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2.89 AVERAGE
2.89 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I might. First, it is exactly what it says it is. Game of Thrones mixed with Jurassic Park; Medieval battles waged with dinosaurs added in, and some truly great characters.
The writing in this book is both excellent and standard. The story itself isn't anything new to me, but the writing is very good, most especially when you least expect it. The dialogue in particular is a great deal of fun.
The little book tidbits you get at the start of each chapter - like Dune - give you insight into what you are about to read and explain things about the world. I've found myself in love with the world and looking forward to more while also not wanting it to end.
I'm a big fan of dinosaurs too, and his accurate descriptions and imaginings of how people would use them are endlessly fun to me. The author put in a lot of thought for how each dinosaur makes a difference in combat as well as in behavior.
Highly recommend!
The writing in this book is both excellent and standard. The story itself isn't anything new to me, but the writing is very good, most especially when you least expect it. The dialogue in particular is a great deal of fun.
The little book tidbits you get at the start of each chapter - like Dune - give you insight into what you are about to read and explain things about the world. I've found myself in love with the world and looking forward to more while also not wanting it to end.
I'm a big fan of dinosaurs too, and his accurate descriptions and imaginings of how people would use them are endlessly fun to me. The author put in a lot of thought for how each dinosaur makes a difference in combat as well as in behavior.
Highly recommend!
2.5 stars
This was just so slow. I didn't care for any of the characters. The premise was good but I think overall it just lacked in execution
This was just so slow. I didn't care for any of the characters. The premise was good but I think overall it just lacked in execution
I would liken The Dinosaur Lords to The Game of Thrones, as both have different storylines that are tangentially connected, intrigue, rebellions, and an overall epic feel. They have one main difference: the dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are a part of Paradise, the world made by the eight Creators for humans and their “five friends” brought from Old Home. The “friends” are horses, dogs, cats, ferrets, and goats, and Old Home was the world before the creators made it into Paradise. Dinosaurs take the place of more familiar animals as mounts, beasts of burden, and food.
The book opens on battle. Rob Korrigan, dinosaur master and bard, provides commentary to a soldier and lays down exposition for the reader, introducing other characters: Voyvod Karyl Bogomirskiy, a mercenary lord. Count Jaume Llobregat, the Imperial Champion, Lord of Flowers, and Commander of the legendary Companions. Lord Falk von Hornberg, a rebel lord fighting against a decision made by the Emperor over matters of state and the combined forces of the Voyvod and the Companions. Princesa Imperial Melodia, daughter of the Emperor. And of course, Rob Korrigan.
This review is part of a podcast. Read the rest of the reviewhere!
Dinosaurs are a part of Paradise, the world made by the eight Creators for humans and their “five friends” brought from Old Home. The “friends” are horses, dogs, cats, ferrets, and goats, and Old Home was the world before the creators made it into Paradise. Dinosaurs take the place of more familiar animals as mounts, beasts of burden, and food.
The book opens on battle. Rob Korrigan, dinosaur master and bard, provides commentary to a soldier and lays down exposition for the reader, introducing other characters: Voyvod Karyl Bogomirskiy, a mercenary lord. Count Jaume Llobregat, the Imperial Champion, Lord of Flowers, and Commander of the legendary Companions. Lord Falk von Hornberg, a rebel lord fighting against a decision made by the Emperor over matters of state and the combined forces of the Voyvod and the Companions. Princesa Imperial Melodia, daughter of the Emperor. And of course, Rob Korrigan.
This review is part of a podcast. Read the rest of the reviewhere!
Full review here : https://thecurioussffreader.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/the-dinosaur-lords-by-victor-milan-aka-me-rambling-about-the-things-that-drove-me-insane-in-this-book/
To do a quick review here, this was really bad. The story was slow, confusing and pretty boring. The characters were one dimensional and their reactions toward the situations they where put in were for the most part illogical. Also, the character of Rob was a sexist idiot and I wanted to kick him for the majority of the book.
If I hasn't convinced you of not picking up this book, just read this and make up your mind : " Rob would rather have sat beside a female. The Garden grew some lovely specimens.[…] Her age didn’t bother Rob; the older ones were more appreciative of his attentions, if not outright grateful for them ".
And if you still think, yes but this about dinosaur and knights so it MUST be great, then I am deeply sorry to say that, the dinosaurs in this book are almost the same as horses, they do the same things than them, and they don't have a huge role in the story. Sorry...
To do a quick review here, this was really bad. The story was slow, confusing and pretty boring. The characters were one dimensional and their reactions toward the situations they where put in were for the most part illogical. Also, the character of Rob was a sexist idiot and I wanted to kick him for the majority of the book.
If I hasn't convinced you of not picking up this book, just read this and make up your mind : " Rob would rather have sat beside a female. The Garden grew some lovely specimens.[…] Her age didn’t bother Rob; the older ones were more appreciative of his attentions, if not outright grateful for them ".
And if you still think, yes but this about dinosaur and knights so it MUST be great, then I am deeply sorry to say that, the dinosaurs in this book are almost the same as horses, they do the same things than them, and they don't have a huge role in the story. Sorry...
Rape scene thrown in for no reason, ruined the book for me. Would have returned it but I waited too long (kindle). Sorry I gave this author my money.
not self contained, don't know when the sequel is coming, interesting though
I just can't anymore.
I wanted to LOVE this book. Dinosaurs + knights = a how-could-this-go-wrong epic. Right?!?
