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Thunder #3
Dinosaur Thunder
Eighteen years ago, the prehistoric past collided with the present as time itself underwent a tremendous disruption, transporting huge swaths of the Cretaceous period into the twentieth century. Neighborhoods, towns, and cities were replaced by dense primeval jungles and modern humanity suddenly found itself sharing the world with fierce dinosaurs. In the end, desperate measures were taken to halt the disruptions and the crisis appeared to be over.
Until now.
New dinosaurs begin to appear, rampaging through cities. A secret mission to the Moon discovers a living Tyrannosaurus Rex trapped in an alternate timeline. As time begins to unravel once more, Nick Paulson, director of the Office of Security Science, finds a time passage to the Cretaceous period where humans, ripped from the comforts of the twenty-first century, are barely surviving in the past. Led by a cultlike religious leader, these survivors are at war with another sentient species descended from dinosaurs.
As the asteroid that ends the reign of dinosaurs rushes toward Earth, Nick and his allies must survive a war between species and save the future as we know it.
Dinosaur Thunder is a terrifying, futuristic thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton and Douglas Preston.
Until now.
New dinosaurs begin to appear, rampaging through cities. A secret mission to the Moon discovers a living Tyrannosaurus Rex trapped in an alternate timeline. As time begins to unravel once more, Nick Paulson, director of the Office of Security Science, finds a time passage to the Cretaceous period where humans, ripped from the comforts of the twenty-first century, are barely surviving in the past. Led by a cultlike religious leader, these survivors are at war with another sentient species descended from dinosaurs.
As the asteroid that ends the reign of dinosaurs rushes toward Earth, Nick and his allies must survive a war between species and save the future as we know it.
Dinosaur Thunder is a terrifying, futuristic thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton and Douglas Preston.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published December 24, 2012
13 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
James F. David
25 books29 followersJames F. David has a Ph.D. from Ohio State University and is currently a professor of Psychology as George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. He is the author of the thrillers Footprints of Thunder, Ship of the Damned and Before the Cradle Falls. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Tigard, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 11, 2016
This is the 3rd in the series about time slips that allow dinosaurs to appear and rampage through the modern world, and sometimes also allow people to go back to the Cretaceous era. I just love the characters and situations, and the way the author makes some of them so appealing (and a few pretty despicable). Most of the main characters from the previous novels return in this book, and we are introduced to some new ones as well- Jeanette and Officer Conyers and Torino and the velociraptors are my favorites. I hope there will be a follow up, because a few people's predicaments were not resolved by the end of this one.
December 28, 2016
I enjoyed this book immensely. The multiple story lines occurring simultaneously took a bit to get used to, but once into the book, it becomes easier. I found the book well written and I recommend it to other readers.
January 18, 2013
Interesting but far-fetched and confusing story line. Characters not really well developed.
December 16, 2023
The Short Answer
A fun pulpy dinosaur adventure that manages to constantly outdo itself. While the characters are a bit flat at times, the book manages to keep raising the stakes and the ridiculousness of the story in highly entertaining ways.
While it is written to stand on its own, it is technically the third book in a series, and it would probably have been stronger if I'd read the previous two first. Still a lot of fun, highly recommended to dinosaur fans looking for something a bit more over the top.
The Long Answer
This was an interesting find in a used bookstore. I'd never heard of it or the author, but I figured it was worth a shot. The book itself turned out to be the third in a series, and I might have to go back and read the first two.
While the book is clearly written to stand on its own, the fact that it is a continuation is sometimes it's biggest weakness. So many characters carry over from the previous books, and all have baggage from previous dinosaur encounters, or even having almost been Mayan sacrifices. I found myself wanting to know more of the insanity that happened before this book started. Thankfully, this book is fun enough, and good enough at filling in the blanks, that I was still able to enjoy it in its own right.
The best thing the book has going for it is that it knows what it is. It's a pulpy adventure novel involving time travel, dinosaurs, and some other chaos that I won't spoil here. Safe to say that this book keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. While a few sections dragged on a bit, I found this an easy book to tear through.
