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UK Authors - Sci-fi & fantasy |
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The Ultimate Dinosaur: Essays |
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T he Ultimate Dinosaur: EssaysEdited by Robert Silverberg Ibooks (Simon & Schuster) 439 pages, August 2000 ISBN 0743400062 Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde Fact and fiction meet in this anthology, which combines scholarly information about dinosaurs with stories about them by a number of respected science fiction writers and scientists. Originally published in 1992, it can be argued that there have been a lot of major discoveries and new theories since then. Still, there is plenty here to inform and entertain. This reissue is a welcome addition to the growing number of reissued classics and modern works that make up the ibooks imprint. With an ibook, you can participate electronically to this latest publishing concept provided you have access to the Internet, so the fun doesn’t stop when you have closed the cover. Read the books and then log on to the virtual readers’ group at www.ibooksinc.com to discuss them with other enthusiasts, leave messages or download chapters from forthcoming attractions, order books at discounted prices and more. Many of the stories involve time travel back to the days of the dinosaurs, timeslips and Jurassic Park-style cloning. We have people going back to hunt the ultimate quarry by L Sprague de Camp, Robert Slverberg and Barry Maltzberg, a surprise moment out of time in Harry Turtledove’s tale from the Marsh and Cope "Bone Wars" of the late 19th century (more about these in one of the essays). Some people have the skill of sending their brains back in time without the need of time machines, in both Paul Preuss and Charles Sheffield’s stories. Poul Anderson tells his tale from the point of view of an actual leviathan. This reviewer’s own favorite would have to be Ray Bradbury’s inspired Besides a Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up? which succinctly and charmingly evokes the child in everybody’s desire to be one of those irresistible real life dragons, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The essays are by respected palaeontologists and chart the rise and fall of dinosaurs, from the Triassic to their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, in what must surely be the world’s greatest catastrophe. There are speculations about this, a lengthy and fascinating description of the aforementioned "Bone Wars" and a handy list of dinosaur names, websites and reading materials. Top all this off with several illustrations of the creatures themselves and you have a fine gift for the dinosaur lover in your life this Christmas. The Ultimate Dinosaur is guaranteed to please all dinofans with its eclectic mix of fact, fiction and fun. Now I’m off to pay another visit to the Ibooks’ website. See you there! |
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