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Dinocalypse Trilogy #1
Dinocalypse Now
AN INVASION... FROM PREHISTORY!
When the Century Club is called in to prevent the assassination of FDR, it’s just another day on the job—but what they discover puts not just the President, but the entire world in jeopardy.
With psychic dinosaurs taking over Manhattan and beyond, it’s up to Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and the other Centurions to save humanity—from extinction!
When the Century Club is called in to prevent the assassination of FDR, it’s just another day on the job—but what they discover puts not just the President, but the entire world in jeopardy.
With psychic dinosaurs taking over Manhattan and beyond, it’s up to Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and the other Centurions to save humanity—from extinction!
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2012
9 people are currently reading
362 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Wendig
182 books7,268 followersChuck Wendig is a novelist, a screenwriter, and a freelance penmonkey.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producer Ted Hope.
Chuck's novel Double Dead will be out in November, 2011.
He's written too much. He should probably stop. Give him a wide berth, as he might be drunk and untrustworthy. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with a wonderful wife and two very stupid dogs. He is represented by Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producer Ted Hope.
Chuck's novel Double Dead will be out in November, 2011.
He's written too much. He should probably stop. Give him a wide berth, as he might be drunk and untrustworthy. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with a wonderful wife and two very stupid dogs. He is represented by Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
September 3, 2013
After receiving a tip that FDR is going to be assassinated, the Century Club spring into action, only to find they've been led into a trap! Psychic dinosaurs invade the world from seven dimensional portals, led by Khan, the Conqueror Ape, and his simian horde! But who is pulling Khan's strings? And can his son, Professor Khan of the Century Club, help his friends defeat his father and avert the Dinocalypse?
Psychic dinosaurs, talking apes, yes, this book is that much fun. Set in the world of Evil Hat's Spirit of the Century RPG, the real kind, not the video game kind, Dinocaypse Now is a tribute to the pulp magazines of the 1930's, from it's relentless action to it's intentionally purple prose.
The characters are an interesting mix. There's Sally Slick, a smart inventor who resembles Rosie the Riveter, Mack Silver, the pilot/Doc Savage type, Jet Black, the stand-in for The Rocketeer, Benjamin Hu, mystic detective, Professor Khan, the talking gorilla who's also a teacher at Oxford, and Amelia Stone, lady Indiana Jones.
The plot is pretty simple. Super-villains, supposedly led by Khan the Conqueror, are capturing members of the Century Club and subjugating the world with psychic dinosaurs. However, there's someone lurking in the shadows with a much more sinister plan.
Like I said, it's a lot of fun and didn't have much chance of being otherwise with all the dinosaurs and talking apes in it. Wendig works some modern sensibilities in as well. Sally Slick is no shrinking violet, that's for sure. I was really glad the love triangle between her, Silver, and Jet Black didn't become the focal point of the story. Professor Khan wound up being my favorite characters, his jungle instincts conflicting with his academic nature.
If I had to complain about something, it would be that a lot of characters seemed like archetypes rather than characters. However, since this is a pulp homage, that's the nature of the beast. Speaking of beasts, I already have one of the subsequent books, Khan of Mars, heading my way.
Dincalypse Now is a non-stop fun read. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Psychic dinosaurs, talking apes, yes, this book is that much fun. Set in the world of Evil Hat's Spirit of the Century RPG, the real kind, not the video game kind, Dinocaypse Now is a tribute to the pulp magazines of the 1930's, from it's relentless action to it's intentionally purple prose.
The characters are an interesting mix. There's Sally Slick, a smart inventor who resembles Rosie the Riveter, Mack Silver, the pilot/Doc Savage type, Jet Black, the stand-in for The Rocketeer, Benjamin Hu, mystic detective, Professor Khan, the talking gorilla who's also a teacher at Oxford, and Amelia Stone, lady Indiana Jones.