If over the top dinosaur time travel adventures are your thing, then check this one out! You may have to turn your brain off to really enjoy it, but if that's what you're looking for you'll be entertained.
A fun pulpy dinosaur adventure that manages to constantly outdo itself. While the characters are a bit flat at times, the book manages to keep raising the stakes and the ridiculousness of the story in highly entertaining ways.
While it is written to stand on its own, it is technically the third book in a series, and it would probably have been stronger if I'd read the previous two first. Still a lot of fun, highly recommended to dinosaur fans looking for something a bit more over the top.
The Long Answer
This was an interesting find in a used bookstore. I'd never heard of it or the author, but I figured it was worth a shot. The book itself turned out to be the third in a series, and I might have to go back and read the first two.
While the book is clearly written to stand on its own, the fact that it is a continuation is sometimes it's biggest weakness. So many characters carry over from the previous books, and all have baggage from previous dinosaur encounters, or even having almost been Mayan sacrifices. I found myself wanting to know more of the insanity that happened before this book started. Thankfully, this book is fun enough, and good enough at filling in the blanks, that I was still able to enjoy it in its own right.
The best thing the book has going for it is that it knows what it is. It's a pulpy adventure novel involving time travel, dinosaurs, and some other chaos that I won't spoil here. Safe to say that this book keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. While a few sections dragged on a bit, I found this an easy book to tear through.
If over the top dinosaur time travel adventures are your thing, then check this one out! You may have to turn your brain off to really enjoy it, but if that's what you're looking for you'll be entertained.
April 6, 2016
With an epic title like Dinosaur Thunder, the dinosaur-space-time travel novel promises a combination that every 4 year old and sci-fi lover could ever want.
Unfortunately, the book fell far from short of delivering an enjoyable story.
Sprinkled with a hearty dose of female objectification, a tad of racism, and a transparent need to defend Christianity at the expense of the story's flow, this novel culminates in the ultimate male-gaze ending that exemplifies the white patriarchy's tiresome grasp on the sci-fi genre.
Unfortunately, the book fell far from short of delivering an enjoyable story.
Sprinkled with a hearty dose of female objectification, a tad of racism, and a transparent need to defend Christianity at the expense of the story's flow, this novel culminates in the ultimate male-gaze ending that exemplifies the white patriarchy's tiresome grasp on the sci-fi genre.
December 29, 2012
Very awesome!! I hope there is another book in this series. I am fascinated by this world the author has created. I see he leaves years between his books though, and that worries me. I should have taken my time, i read this book over a 2 day span(weekend) most of it in a single night because i just could not put it down. I have grown to care deeply for these characters and this world he has created. Mr. David if you see this I have only one request "Please write faster :)
August 22, 2015
Awesome addition in an already great series.
Love those old returning characters and the new ones. Jeanette trained Raptors way before Chris Pratt did. Carson and Wynooski are very funny. Love the dialogues.
Reverend: Yes, it is a sign, but is it from God or from Satan?
Carson: It's from Florida.
I can't wait for the sequel. This series have a lot more to tell.
Love those old returning characters and the new ones. Jeanette trained Raptors way before Chris Pratt did. Carson and Wynooski are very funny. Love the dialogues.
Reverend: Yes, it is a sign, but is it from God or from Satan?
Carson: It's from Florida.
I can't wait for the sequel. This series have a lot more to tell.
January 31, 2013
Really enjoyed this book. When I picked it up I didn't realize it was the third book in the series. I didn't feel like I had to read the other two to understand this one though. I do plan on reading them now because I liked this one so much.
September 26, 2013
A great story. Dinosaurs, time travel, and characters you care about. What more can you ask for. Another great tale by James David. This is the third book of this series and it is best to read the first two first. This does not really stand well on its own. But a great read.
