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doctor670 's review for:
The Dinosaur Lords
by Victor Milán
What can I say about Dinosaur Lords that has not already been said?
Well, let us split into two thought processes: The good and the bad.
First, I enjoyed the dinosaurs selected to be used in this story. Many are to be uncommonly known, but at the same time, easily identified by dinosaur fans. I won't list them here to avoid that fun spoiler, but let us say, if you were slightly miffed about the ways Viloceraptor has been misused in media, the dinosaurs here feel much more accurate for their roles and try to what we think we know of them as animals, if a bit more intelligent. I also enjoyed the political intrigue as it was refreshing from my usual political drama with the change of time period. That being said, the politics are simple and very similar to European politics, and anyone can follow them once you hold in your head who represents whom and what. I am also fond of how LBGTQ "themes" are treated here more like standard everyday behavior by most characters; that being said, it does lead to some of what I did not like.
So second, what I did not like ranging from annoyed to really irked. Most of the characters are not very three dimensional; they seem to have one or two things that make them "different" from the other characters, and this difference is told to us again and again instead of shown to us in their actions and reactions. We are constantly reminded why someone is different in their own way, instead of allowing us to just make the connection ourselves with the characters actions. I also did not like how some traits seemed to be given to characters just to make them "evil." The only characters that seem to not be ok with LGBTQ characters are those that are evil. I don't live for LBGTQ bashing, and cannot say I want one of the heroes to act this way, but by giving this trait expressly to our "villains" and only them is quite flat and makes the LGBTQ characters feel more like plot points than people. In a similar vein, and this is where I will give a warning for dark and dangerous themes, I cannot abide by the rape scene in this book.
Yes, there is a sexual assault, and while I believe most sexual assaults in media are not only overly used, but inappropriately used, the scene in Dinosaur Lords is likely the worst incarnation of this plot device I have seen yet. It is not used to create tension or surprise and anger us; it is simply used to make the "villain" appear more evil. It has no lasting impact that I can detect in this book, maybe later books build on it, and if it were removed in its entirety from the book, nothing would have changed. It is pointless to the plot and characters, and it is just a terrible practice in writing, in my opinion.
That being said, I am still interested to see where this all is going and what the plot grows to coincide with the three POVs we have so far. All expect the assault, in my opinion, being forgivable and fixable in later volumes. I say this book deserves a fair chance, and if you are a dinosaur fan, you may enjoy this book too.
Well, let us split into two thought processes: The good and the bad.
First, I enjoyed the dinosaurs selected to be used in this story. Many are to be uncommonly known, but at the same time, easily identified by dinosaur fans. I won't list them here to avoid that fun spoiler, but let us say, if you were slightly miffed about the ways Viloceraptor has been misused in media, the dinosaurs here feel much more accurate for their roles and try to what we think we know of them as animals, if a bit more intelligent. I also enjoyed the political intrigue as it was refreshing from my usual political drama with the change of time period. That being said, the politics are simple and very similar to European politics, and anyone can follow them once you hold in your head who represents whom and what. I am also fond of how LBGTQ "themes" are treated here more like standard everyday behavior by most characters; that being said, it does lead to some of what I did not like.
So second, what I did not like ranging from annoyed to really irked. Most of the characters are not very three dimensional; they seem to have one or two things that make them "different" from the other characters, and this difference is told to us again and again instead of shown to us in their actions and reactions. We are constantly reminded why someone is different in their own way, instead of allowing us to just make the connection ourselves with the characters actions. I also did not like how some traits seemed to be given to characters just to make them "evil." The only characters that seem to not be ok with LGBTQ characters are those that are evil. I don't live for LBGTQ bashing, and cannot say I want one of the heroes to act this way, but by giving this trait expressly to our "villains" and only them is quite flat and makes the LGBTQ characters feel more like plot points than people. In a similar vein, and this is where I will give a warning for dark and dangerous themes, I cannot abide by the rape scene in this book.
Yes, there is a sexual assault, and while I believe most sexual assaults in media are not only overly used, but inappropriately used, the scene in Dinosaur Lords is likely the worst incarnation of this plot device I have seen yet. It is not used to create tension or surprise and anger us; it is simply used to make the "villain" appear more evil. It has no lasting impact that I can detect in this book, maybe later books build on it, and if it were removed in its entirety from the book, nothing would have changed. It is pointless to the plot and characters, and it is just a terrible practice in writing, in my opinion.
That being said, I am still interested to see where this all is going and what the plot grows to coincide with the three POVs we have so far. All expect the assault, in my opinion, being forgivable and fixable in later volumes. I say this book deserves a fair chance, and if you are a dinosaur fan, you may enjoy this book too.