The plot is pretty simple. Super-villains, supposedly led by Khan the Conqueror, are capturing members of the Century Club and subjugating the world with psychic dinosaurs. However, there's someone lurking in the shadows with a much more sinister plan.
Like I said, it's a lot of fun and didn't have much chance of being otherwise with all the dinosaurs and talking apes in it. Wendig works some modern sensibilities in as well. Sally Slick is no shrinking violet, that's for sure. I was really glad the love triangle between her, Silver, and Jet Black didn't become the focal point of the story. Professor Khan wound up being my favorite characters, his jungle instincts conflicting with his academic nature.
If I had to complain about something, it would be that a lot of characters seemed like archetypes rather than characters. However, since this is a pulp homage, that's the nature of the beast. Speaking of beasts, I already have one of the subsequent books, Khan of Mars, heading my way.
Dincalypse Now is a non-stop fun read. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
July 3, 2015
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...
This book went straight onto my to-read pile earlier this year, for two main reasons: first, because I love Chuck Wendig, and second because...well, I figured I couldn't go wrong with any book with a title like Dinocalypse Now!
It wasn't until I was halfway through reading this book that I started to do some research and found out a little more about its background. Crowd-funded through Kickstarter in 2012, Dinocalypse now is based on Evil Hat Productions' Spirit of the Century role-playing game, which is set in a 1920s/30s-era pulp adventure world. With this information in mind, dare I say, this wild ride featuring jetpacks, talking gorillas, psychic dinosaurs, and ancient Atlanteans finally all came together for me!
It begins when a group of heroes calling themselves the Century Club are brought in to prevent the assassination of FDR, only to find that the president isn't the target -- they are! Though, what comes next is actually a threat to the entire planet as King Khan the ape conqueror storms this world through a dimensional portal, leading his vast army of primates and dinosaurs. Now it's up to the Centurions to stop him and save the world!
I won't lie, I was very much entertained by this book. It is escapist fiction that captures the pure, unadulterated spirit of pulp. Given how characteristics like bigger-than-life heroes, beautiful women, high adventure/action in exotic places, and evil diabolical villains are the hallmarks of this genre, it wouldn't be wrong to say Dinocalypse Now is all about sensationalism over substance, but I still can't deny I had a lot of fun.
Picture a kid with an overactive imagination in a toy store, and the stories he can come up with in his head if he played an elaborate game of make-believe while surrounded by miniature buildings, animal plushies, plastic dinosaurs, action figures and toy weapons. You'll probably get something like this book. Chuck Wendig probably had a blast writing this.
In a sense, it's likely that the sheer absurdity of this book will also be its greatest appeal. I am completely aghast but also delighted by this its craziness and eccentricity. There is a place in my heart for books that are just completely out there and don't take themselves seriously, and while I didn't enjoy this one as much as Chuck Wendig's other novels, this was still a good one to pick up to pass the time.
This book went straight onto my to-read pile earlier this year, for two main reasons: first, because I love Chuck Wendig, and second because...well, I figured I couldn't go wrong with any book with a title like Dinocalypse Now!
It wasn't until I was halfway through reading this book that I started to do some research and found out a little more about its background. Crowd-funded through Kickstarter in 2012, Dinocalypse now is based on Evil Hat Productions' Spirit of the Century role-playing game, which is set in a 1920s/30s-era pulp adventure world. With this information in mind, dare I say, this wild ride featuring jetpacks, talking gorillas, psychic dinosaurs, and ancient Atlanteans finally all came together for me!
It begins when a group of heroes calling themselves the Century Club are brought in to prevent the assassination of FDR, only to find that the president isn't the target -- they are! Though, what comes next is actually a threat to the entire planet as King Khan the ape conqueror storms this world through a dimensional portal, leading his vast army of primates and dinosaurs. Now it's up to the Centurions to stop him and save the world!