February 5, 2015
Fun and I liked some of the tech, felt like something was missing and some characters are a bit cliche (might just be my opinion of the Reverend) and it felt like I should of read previous books (a bit)
Did like the idea of nuclear bombs shattering time
Did like the idea of nuclear bombs shattering time
May 31, 2015
Whew! Pages flew on this one! Dinosaurs and humans living on the same planet at the same time, warps in time, disappearances, Inhumans, baby raptors, action, adventure, violence, gore! Couldn't read it fast enough...not a scifi fan generally, but this reminded me of Michael Crichton's stuff.
Read
July 15, 2018I enjoyed it. Fast pace.
July 30, 2023
This novel, apparently part of a series, has an intriguingly weird premise: segments of the Earth, including flora and fauna, have been brought forward in time from the Cretaceous period, and portions from the present sent backwards.
It’s thus a way to have humans interacting with dinosaurs without being Jurassic Park. Yet the author doesn’t go far enough to differentiate the two, as he focuses so much on velociraptors, everyone’s favorite baddies from the films.
He makes other annoying choices as well, such as incorporating long-debunked pseudosciences such as pyramid energy and, for Pete’s sake, the “face” on Mars.
And some of the writing is very clunky. He needs to learn he can use “he” or “she” more often to refer to people rather than repeating the character’s name several times in the same paragraph.
It’s thus a way to have humans interacting with dinosaurs without being Jurassic Park. Yet the author doesn’t go far enough to differentiate the two, as he focuses so much on velociraptors, everyone’s favorite baddies from the films.
He makes other annoying choices as well, such as incorporating long-debunked pseudosciences such as pyramid energy and, for Pete’s sake, the “face” on Mars.
And some of the writing is very clunky. He needs to learn he can use “he” or “she” more often to refer to people rather than repeating the character’s name several times in the same paragraph.
May 7, 2023
Started 5-4-23. Finished 5-6-23. Described as Jurassic Park meets Twilight Zone, and that's as good a description as any. Time travel becomes a reality as the pre-historic past joins with the present--all of it happening before The Great Meteor hits the earth killing the dinosaurs but for the time being, the dinosaurs are alive and well, and humans of today are trapped in the huge animals' world. How to get back to the proper time period by going through portals in odd locations such as an abandoned barn on a farm. I found myself reading the last few pages faster as I wanted to know how it ended.
August 20, 2023
A fun adventure about dinosaurs with high* science content? Sign me UP. (*Not Crichton-high, but not far off.)
Loads of moving parts and players, but with appropriate attention given to each of them. Importantly, especially in a story with this many characters, the women were well-written and allowed to have their unique trajectories. A rare, wonderful treat.
A refreshing read after some poorly-written dreck.
4.5/5 but Goodreads doesn't work in fractions.
Loads of moving parts and players, but with appropriate attention given to each of them. Importantly, especially in a story with this many characters, the women were well-written and allowed to have their unique trajectories. A rare, wonderful treat.
A refreshing read after some poorly-written dreck.
4.5/5 but Goodreads doesn't work in fractions.
October 12, 2020
So this is book three of a series, and as a result had a lot of exposition explaining stuff that would have been revealed in books 1 and 2. Regardless, it was a fun quick pulpy read. Nothing earth shatteringly innovative, but still a nice diversion.
April 28, 2019
Really enjoyed it! Some slow bits but overall I love the book.
December 15, 2019
As much as I enjoyed the first two in the series (especially the first) this one took it in a direction that I wasn't a big fan of personally.
January 17, 2013
Original review by John posted at Layers of Thought.
Are you interested in dinosaurs, time travel, space travel, religious cults and strange “alien” species? All mixed together with a good dose of impending apocalypse? Then this book is for you.
John's thoughts on what it's about: While this is the third in the “Thunder” series, it is reasonably self-contained and stands on its own.
