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A review by hagbard_celine
Fossil Hunter by Robert J. Sawyer
3.0
Talking dinosaur sci-fi reaches its ceiling, which "eh, ok."
Something that annoys me about this series, and about lots of "hard" sci-fi, is the recurring plot of showing characters discover general scientific principles or phenomena that are known to the reader. Instead of feeling suspense or mystery or curiosity, the reader spends the whole book congratulating themselves on being clever enough to know about science to see where this is all going. The author seems to exist entirely as a fabricator of experiences that affirm the reader’s sophistication without presenting challenges or interrogations. So the talking dinosaurs discover orbital mechanics lite and evolution, and the reader discovers... nothing.
And then, of course, the reader uses this counterfeit sense of sophistication and penetrating intellect to condenscend to the readers of pretty much anything else. "I only read hard sci-fi" is the exclusive refrain of assholes. Put them out the airlock.
But anyway, dinosaurs. They’re fine.
Something that annoys me about this series, and about lots of "hard" sci-fi, is the recurring plot of showing characters discover general scientific principles or phenomena that are known to the reader. Instead of feeling suspense or mystery or curiosity, the reader spends the whole book congratulating themselves on being clever enough to know about science to see where this is all going. The author seems to exist entirely as a fabricator of experiences that affirm the reader’s sophistication without presenting challenges or interrogations. So the talking dinosaurs discover orbital mechanics lite and evolution, and the reader discovers... nothing.
And then, of course, the reader uses this counterfeit sense of sophistication and penetrating intellect to condenscend to the readers of pretty much anything else. "I only read hard sci-fi" is the exclusive refrain of assholes. Put them out the airlock.
But anyway, dinosaurs. They’re fine.