I won't lie, I was very much entertained by this book. It is escapist fiction that captures the pure, unadulterated spirit of pulp. Given how characteristics like bigger-than-life heroes, beautiful women, high adventure/action in exotic places, and evil diabolical villains are the hallmarks of this genre, it wouldn't be wrong to say Dinocalypse Now is all about sensationalism over substance, but I still can't deny I had a lot of fun.
Picture a kid with an overactive imagination in a toy store, and the stories he can come up with in his head if he played an elaborate game of make-believe while surrounded by miniature buildings, animal plushies, plastic dinosaurs, action figures and toy weapons. You'll probably get something like this book. Chuck Wendig probably had a blast writing this.
In a sense, it's likely that the sheer absurdity of this book will also be its greatest appeal. I am completely aghast but also delighted by this its craziness and eccentricity. There is a place in my heart for books that are just completely out there and don't take themselves seriously, and while I didn't enjoy this one as much as Chuck Wendig's other novels, this was still a good one to pick up to pass the time.
January 8, 2017
Or Disappointing Us Now as I have re-titled it.
It appears that Wendig has a background in the games industry and that this book is based on a tabletop roleplaying game.
This is seems to make sense considering Wendig's strengths and weaknesses as a story teller as evidenced here.
The big plus is imagination.
The big minuses are everything else:
Writing style, characterisation, plotting.
The single sentence paragraphing is really irritating so I will stop inflicting it on you now, but you will have got the idea. It's like he was never taught the function of a paragraph. The Jane Austen half a large page of small print paragraphs I've subsequently been reading are muchly superior. As is the characterisation. Wendig seems to think one stereotypical trait and another stereotypical motivation is sufficient - for any and all characters. Nobody here is anything but a one dimensional cliche and redundant love triangles that don't affect the plot don't help. There are also too many protagonists, so that after an initial sequence that hangs together well, we are led off into a swamp of different locales and characters that is difficult to wade through. It comes together eventually for a decent enough finale that is then thrown away on an enormous cliff hanger that prevents anything at all being resolved. There's also a certain amount of Luggage Syndrome.
The thing that prevents this falling squarely into one star territory is that one strength mentioned above: imagination. The whole idea behind the roleplaying game is the recreation of the spirit of the pulp adventure stories that are exemplified by such things as the Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes and Allan Quartermain books. Recreation with an added heavy dollop of self-aware silliness, that is. In this the book succeeds and it creates some wonderful visual imagery that made me think this would work better as a graphic novel. Bad prose would be both less obvious and less of a problem and the crazy visuals (e.g. dinosaurs and lizard men, talking gorillas and other primates, giant gem-like gates to somewhere else) would be emphasised although the plot structure and characterisation would be unaffected. Just look at the cover to see what I mean - a book full of that kind of thing would be entertaining.
Ultimately, though, as a novelist, Wendig fails (at least for me); I'm only likely to read Beyond Dinocalypse, the inevitable sequel, if it more or less falls into my hands, which is unlikely considering that the books are published by an indie outfit branching out from its game making core business. The idea of playing the game this is inspired by appeals to me more - and if you consider this one giant advert for that game, well, in that, Wendig perhaps succeeds.
It appears that Wendig has a background in the games industry and that this book is based on a tabletop roleplaying game.
This is seems to make sense considering Wendig's strengths and weaknesses as a story teller as evidenced here.
The big plus is imagination.
The big minuses are everything else:
Writing style, characterisation, plotting.
The single sentence paragraphing is really irritating so I will stop inflicting it on you now, but you will have got the idea. It's like he was never taught the function of a paragraph. The Jane Austen half a large page of small print paragraphs I've subsequently been reading are muchly superior. As is the characterisation. Wendig seems to think one stereotypical trait and another stereotypical motivation is sufficient - for any and all characters. Nobody here is anything but a one dimensional cliche and redundant love triangles that don't affect the plot don't help. There are also too many protagonists, so that after an initial sequence that hangs together well, we are led off into a swamp of different locales and characters that is difficult to wade through. It comes together eventually for a decent enough finale that is then thrown away on an enormous cliff hanger that prevents anything at all being resolved. There's also a certain amount of Luggage Syndrome.