Eighteen years ago the prehistoric past and the present day collided creating a patchwork time-quilt. Whole cities and regions were ripped away and replaced by dense primeval jungles populated by dinosaurs; while conversely, back in the Cretaceous period many millions of years ago, parts of the primeval jungles were replaced by chunks of the twentieth century.
In the present day, man has eventually learned to live with the dinosaurs, with most of the beasts now contained safely in large nature reserves. But something is going amiss - again. New dinosaurs are suddenly appearing in the present, tunnels to the past seem to be opening up at random and a mission to the moon finds a living Tyrannosaurus Rex trapped in some sort of alternative reality or timeline. Something must be done and it’s left to Nick Paulson (director of the U.S. Office of Security Science), aided and abetted by a motley crew of mostly-accidental helpers, to figure out what is triggering these potentially cataclysmic events.
Traveling back to the Cretaceous period the crew finds embattled survivors from the twentieth century who had been cast back in time eighteen years previously, and surprisingly find a whole new species of sentient beings that are very different from humans. To their dismay they also discover that a huge asteroid is rushing toward the Earth and that impact is imminent. It being the Cretaceous period there are also dinosaurs – and lots of them.
John’s afterthoughts: On the plus side there is no shortage of creative ideas and plotlines in this book, and it certainly races along at high speed making it a quick and easy read. It also mixes action and adventure with a sizeable dollop of humor, so I got quite a few chuckles out of it. All very good things for the right sort of reader.
However, it is all a bit light-weight for my preferences. In particular the two-dimensional characters have little depth and it isn’t always obvious why people are doing what they are doing. Meanwhile there is so much action and things going on that the book doesn’t have that feeling of realism and believability that I like to see in my science fiction reads. And then there is the ending. Parts of it didn’t quite make sense for me and one conclusion to a key thread was just a tad on the silly side.
But I kept going along for the ride and mostly it was a fun ride. In the end this novel was not a big favorite and so I’d rate it 2.5 stars. But if you’re in the mood for some action-packed , escapist, “end-of-the-world-is-nigh” frolics involving dinosaurs and time travel, then this one has your name on it.
Are you interested in dinosaurs, time travel, space travel, religious cults and strange “alien” species? All mixed together with a good dose of impending apocalypse? Then this book is for you.
John's thoughts on what it's about: While this is the third in the “Thunder” series, it is reasonably self-contained and stands on its own.
Eighteen years ago the prehistoric past and the present day collided creating a patchwork time-quilt. Whole cities and regions were ripped away and replaced by dense primeval jungles populated by dinosaurs; while conversely, back in the Cretaceous period many millions of years ago, parts of the primeval jungles were replaced by chunks of the twentieth century.
In the present day, man has eventually learned to live with the dinosaurs, with most of the beasts now contained safely in large nature reserves. But something is going amiss - again. New dinosaurs are suddenly appearing in the present, tunnels to the past seem to be opening up at random and a mission to the moon finds a living Tyrannosaurus Rex trapped in some sort of alternative reality or timeline. Something must be done and it’s left to Nick Paulson (director of the U.S. Office of Security Science), aided and abetted by a motley crew of mostly-accidental helpers, to figure out what is triggering these potentially cataclysmic events.
Traveling back to the Cretaceous period the crew finds embattled survivors from the twentieth century who had been cast back in time eighteen years previously, and surprisingly find a whole new species of sentient beings that are very different from humans. To their dismay they also discover that a huge asteroid is rushing toward the Earth and that impact is imminent. It being the Cretaceous period there are also dinosaurs – and lots of them.
John’s afterthoughts: On the plus side there is no shortage of creative ideas and plotlines in this book, and it certainly races along at high speed making it a quick and easy read. It also mixes action and adventure with a sizeable dollop of humor, so I got quite a few chuckles out of it. All very good things for the right sort of reader.
However, it is all a bit light-weight for my preferences. In particular the two-dimensional characters have little depth and it isn’t always obvious why people are doing what they are doing. Meanwhile there is so much action and things going on that the book doesn’t have that feeling of realism and believability that I like to see in my science fiction reads. And then there is the ending. Parts of it didn’t quite make sense for me and one conclusion to a key thread was just a tad on the silly side.