Nope. This book was TERRIBLE! So terrible I couldn't even finish it. If there was a way to give it zero or even negative stars, I would! Infuriatingly goes NOWHERE, with characters you care NOTHING for!
I am so disappointed. The premise sounded great, but when there's no actual plot, character arc, OR anything remotely realistic on behalf of the dinosaurs behaviors to keep you enthralled. WHY read on?!?
I wanted to LOVE this book. Dinosaurs + knights = a how-could-this-go-wrong epic. Right?!?
Nope. This book was TERRIBLE! So terrible I couldn't even finish it. If there was a way to give it zero or even negative stars, I would! Infuriatingly goes NOWHERE, with characters you care NOTHING for!
I am so disappointed. The premise sounded great, but when there's no actual plot, character arc, OR anything remotely realistic on behalf of the dinosaurs behaviors to keep you enthralled. WHY read on?!?
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's unfortunate to see so many people rate this book so poorly. I have read many books that are far worse than this one that had far better ratings on Goodreads than this had gotten. It seems that many people had high expectations as a result of the hype generated by George R. R. Martin's endorsement of the book, and were sorely disappointed that it wasn't exactly, as he claimed, "like a cross between Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones". With that said, the book really isn't bad. Unlike many of the complaints here, I did not find the book boring. In fact, I found it hard to put down.
I do have to agree with several of the reviews here with regard to the dinosaurs. If you are going to title your book "Dinosaur Lords" with an illustration of a dinosaur on the cover, people are going to expect the story to heavily involve dinosaurs. In this book, their roles felt shallow at best. You could replace all the dinosaurs with any other type of creature and it would have made absolutely no difference in the story. The entire world and story felt like a traditional medieval fantasy with a sprinkling of dinosaurs here and there in the background for the sake of it. This to me was the most disappointing aspect of the book.
Regarding the worldbuilding: Would have preferred if the cultures presented in this world were unique rather than a mishmash of existing Earthly cultures. It bothers me so much only because the author himself emphasised on the fact that Paradise "isn't Earth. It won't ever be Earth. It is no alternate Earth."
Also, it would have been massively helpful if the book had included a glossary for the characters and dinosaurs names (it is incredibly difficult to remember which nickname corresponds to which dinosaur)
I do have to agree with several of the reviews here with regard to the dinosaurs. If you are going to title your book "Dinosaur Lords" with an illustration of a dinosaur on the cover, people are going to expect the story to heavily involve dinosaurs. In this book, their roles felt shallow at best. You could replace all the dinosaurs with any other type of creature and it would have made absolutely no difference in the story. The entire world and story felt like a traditional medieval fantasy with a sprinkling of dinosaurs here and there in the background for the sake of it. This to me was the most disappointing aspect of the book.
Regarding the worldbuilding: Would have preferred if the cultures presented in this world were unique rather than a mishmash of existing Earthly cultures. It bothers me so much only because the author himself emphasised on the fact that Paradise "isn't Earth. It won't ever be Earth. It is no alternate Earth."
Also, it would have been massively helpful if the book had included a glossary for the characters and dinosaurs names (it is incredibly difficult to remember which nickname corresponds to which dinosaur)
I would rate this book at a 3.6 - 3.8. It started off weak, became stronger in the rising action, stumbled a little and then finished strong leaving you wanting the next book.
2015 Reading Challenge:
A Book Based Entirely On It's Cover, A Book Published This Year
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REVIEW WIP
Rating Based On The Book's Merits: Four Stars. It's a good, solid, creative political fantasy with three-dimensional characters who are all flawed and gifted in their own unique ways, and have to make incredibly difficult decisions in a morally gray world. If you like your political fantasies with devious schemes, well-choreographed action scenes, military strategizing, and loads of drama, but with a little less rape and incest, this is your new go-to book. And judging by that cliffhanger ending, there's loads more to come.
Rating Based On My Personal Reading Experience: Two Stars. I try to venture out into political fantasy now and then (and the awesome cover certainly caught my eye), but somehow, I can never really get into this particular subgenre (with [b:Shardik|92408|Shardik (Beklan Empire #1)|Richard Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347952145s/92408.jpg|894692] being the exception). I always run into the inevitable problem of having to slog through the subplots of characters that I DON'T care about, just to get to the character subplots that I DO care about. That's not the book's fault; it's just me and my personal taste. If you enjoy political fantasy, definitely go for The Dinosaur Lords. If you're not a huge fan of the subgenre, maybe avoid this one.
A Book Based Entirely On It's Cover, A Book Published This Year
----------------------
REVIEW WIP
Rating Based On The Book's Merits: Four Stars. It's a good, solid, creative political fantasy with three-dimensional characters who are all flawed and gifted in their own unique ways, and have to make incredibly difficult decisions in a morally gray world. If you like your political fantasies with devious schemes, well-choreographed action scenes, military strategizing, and loads of drama, but with a little less rape and incest, this is your new go-to book. And judging by that cliffhanger ending, there's loads more to come.
Rating Based On My Personal Reading Experience: Two Stars. I try to venture out into political fantasy now and then (and the awesome cover certainly caught my eye), but somehow, I can never really get into this particular subgenre (with [b:Shardik|92408|Shardik (Beklan Empire #1)|Richard Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347952145s/92408.jpg|894692] being the exception). I always run into the inevitable problem of having to slog through the subplots of characters that I DON'T care about, just to get to the character subplots that I DO care about. That's not the book's fault; it's just me and my personal taste. If you enjoy political fantasy, definitely go for The Dinosaur Lords. If you're not a huge fan of the subgenre, maybe avoid this one.