The thing that prevents this falling squarely into one star territory is that one strength mentioned above: imagination. The whole idea behind the roleplaying game is the recreation of the spirit of the pulp adventure stories that are exemplified by such things as the Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes and Allan Quartermain books. Recreation with an added heavy dollop of self-aware silliness, that is. In this the book succeeds and it creates some wonderful visual imagery that made me think this would work better as a graphic novel. Bad prose would be both less obvious and less of a problem and the crazy visuals (e.g. dinosaurs and lizard men, talking gorillas and other primates, giant gem-like gates to somewhere else) would be emphasised although the plot structure and characterisation would be unaffected. Just look at the cover to see what I mean - a book full of that kind of thing would be entertaining.
Ultimately, though, as a novelist, Wendig fails (at least for me); I'm only likely to read Beyond Dinocalypse, the inevitable sequel, if it more or less falls into my hands, which is unlikely considering that the books are published by an indie outfit branching out from its game making core business. The idea of playing the game this is inspired by appeals to me more - and if you consider this one giant advert for that game, well, in that, Wendig perhaps succeeds.
April 24, 2012
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/04/...
Dinocalypse Now starts off with a bang as Jet Black falls from the sky during a speech given by FDR, jet pack sputtering and hissing, punctured by bite marks. Bite marks! What, you may ask, can bite into metal? Well, the title of the book is a pretty good clue. Jet Black is a Centurion, an intrepid group of crime fighters with hideouts and bases all over the world. His counterpart, Sally Slick, is on the ground, part of the gathered crowd, when she begins to notice that everyone in the crowd may not be human. They’re humanoid, but with scales and sharp teeth, not to mention mind control powers, they’re a force to be reckoned with. However, it’s eventually discovered that they weren’t sent to assassinate FDR at all, but to take out the Centurions. Thus begins a race to find the source of the dino-invasion and save all of humanity from servitude at the hand of a (rather hairy) megalomaniac bent on world domination!
Dinosaurs! Apes in kilts! Jetpacks! Dirigibles! Teleportation! It’s all here in Dinocalypse Now! I adore anything Chuck Wendig writes, and this was no exception. Sally Slick and crew are a ton of fun with larger than life personalities that leap from the page. My favorite character, though, is a kilt wearing, erudite ape named Professor Khan, who teaches at Oxford and serves as consultant to the Centurions, but always longs to join in on the adventures. He gets his wish, and the interaction between him and the crew is nothing short of charming. These globe hopping heroes will go up against multiple foes vying for control of New York City, using their wits, gadgets, and plain determination to see good win over evil. I especially enjoyed the 30s touches and pulp sensibility. If you love a good adventure, rapid fire pacing, great characters, and of course the endless creativity of Chuck Wendig, you’ll have a blast with Dinocalypse Now!
Dinocalypse Now starts off with a bang as Jet Black falls from the sky during a speech given by FDR, jet pack sputtering and hissing, punctured by bite marks. Bite marks! What, you may ask, can bite into metal? Well, the title of the book is a pretty good clue. Jet Black is a Centurion, an intrepid group of crime fighters with hideouts and bases all over the world. His counterpart, Sally Slick, is on the ground, part of the gathered crowd, when she begins to notice that everyone in the crowd may not be human. They’re humanoid, but with scales and sharp teeth, not to mention mind control powers, they’re a force to be reckoned with. However, it’s eventually discovered that they weren’t sent to assassinate FDR at all, but to take out the Centurions. Thus begins a race to find the source of the dino-invasion and save all of humanity from servitude at the hand of a (rather hairy) megalomaniac bent on world domination!
