Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.89 AVERAGE
2.89 AVERAGE
The Dinosaur Lords draws you in with a fantastic premise: "Game of Thrones but with dinosaurs!" The problem: that is not what this story is.
The Dinosaur Lords tries very hard to be like "Game of Thrones," but fails in many spectacular fashions. For starters, it actually manages to make dinosaur battles sounds boring. There is only one battle where a knight fighting a large predator atop his hadrosaur is actually engaging...but the problem is that there are actual battles of knights on dinosaurs fighting other knights on dinosaurs, and those are all dreadfully boring.
Likewise, the political drama is nothing short of eye-rollingly bad. What the author considers to be sophisticated and dramatic is instead childish and dull. The character whose eyes we are supposed to view this from, Princess Melodia, is more interested in sexing up the hottest knight in the kingdom than actually getting involved in the political affairs, which makes little sense when an assassin is found dead in her very chambers. The supposed twists are predictable and likewise uninteresting.
The Dinosaur Lords also attempts to copy "Game of Thrones"' brutality, describing terrible violence during fight scenes. Despite the chaotic and unforgiving nature of the world presented, however, it never feels like there are any stakes for the characters; Karyl literally dies twice and comes back both times, shocking nobody. When Melodia is raped near the end of the novel, it seems almost random because of how forgiving the story has been to the characters; rather than use this event to push character development or do anything even remotely interesting to the story, however, the rape almost seems to be forgotten by Melodia herself within the chapter.
In total, it seems that Victor Milan had a clear desire: to establish himself as a "Game of Thrones"-style author with a brutal story where anything could happen (with dinosaurs!). Instead, we're left with a seemingly half-finished, unplanned, uninterested clone that can't even be bothered to make a world filled with dinosaurs feel fun.
The Dinosaur Lords tries very hard to be like "Game of Thrones," but fails in many spectacular fashions. For starters, it actually manages to make dinosaur battles sounds boring. There is only one battle where a knight fighting a large predator atop his hadrosaur is actually engaging...but the problem is that there are actual battles of knights on dinosaurs fighting other knights on dinosaurs, and those are all dreadfully boring.
Likewise, the political drama is nothing short of eye-rollingly bad. What the author considers to be sophisticated and dramatic is instead childish and dull. The character whose eyes we are supposed to view this from, Princess Melodia, is more interested in sexing up the hottest knight in the kingdom than actually getting involved in the political affairs, which makes little sense when an assassin is found dead in her very chambers. The supposed twists are predictable and likewise uninteresting.
The Dinosaur Lords also attempts to copy "Game of Thrones"' brutality, describing terrible violence during fight scenes. Despite the chaotic and unforgiving nature of the world presented, however, it never feels like there are any stakes for the characters; Karyl literally dies twice and comes back both times, shocking nobody. When Melodia is raped near the end of the novel, it seems almost random because of how forgiving the story has been to the characters; rather than use this event to push character development or do anything even remotely interesting to the story, however, the rape almost seems to be forgotten by Melodia herself within the chapter.
In total, it seems that Victor Milan had a clear desire: to establish himself as a "Game of Thrones"-style author with a brutal story where anything could happen (with dinosaurs!). Instead, we're left with a seemingly half-finished, unplanned, uninterested clone that can't even be bothered to make a world filled with dinosaurs feel fun.
Very poor book. I only give two stars because I feel the author is a decent writer. Yet, judging from this book, he is not a good story-teller. The characters were all stale, uninteresting and forgettable. The prime example of this are Melodia's friends. I literally could not tell one from the other. The plot line was not at all compelling and felt scrambled and random. The book was clearly just an introduction to this world and cannot stand alone at all, yet I will definitely not be reading any more books in this series. There was lots of pointless sex and rape which I guess was supposed to add some kind of flare to a story lacking any kind of excitement, but was really just in poor taste. The world building was also poor. The author simply uses Spanish. It does not feel like fantasty very much at all. Even the dinosaur battles were not very cool.
I got this book because George R.R. Martin described it as "Jurassic Park meets Game of Thrones." It is maybe a wannabe Game of Thrones, but to compare is to the excellence of Crichton's Jurassic Park is absolutely absurd. I would definitely not recommend this book. The cover art was the best thing about it.
