Eoghann Mill Irving reviewed Dinocalypse Now by Chuck Wendig
Review of 'Dinocalypse Now' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I've always had a soft spot for pulp fiction so the basic notion of Dinocalypse Now immediately appealed to me. Using the setting for role playing game Spirit of The Century, author Chuck Wendig gives up a flat out and unapologetic pulp story that features "can do" heroes, science, magic and psychic dinosaurs.
Well technically it's psychic lizard people who control dinosaurs, but now we're just splitting hairs.
Is the science ludicrous? Yes of course it is. Does the plot to conquer the world actually make sense? Well no not really. But who cares. The whole thing is fun and faced paced and ever chapter has at least one cliff-hanger.
There have been plenty of pulp fiction pastiches but this takes the concepts pretty much at face value and just plays it out. Yes very occasionally there may be a knowing reference but mostly you're getting the sort of pulp …
I've always had a soft spot for pulp fiction so the basic notion of Dinocalypse Now immediately appealed to me. Using the setting for role playing game Spirit of The Century, author Chuck Wendig gives up a flat out and unapologetic pulp story that features "can do" heroes, science, magic and psychic dinosaurs.
Well technically it's psychic lizard people who control dinosaurs, but now we're just splitting hairs.
Is the science ludicrous? Yes of course it is. Does the plot to conquer the world actually make sense? Well no not really. But who cares. The whole thing is fun and faced paced and ever chapter has at least one cliff-hanger.
There have been plenty of pulp fiction pastiches but this takes the concepts pretty much at face value and just plays it out. Yes very occasionally there may be a knowing reference but mostly you're getting the sort of pulp storytelling that makes things like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark so fun to watch.
We're given a lot of characters to care about over the course of the novel and they all start out as immediately recognizable tropes (there's an air ace and an intelligent talking gorilla amongst other things) but Wendig manages to sneak in just enough character development over the course of the tale that they have some depth to them and you do care about how they're going to get out of their latest jam.
There's really only two criticisms I'd level at Dinocalypse Now. The first is that it really isn't a story in its own right. The book ends on a massive cliffhanger and it's fair to say that nothing has been resolved. So it's part 1 of a 3 part story, not the first book in a series. I prefer a little more resolution at the end of a book.
The bigger issue might be a seeming need to cram every pulp sci-fi trope into this story. We've got time travel, the hollow earth, dinosaurs, lay lines and more. This is intended to be an epic story and they've thrown the kitchen sink in with it. There is something to be said for holding a few things back though and giving the elements you have included just a little more room to breathe.
These are criticisms that if I wasn't enjoying the story would pretty much damn it. However since it is in fact a huge amount of fun, it's hard to care about them really. Basically I just want to read more about Sally Slick, Jet Black and friends.