Dinosaurs! Apes in kilts! Jetpacks! Dirigibles! Teleportation! It’s all here in Dinocalypse Now! I adore anything Chuck Wendig writes, and this was no exception. Sally Slick and crew are a ton of fun with larger than life personalities that leap from the page. My favorite character, though, is a kilt wearing, erudite ape named Professor Khan, who teaches at Oxford and serves as consultant to the Centurions, but always longs to join in on the adventures. He gets his wish, and the interaction between him and the crew is nothing short of charming. These globe hopping heroes will go up against multiple foes vying for control of New York City, using their wits, gadgets, and plain determination to see good win over evil. I especially enjoyed the 30s touches and pulp sensibility. If you love a good adventure, rapid fire pacing, great characters, and of course the endless creativity of Chuck Wendig, you’ll have a blast with Dinocalypse Now!
March 4, 2022
Really wanted to like this book, but the constant meandering of fearing to look like a fool in front of a potential love intrest instead of making peace with the fact that you are falling to your death or mere inches away from getting your head chomped of by a psychosaur just takes me out of it.
April 20, 2012
I am thoroughly enchanted by Christian N. St. Pierre's cover - Pterodactyls! Sally Slick flying with Jet Black! Mack Silver flying above! The Statue of Liberty and Manhattan in the background! Wow! But what about the story, you ask? Oh, the story is fantastic and lives up to the promise of the cover. Chuck Wendig knows how to wield a pen, much as Sally Slick knows how to wield her wrench. They both do it exceptionally well.
Dinocalypse Now is set in the world of the Spirit of the Century Role Playing Game (RPG). I was unaware of the RPG's world prior to reading Dinocalypse Now and it is certainly not a prerequisite to enjoying the story.
Dinocalypse Now features some of the Centurions who are members of the Century Club. They are heroes who fight the good fight with grit and determination to protect the world from doers of evil. The Centurions fear an attempt on F.D.R.'s life and are protecting him as he gives a speech in New York City, but an evil plan is afoot. Is it FDR or the Centurions themselves who are at risk? Can the Centurions save the world?
In addition to the Centurions, Dinocalypse Now features sentient gorillas, psychic Saurians, Atlantean artifacts, magic, an evil villain, and some amazing technology. Mr. Wendig's writing is exceptional. I could easily envision the scenes unfolding before me. The characters are very well done. I cared about each of the Centurions with their very clearly delineated personalities and skills. I am especially fond of Professor Khan an academic who helps the Centurions and yearns to be truly one of them.
The pacing is extremely fast partially because the chapters are short and the story jumps from place to place as it rushes toward the cliffhanger of an ending. Oh yes, there's a cliffhanger, but don't let this deter you. This is a great read. It's fun, fascinating, and filled with action.
Dinocalypse Now is wildly imaginative and beautifully written adrenalin-fueled pulp. I can not wait for the next book.
I give Dinocalypse Now 5 Qwills.
Dinocalypse Now is set in the world of the Spirit of the Century Role Playing Game (RPG). I was unaware of the RPG's world prior to reading Dinocalypse Now and it is certainly not a prerequisite to enjoying the story.
Dinocalypse Now features some of the Centurions who are members of the Century Club. They are heroes who fight the good fight with grit and determination to protect the world from doers of evil. The Centurions fear an attempt on F.D.R.'s life and are protecting him as he gives a speech in New York City, but an evil plan is afoot. Is it FDR or the Centurions themselves who are at risk? Can the Centurions save the world?
In addition to the Centurions, Dinocalypse Now features sentient gorillas, psychic Saurians, Atlantean artifacts, magic, an evil villain, and some amazing technology. Mr. Wendig's writing is exceptional. I could easily envision the scenes unfolding before me. The characters are very well done. I cared about each of the Centurions with their very clearly delineated personalities and skills. I am especially fond of Professor Khan an academic who helps the Centurions and yearns to be truly one of them.
The pacing is extremely fast partially because the chapters are short and the story jumps from place to place as it rushes toward the cliffhanger of an ending. Oh yes, there's a cliffhanger, but don't let this deter you. This is a great read. It's fun, fascinating, and filled with action.
Dinocalypse Now is wildly imaginative and beautifully written adrenalin-fueled pulp. I can not wait for the next book.
I give Dinocalypse Now 5 Qwills.
May 5, 2012
Dinocalypse Now is a pulp book set in the world of a role playing game, Spirit of the Century. So you know what you are getting into, which is just a lot of fun. It moves quickly, with one cliffhanger and plot twist after another and leaves you with a smile with every chapter.
It suffers from having too many characters to follow. There are about three main story lines with the heros, and two more following the villians. While it is one way of introducing characters and giving you some reason to remember each, it means that the main one (and I am pretty sure that there is a main one, since it includes the obligatory romance) is short changed and the love triangle feels stilted.
It is a fun book to read, set in a setting that is fun (and not infrequently silly) to play. I like its setting of the scene and I'm looking forward to the remainder of the series to start showing up, which I'm hoping do a better job of developing individual characters.
It suffers from having too many characters to follow. There are about three main story lines with the heros, and two more following the villians. While it is one way of introducing characters and giving you some reason to remember each, it means that the main one (and I am pretty sure that there is a main one, since it includes the obligatory romance) is short changed and the love triangle feels stilted.
It is a fun book to read, set in a setting that is fun (and not infrequently silly) to play. I like its setting of the scene and I'm looking forward to the remainder of the series to start showing up, which I'm hoping do a better job of developing individual characters.
November 12, 2020
It runs like the (first) Avengers movie, but we've never seen these characters before and are unfamiliar with the details of this Doc Savage-esque setting. Unless, that is, you've followed the publisher's order for the Spirit of the Century Presents series. In that case you get two heroes and maybe a few villains. I didn't, and wasn't terribly invested in what was going on. Despite, that is, the oodles of tantalizing backstories and supervillain references.
The Century Club feels like a Doc Savage collection but goes beyond it. Each Centurion is a hero and nobody steals the show. It's not just two-fisted action but air adventure and mad science and occultism-that-deftly-ducks-Orientalism and Atlantis and time-portals and earth/ley line energy and psychic powers and Hollow Earth Neanderthals and Science Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs. All at once, so it feels like each successive menace is not as much an escalation of threat but a channel being changed.
The Century Club feels like a Doc Savage collection but goes beyond it. Each Centurion is a hero and nobody steals the show. It's not just two-fisted action but air adventure and mad science and occultism-that-deftly-ducks-Orientalism and Atlantis and time-portals and earth/ley line energy and psychic powers and Hollow Earth Neanderthals and Science Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs. All at once, so it feels like each successive menace is not as much an escalation of threat but a channel being changed.
June 5, 2012
Are you looking for some summer reading? Are you looking for something that promises psychic dinosaurs, world-conquering gorillas, Atlantis, two fisted action, and pulpy goodness? Then do I have a recommendation for you.
Dinocalypse Now is the first foray into fiction by Evil Hat Productions. They enlisted the talents of Chuck Wendig to create a story based on the game Spirit of the Century. The game’s setting is a brighter version of the pulp novels of the early twentieth century. The predecessors to this story are illustrious and include; The Shadow, The Rocketeer, Sky King, Doc Savage, Wu Fang and many others.
The book opens in grand pulp style with Jet Black hurtling to the earth contemplating how this is going to appear to Sally Slick. He had been given the easiest job in protecting FDR during his speech here in New York City and now he is the one plummeting to his doom. In addition to these two, the cast of characters includes Mack Silver, Professor Khan, and several other members of the Century Club. We follow the exploits of these stalwart heroes as they struggle to save the world from the conqueror gorilla Khan and his army of dinosaurs.
The action in this novel is quick and light with plenty of cliffhangers as one would expect from something so rooted in pulp fiction. The prose flows easily and keeps you moving quickly from chapter to chapter. The characterization is done with a deft touch giving you enough about each of the many characters to keep you interested without overburdening you with information. With so many characters, one would think that character depth would be the first thing that was lost. One would be incorrect. Instead of providing depth to everyone, true character progression is left for the four main characters of Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and Professor Khan. Their personal progression was interesting and fit well with the pulp paradigm presented.
Before I picked up my copy of Dinocalypse Now, I really wasn’t a fan of the pulp style. The style always made me feel that it was gritty, dark, and stilted towards a time that I didn’t really care to remember. Now, I cannot wait for the next installment of the Dinocalypse trilogy! I recommend picking up this book as you will be highly entertained. It only has one flaw though, I have to wait for next one.
Dinocalypse Now is the first foray into fiction by Evil Hat Productions. They enlisted the talents of Chuck Wendig to create a story based on the game Spirit of the Century. The game’s setting is a brighter version of the pulp novels of the early twentieth century. The predecessors to this story are illustrious and include; The Shadow, The Rocketeer, Sky King, Doc Savage, Wu Fang and many others.
The book opens in grand pulp style with Jet Black hurtling to the earth contemplating how this is going to appear to Sally Slick. He had been given the easiest job in protecting FDR during his speech here in New York City and now he is the one plummeting to his doom. In addition to these two, the cast of characters includes Mack Silver, Professor Khan, and several other members of the Century Club. We follow the exploits of these stalwart heroes as they struggle to save the world from the conqueror gorilla Khan and his army of dinosaurs.
The action in this novel is quick and light with plenty of cliffhangers as one would expect from something so rooted in pulp fiction. The prose flows easily and keeps you moving quickly from chapter to chapter. The characterization is done with a deft touch giving you enough about each of the many characters to keep you interested without overburdening you with information. With so many characters, one would think that character depth would be the first thing that was lost. One would be incorrect. Instead of providing depth to everyone, true character progression is left for the four main characters of Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and Professor Khan. Their personal progression was interesting and fit well with the pulp paradigm presented.
Before I picked up my copy of Dinocalypse Now, I really wasn’t a fan of the pulp style. The style always made me feel that it was gritty, dark, and stilted towards a time that I didn’t really care to remember. Now, I cannot wait for the next installment of the Dinocalypse trilogy! I recommend picking up this book as you will be highly entertained. It only has one flaw though, I have to wait for next one.
May 11, 2012
Jetpack wearing heroes, psychic lizard men, intelligent apes, cavemen, mystical portals, lost cities. After the last few books I've read, I needed something like this. It feels like the novelization of a summer action film. The main characters are likeable and heroic, its fast paced, and the adventure actually has some adventure to it.
The story uses the same setting and a few characters from a pen and paper roleplaying game. In my opinion, not having experience with this game won't have a negative impact on following what's going on. The author does a good enough job establishing the world and its characters that I didn't feel like I was missing something because I was new to all of this.
If I had one complaint, it's that I don't think all of the main characters are used well. Going into the final part of the the three part book, we have six main characters that have been established. But two of them have served their purpose by that point. They've helped to get the other four characters together, and have delivered important plot point information, and then they're pushed off to the side for most of the climax.
All in all, I'm looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. And not just because it ends on a cliffhanger worthy of any saturday matinee serial.
The story uses the same setting and a few characters from a pen and paper roleplaying game. In my opinion, not having experience with this game won't have a negative impact on following what's going on. The author does a good enough job establishing the world and its characters that I didn't feel like I was missing something because I was new to all of this.
If I had one complaint, it's that I don't think all of the main characters are used well. Going into the final part of the the three part book, we have six main characters that have been established. But two of them have served their purpose by that point. They've helped to get the other four characters together, and have delivered important plot point information, and then they're pushed off to the side for most of the climax.
All in all, I'm looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. And not just because it ends on a cliffhanger worthy of any saturday matinee serial.