I got this book because George R.R. Martin described it as "Jurassic Park meets Game of Thrones." It is maybe a wannabe Game of Thrones, but to compare is to the excellence of Crichton's Jurassic Park is absolutely absurd. I would definitely not recommend this book. The cover art was the best thing about it.
I liked Dinosaur Lords for the compelling Rob and Karyl story-line
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Spoiler
The rape scene at the end was so tacked on. Why did his mother's servant prod him to do it? It didn't advance the story-line at all for the rapist. Seemed gratuitous to me.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jestem dość mocno rozczarowana. To, że mnie zablokuje i ciężko będzie mi ją doczytać wiedziałam po samym wydaniu i tym jak wyglądają strony, tekst jest praktycznie na całej kartce. Trudno było się do tego przyzwyczaić. Do tego straszny chaos jaki wprowadza ta książka, sceny bitew na początku wydają się świetne, dużo opisów, jakaś logika, jednak im dalej tym gorzej. Czytałam je po kilka razy żeby zrozumieć jakikolwiek sens. Widać, że autor chce zrobić trochę swoją „Grę o tron” intrygi, brutalność, sporo golizny.. jednak warsztat nie ten.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Rape
So I'm not sure this counts but I struggled with this book. I couldn't get into it. I wanted more Jurassic park than game of thrones and it was definitely way more Game of Thrones than Jurassic Park.
I'll be honest, I picked up this book thanks to that blurb from GRRM and the awesome cover. The hype from my favourite SFF site tor.com (ok, they are affiliated with the publisher, but I love their recommendations) helped a lot too.
The book was pretty much a let down. Although there is enough action and politics happening all the time, the machinations are pretty absurd. This is due the extremely poorly written characters. You've no idea what is drving them at all. (Except for the clichéd genius-warlord who has a heart of gold, and his normal-man sidekick). The princess character is angry and ranting all the time and doesn't move the plot forward. She's just there so other characters can comment on her breasts and to get raped (I wish I where making this up). Her lover, who also happens to be her cousin, is a character who comes closest to the protagonist in this book, but I can't understand his motivations at all. And don't get me started on the villains. The writing is not great either, and Milan tries to build interest with frequent PoV shifts but it falls flat since almost all the PoVs are boring.
Why three stars? Dinosaurs.
Milan has cleverly integrated dinosaurs into a faux-Medieval society. I loved the accurate descriptions, and the clever imagination involved in how you could actually use dinosaurs in battle. The little chapter headings with gorgeously illustrated dinosaurs probably bumped up the rating by a star.
It is obvious that things are not what they seem in this world, the Creators which are so frequently mentioned as gods by the denizens of Paradise are clearly not what they seem. Unless Milan pulls off something spectacular with this meta gameworld-esque theme, I don't think I'll be returning to this series.
So bottomline: The blurb and hype are misleading. Unless you are passionate about fantasies involving dinosaurs, stay away.
The book was pretty much a let down. Although there is enough action and politics happening all the time, the machinations are pretty absurd. This is due the extremely poorly written characters. You've no idea what is drving them at all. (Except for the clichéd genius-warlord who has a heart of gold, and his normal-man sidekick). The princess character is angry and ranting all the time and doesn't move the plot forward. She's just there so other characters can comment on her breasts and to get raped (I wish I where making this up). Her lover, who also happens to be her cousin, is a character who comes closest to the protagonist in this book, but I can't understand his motivations at all. And don't get me started on the villains. The writing is not great either, and Milan tries to build interest with frequent PoV shifts but it falls flat since almost all the PoVs are boring.
Why three stars? Dinosaurs.
Milan has cleverly integrated dinosaurs into a faux-Medieval society. I loved the accurate descriptions, and the clever imagination involved in how you could actually use dinosaurs in battle. The little chapter headings with gorgeously illustrated dinosaurs probably bumped up the rating by a star.
It is obvious that things are not what they seem in this world, the Creators which are so frequently mentioned as gods by the denizens of Paradise are clearly not what they seem. Unless Milan pulls off something spectacular with this meta gameworld-esque theme, I don't think I'll be returning to this series.
So bottomline: The blurb and hype are misleading. Unless you are passionate about fantasies involving dinosaurs, stay away.
Medieval Fantasy, but dinos - what's there not to love?
Everything. Every fking thing. I don't even think I made it through the prologue.
Everything. Every fking thing. I don't even think I made it through the prologue.