But I kept going along for the ride and mostly it was a fun ride. In the end this novel was not a big favorite and so I’d rate it 2.5 stars. But if you’re in the mood for some action-packed , escapist, “end-of-the-world-is-nigh” frolics involving dinosaurs and time travel, then this one has your name on it.
December 20, 2016
I added this book years ago to my to-read list simply because of the cover. I was shelving new materials at the library and came across it, nearly laughed out loud at the dinosaur skull on the moon! Good thing I didn't...library and all...but it took me this long to actually give it ago, after assigning Sci-Fi for book club. I was not blown away by this book; however, I wasn't exactly expecting that.
Overall, it was a fun, quick read about a potentially hazardous and quite far-fetched dystopian apocalypse. Very Jurassic Park feel, with a sprinkling of religion and a bigger DOOM payoff. I think it might have been more successful with fewer characters, which might have made room for more action and less camera changing to different scenes. It's a lot of talking and restating things other people already learned. The women characters could have used a better presence, as our main squad represents workaholics and sexy mamas only. They were fun, but in the end, too often reduced to objects.
I thought the explanations, though, were rather convincing. I mean, it's still a bunch of science fiction (literally), but I could see it being somewhat reasonable. By the end, it's really hitting many notes you might hear on Doctor Who.
And, that said, it's hard to not fall back on this episode, either...
But, that's not related :p. Anyway, a decent read for anyone who enjoys Dinosaurs with a mix of Time Travel. While part of a series, it is not necessary to read the other two, as previous events are summarized. And hey... the opening chapter has a Dinosaur on the Moon. Win.
Overall, it was a fun, quick read about a potentially hazardous and quite far-fetched dystopian apocalypse. Very Jurassic Park feel, with a sprinkling of religion and a bigger DOOM payoff. I think it might have been more successful with fewer characters, which might have made room for more action and less camera changing to different scenes. It's a lot of talking and restating things other people already learned. The women characters could have used a better presence, as our main squad represents workaholics and sexy mamas only. They were fun, but in the end, too often reduced to objects.
I thought the explanations, though, were rather convincing. I mean, it's still a bunch of science fiction (literally), but I could see it being somewhat reasonable. By the end, it's really hitting many notes you might hear on Doctor Who.
And, that said, it's hard to not fall back on this episode, either...
But, that's not related :p. Anyway, a decent read for anyone who enjoys Dinosaurs with a mix of Time Travel. While part of a series, it is not necessary to read the other two, as previous events are summarized. And hey... the opening chapter has a Dinosaur on the Moon. Win.
April 23, 2016
I did somewhat enjoy this book; time travel and dinosaurs do make for a fun and exciting read. Unfortunately the nonsense about orgonic energy pyramids was so absurd that it made it impossible to take this as a serious work of science fiction. (It would be a bit like a murder mystery that revolves around a homeopath running a forensics lab.) If one is attempting to create a believable mechanism for time travel, one should probably not invoke magic Pyramidology woowoo. I didn't realize it was part of a series when I picked it up, but it works as a standalone novel. I haven't read any more books in the series, however, since I found this one rather silly.
April 24, 2013
Third in the series. Several years ago I picked up a copy of Footprints of Thunder and found the mix-up of dinosaurs and present day life interesting. This sequel picks up 18 years later after more mixing of time and brings closure to some time stranders while leaving others hanging. Enjoy at your own risk if you enjoy velociraptor omelets.
July 15, 2020
My review for this book, and many others, can be found at my blog. Scroll past the reviews for the previous two books to see this one:
The Real World According To Sam
Thanks for reading!!
The Real World According To Sam
Thanks for reading!!
August 3, 2013
Better than average speculative science fiction.
April 29, 2013
Very entertaining. You don't need to read the forts book in the series yo know what's happening.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews