The Dinosaur Lords, by Victor Milan

[Spockydog]

Feast your eyes on this.

The blurb:

A world made by the Eight Creators on which to play out their games of passion and power, Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men and women live on Paradise as do dogs, cats, ferrets, goats, and horses. But dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden – and of war. Colossal planteaters like Brachiosaurus; terrifying meateaters like Allosaurus and the most feared of all, Tyrannosaurus rex. Giant lizards swim warm seas. Birds (some with teeth) share the sky with flying reptiles that range in size from batsized insectivores to majestic and deadly Dragons.

Thus we are plunged into Victor Milán's splendidly weird world of The Dinosaur Lords, a place that for all purposes mirrors 14th century Europe with its dynastic rivalries, religious wars, and byzantine politics…and the weapons of choice are dinosaurs. Where we have vast armies of dinosaur-mounted knights engaged in battle. And during the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is defeated through betrayal and left for dead. He wakes, naked, wounded, partially amnesiac – and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world.

It comes out in July 2015. Cannot fucking wait.

[Seasick Shrimp]

The plot sounds awesome, jurassic park meets game of thrones, sounds like one hell of a ride! As long as it doesn't get too ridiculous, haven't read anything by Victor Milan so have no idea if he has what it takes to pull medieval dinosaur wars off or not, but I'll keep my hopes up! :)

[Night's_King]

Sorry, but this is stupid as hell.

[Yersinia]

Sounds like something my 5-year-old son would love...

[Spockydog]

Sorry, but this is stupid as hell.

Bah. Where's your sense of fun?

[polishgenius]

This makes me want to read Dinotopia again. :(


Anyway it's one of those concepts that makes you wonder why no-one thought of it before, although of course he isn't the first to introduce dinosaurs into an epic fantasy setting.

[Night's_King]

Bah. Where's your sense of fun?

I just don't think I would enjoy it. If it were a children's book, okay. But I think the author wants to make a serious story and that just wouldn't work for me. I mean, come on, there is no way dinosaurs and humans could coexist over centuries.

And also, I cringe everytime someone calls Tyrannosaurus Rex fearsome.

Anyway it's one of those concepts that makes you wonder why no-one thought of it before, although of course he isn't the first to introduce dinosaurs into an epic fantasy setting.

That's because it doesn't work. Dinosaur vs. Humans works as a trash-movie. But no one wants to read a trash-book.

[polishgenius]

But no one wants to read a trash-book.

Really?

Also how do you know it doesn't work?

Also also, did you just imply Jurassic Park is a trash movie?

[Jo498]

I am not sure there is a way humans and your standard bunch of AD&D critters from minotaurs to giant insects, acid-spitting giant slugs, dragons and draconians could coexist, but there are popular fantasy books set in such worlds...

[Jaxom 1974]

It's the kind of jacket blurb that would give me enough pause to read a few pages to look at it further. Beyond that? No promises.

[Larry of the Lawn]

Spockydog, are you Victor Milan? I'll have to see.if I can win a copy on goodreads.

[Spockydog]

I think the author wants to make a serious story and that just wouldn't work for me. I mean, come on, there is no way dinosaurs and humans could coexist over centuries.

...says the guy named after a thousand-year-old ice-zombie from a book featuring wargs, dragons, shape-shifting assassins, smoke-monsters, etc, etc, etc...

[Spockydog]

Spockydog, are you Victor Milan? I'll have to see.if I can win a copy on goodreads.

Nope. Wish I'd had the idea myself, though...

[Night's_King]

Really?

Also how do you know it doesn't work?

Also also, did you just imply Jurassic Park is a trash movie?

Well, I don't want to read a trash-book, do you? It doesn't work because there are many books out there, that feature Humans vs. Dinasaurs and Jurrasic Park was the only readably one I've ever read.

Whil Jurassic Park wasn't a trash-movie, it was a bad movie.

...says the guy named after a thousand-year-old ice-zombie from a book featuring wargs, dragons, shape-shifting assassins, smoke-monsters, etc, etc, etc...

That's not what I meant. What you describe is magic.

What I mean is, that humans couldn't have evolved the way they seem to have in the book, with dinosaurs around. Magic is something else.

[polishgenius]

Well, I don't want to read a trash-book, do you?

No, but I don't want to watch trash movies, either. The fact remains that millions of people are quite happy to do both though. Look how many books Dan Brown sells.

Whil Jurassic Park wasn't a trash-movie, it was a bad movie.

It was an awesome movie.

That's not what I meant. What you describe is magic.

What I mean is, that humans couldn't have evolved the way they seem to have in the book, with dinosaurs around. Magic is something else.

So it's okay when magic creates all those things but not when it creates dinosaurs? Because the blurb makes pretty clear that's what happened.

[RedEyedGhost]

Wow, I think that's the first time I've ever seen Jurassic Park called a bad movie. The sequels, sure, but never the original.

[matt b]

So it's basically Dino-Riders but with swords instead of lasers. I am SO into this.

[Night's_King]

No, but I don't want to watch trash movies, either. The fact remains that millions of people are quite happy to do both though. Look how many books Dan Brown sells.

You don't know what trash movies are, do you? While most Dan Brown books are bad, they are not trash books.

So it's okay when magic creates all those things but not when it creates dinosaurs? Because the blurb makes pretty clear that's what happened.

It's totally okay when both are created by magic. But creating humans with 14th century technology sounds even more stupid to me. And even if that's the case, coexistence is nearly impossible. Dinosaurs are just too big or too dangerous.

And then there's the point that Tyrannosauri and Allosauri are considered wild meat eating hunters, while this is far from certain in real life and one of the biggest discussions in palaeontology.

Wow, I think that's the first time I've ever seen Jurassic Park called a bad movie. The sequels, sure, but never the original.

I guess that you haven't any palaeontologists, biologists, physicists or other natural scientists as friends, am I right?

[polishgenius]

You don't know what trash movies are, do you? While most Dan Brown books are bad, they are not trash books.

Fair enough, I was unfamiliar with that particular term.

However one doesn't have to look too far for the existence and sometime extreme popularity of pulp fiction (and its precursor the penny dreadful) to know that such things can be popular in writing too. More recently, the popularity of such things as Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and the like fits the description quite well.

It's totally okay when both are created by magic. But creating humans with 14th century technology sounds even more stupid to me. And even if that's the case, coexistence is nearly impossible. Dinosaurs are just too big or too dangerous.

You're really looking for reasons to dislike it here.

I guess that you haven't any palaeontologists, biologists, physicists or other natural scientists as friends, am I right?

If being unrealistic makes a movie bad, there's basically no such thing as a good movie.

[Larry of the Lawn]

I guess that you haven't any palaeontologists, biologists, physicists or other natural scientists as friends, am I right?

My gf is a physicist but loves lots of movies and books.that require you to suspend your disbelief. I think its almost a requirement to enjoy any kind of art, to be willing to set aside some things you know to be true in order to immerse yourself in the story. Whether or not a particular movie or book allows this to happen is certainly up for debate.