Hardcover, 295 pages
English language
Published Dec. 14, 2017 by Harper.
The year is 1876. Among the warring Indian tribes and lawless gold-rush towns of America's western territories, two paleontologists pillage the Wild West. They are hunting for dinosaur fossils, while surveilling, deceiving and sabotaging each other in a rivalry that will come to be known as the Bone Wars. Into this treacherous territory plunges the arrogant and entitled Yale student William Johnson. Determined to survive a summer in the west to win a bet, William has joined world-renowned paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh on his latest expedition. But Marsh becomes convinced that William is spying for his nemesis, Edwin Drinker Cope, so he abandons him in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a locus of crime and vice. Soon William joins forces with Cope and stumbles upon a discovery of historic proportions. The struggle to protect this extraordinary treasure tests William's newfound resilience, and pits him against some of the West's most dangerous and notorious …
The year is 1876. Among the warring Indian tribes and lawless gold-rush towns of America's western territories, two paleontologists pillage the Wild West. They are hunting for dinosaur fossils, while surveilling, deceiving and sabotaging each other in a rivalry that will come to be known as the Bone Wars. Into this treacherous territory plunges the arrogant and entitled Yale student William Johnson. Determined to survive a summer in the west to win a bet, William has joined world-renowned paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh on his latest expedition. But Marsh becomes convinced that William is spying for his nemesis, Edwin Drinker Cope, so he abandons him in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a locus of crime and vice. Soon William joins forces with Cope and stumbles upon a discovery of historic proportions. The struggle to protect this extraordinary treasure tests William's newfound resilience, and pits him against some of the West's most dangerous and notorious characters.
One gets the sense Crichton would have ironed out a few repetitive or unfocused areas in a subsequent draft, but what we get is reminiscent of his best. Sharp characters, well defined; an artful blend of story, science, history, and the history of science; appealing and varied adventures. Plus a wry take on the motivations behind the billionaire benefactors of the era.
Ultimately, I wish this was a bit more western and a bit less historical fiction. The story was very interesting and had me engaged, but it was drowned out by quite a bit of historical monologuing which really broke up the pacing of the book. The main players of the story were interesting enough with realistic flaws and charm, but anyone who was not a main character blended together without much distinction. This was my first book by the author, but I suspect I'm not a fan of his writing style. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a more realistic, historical western novel and you don't when historical facts break up a weirdly paced story.
Looking at Crichton's backlist, I think the last book I read by him was either The Andromeda Strain or Congo and I don't remember either one. However, I've seen Jurassic Park literally too many times to count, so I was more than ready for another dinosaur story. Joke's on me because this was only barely about dinosaurs, at least in any way that's akin to Jurassic Park. Dragon Teeth is more about the Wild Wild West when Indians would happily scalp you if you didn't die of dysentery first. I might have slept through some of the setup in the beginning because I didn't fully realize Johnson was doing all of this for a bet, but it explains why he was so fully unprepared to travel to the west. Even after he had spent months in Deadwood, he was still a bit of a moron who only managed to stay …
Looking at Crichton's backlist, I think the last book I read by him was either The Andromeda Strain or Congo and I don't remember either one. However, I've seen Jurassic Park literally too many times to count, so I was more than ready for another dinosaur story. Joke's on me because this was only barely about dinosaurs, at least in any way that's akin to Jurassic Park. Dragon Teeth is more about the Wild Wild West when Indians would happily scalp you if you didn't die of dysentery first. I might have slept through some of the setup in the beginning because I didn't fully realize Johnson was doing all of this for a bet, but it explains why he was so fully unprepared to travel to the west. Even after he had spent months in Deadwood, he was still a bit of a moron who only managed to stay alive through God's grace.
Anyway, this wasn't the most thrilling-est of thrillers but it was pretty good.
Surprisingly fun pseudo history.
