Fiction for Older Dinosaur Fans

Everything Dinosaur team members undertake a lot of work with students who are in the formal education system.   Part of our focus, particularly with primary schools, is to help teachers by encouraging children to write about dinosaurs and prehistoric animals.  We are keen to see the children’s creative writing and yesterday, we wrote a short blog article about the letters received from a Key Stage 1 class in Lancashire.  However, in the United Kingdom many adults struggle with reading and writing.

The National Literacy Trust has reported that about five percent of adults in England have literacy levels below those expected of a child aged eleven.  That is something like 1.7 million adults.

Dinosaur Fans

We do what we can to encourage adults to read more, the mums and dads that we meet on our travels, when team members are working in museums and other institutions.  One of the best ways to get back into reading, to gain more confidence as a reader and to increase your vocabulary is to read books which relate to your hobbies and interests.  Over the weekend, we heard about a new novel written with the science fiction/dinosaur enthusiast in mind, the book is called “The Dinosaur Four”, written by Colorado based Geoff Jones.

 The Front Cover “The Dinosaur Four”

The Dinosaur Four.

Picture credit: Geoff Jones

Colorado is a great place for a writer of dinosaur themed novels to come from, after all, the state fossil of Colorado is Stegosaurus!  This book has already attracted a number of very positive reviews:

A vivid journey through time!

“If you are looking for a good book for the summer, look no further!  Going back in time with this ensemble cast was a thrilling and visceral adventure.  I highly recommend digging your teeth into this tasty novel.”

Dino-tastic!

“I loved this book.  It was exactly what a book about dinosaurs should be: a fast paced adventure that’s exciting and smart.  I enjoyed the characters almost as much as I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the dinosaurs they encountered.  Highly recommended.”

The book has been described as a Stephen King-style science fiction thriller and it tells the dramatic story of ten ordinary folk who find themselves transported back some sixty-six million years to the Late Cretaceous.

In the notes we received, the plot is briefly outlined..

Business is brisk at the Daily Edition Cafe as Tim MacGregor arrives to meet his new girlfriend.  Two joggers enjoy a hit of caffeine before work.  A delivery man takes a break from his route.  Behind the counter, the baristas are busy brewing, frothing, and pouring.  However, on this morning, the cafe and the people inside are suddenly transported millions of years into the past.

Visiting the Cretaceous

Ten strangers find themselves in the world of Triceratops horridus and Tyrannosaurus rex.  Three survivors compete for leadership of the group, while another plots to keep them all in the past. Tim only wants to find out what caused the disaster and how to get home.

With a background in the video game industry and with a degree in creative writing from the University of Colorado, Geoff’s debut novel “The Dinosaur Four” is described as a fast-paced action-adventure mixed with carnage and suspense in the tradition of Jaws, the Mist and Jurassic Park.  For those grown-ups getting their prehistoric animal fix with the movie Godzilla, but who can’t wait for Jurassic World to come out next year, this book might be just what they need to fill the gap.

Triceratops – features in “The Dinosaur Four”

A cast of a Triceratops skeleton on display at the Naturmuseum Senckenberg (Natural History Museum – Frankfurt). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

As the summer holidays approach, perhaps this is one book that dinosaur fans might want to consider adding to their reading list.

A word of warning though, this novel deals with adult themes, it is not suitable for children.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.