-infested Rainy Basin, and they’ve captured a young T. rex whose parents won’t be happy to learn the news…

Dinotopia Lost is a decent attempt to tell an old-fashioned adventure story while remaining faithful to the non-violent nature of Gurney’s books. In fact, anyone picking up the novel who has never read the original Dinotopia stories will have no clue about what’s going on. The writing itself is pretty good from a technical standpoint, with Foster knowing how to create colorful descriptions with just a few words. And the pirates are appropriately villainous if a little toothless because of the aforementioned non-violent nature of the setting.

One issue I had with Dinotopia Lost is that plot could've been better paced. The storyline meanders quite a bit, never finding a real focus until midway through the novel when Will launches his rescue mission. The pirates get quite a bit of ink, so much so that for a good part of the novel the heroes are little more than a supporting cast. Still, things pick up once the rescue is underway, and the resolution to the story keeps with the optimistic tone of Gurney’s works.

Dinotopia Lost won’t please anyone approaching it hoping to see realistic depictions of dinosaurs, because like in Gurney’s books, the animals are depicted as smart as humans. But fans the setting should enjoy this fantasy adventure.

Trivia

• Alan Dean Foster is a prolific writer who has written a number of original works, but he may be best known to the general public for his many movie novelizations, ranging from the original Star Wars to, most recently, Transformers.

• Foster also wrote a sequel, The Hand of Dinotopia, which I haven’t read yet.

Reviews

• BookPage
• Rambles
• SF Site