July 23, 2013
"Dinocalypse Now" combines several of my favorite things: pulp sci-fi tropes, fast-reading action, dirigibles, and dinosaurs. Oh, also super-intelligent gorillas. This is contemporary pulp-era fun at its best and I'm looking forward to reading the sequels. Chuck Wendig writes very readable prose and gives us characters who, although they are archetypes, are also fully formed and functional characters. I only have two miffs with this book: [Minor Spoiler Alert]-- 1). It ends with a cliffhanger, which is fine, given the source material (stories of the pulp era--especially on screen--often ended with a cliffhanger so that you'd come back for more next week, or when the next Chapter of the serial was published); and 2) There's a scene where a 'dirigible's' balloon collapses over the gondola. Of course, dirigibles--by definition--have rigid frames and therefore the airship should more correctly be called an airship (or, more clunkily: a blimp). This is likely a minor quibble for most, but I do have a fondness for dirigibles and hate seeing them maligned in such a way. Otherwise, I strapped on a jet pack and enjoyed the ride!
November 22, 2016
Psychic dinosaurs - Sounds like a hoot.
Megalomaniac gorillas - Ok, I like great apes.
Atlantis - Really? alright.
Hallow earth neanderthals - Seems a bit far fetched but whatever.
Shark man - You have got to be kidding me!
So when I first started listening to this book I was amused. Then there were more and more unbelievable elements added, as if the author lost a bet and had to use as many stupid things in his novel as possible. But when it got to the shark man fighting the good guy gorilla... is was just too much. I could no longer suspend my disbelief. I would continue telling you all the things that I didn't like about this book but let's face it, I have wasted enough of my life. I refuse to use 1 more minute on this book.
Megalomaniac gorillas - Ok, I like great apes.
Atlantis - Really? alright.
Hallow earth neanderthals - Seems a bit far fetched but whatever.
Shark man - You have got to be kidding me!
So when I first started listening to this book I was amused. Then there were more and more unbelievable elements added, as if the author lost a bet and had to use as many stupid things in his novel as possible. But when it got to the shark man fighting the good guy gorilla... is was just too much. I could no longer suspend my disbelief. I would continue telling you all the things that I didn't like about this book but let's face it, I have wasted enough of my life. I refuse to use 1 more minute on this book.
to-read-soon
July 12, 2012Time-traveling, psychic.... Dinosaurs?! OHMYGOD. WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN OUT WHEN I WAS A KID? Chuck, you must travel back in time, give this to me as a kid, and make me the happiest little nerd girl in the world.
June 5, 2012
This book was like a Ramones album.
Short chapters, high energy, never stopping. Chapter. Chapter. Chapter. Action. Never resting. Characters are going to do something uninteresting for a minute? End chapter, switch to new characters, they're in the middle of an action scene. Run away from dinosaurs. Plan escape to Hawaii. Boat you're on explodes. Back in Hawaii. Now New York City. Boom boom boom.
It was actually sort of tiring to read, sometimes, but it kept me engaged. Plus, I mean, it's got psychic dinosaurs and an army of warrior apes. How can that not be exciting?
Pulp is awesome.
Short chapters, high energy, never stopping. Chapter. Chapter. Chapter. Action. Never resting. Characters are going to do something uninteresting for a minute? End chapter, switch to new characters, they're in the middle of an action scene. Run away from dinosaurs. Plan escape to Hawaii. Boat you're on explodes. Back in Hawaii. Now New York City. Boom boom boom.
It was actually sort of tiring to read, sometimes, but it kept me engaged. Plus, I mean, it's got psychic dinosaurs and an army of warrior apes. How can that not be exciting?
Pulp is awesome.
June 24, 2012
This book is fun. Just pure fun. Dinosaurs. PSYCHIC dinosaurs. Warrior gorillas. Neanderthals. Lost city of Atlantis. Time travel. Brave wisecracking heroes with jet packs and other cool gadgets.
Did I mention psychic dinosaurs?
This book is like when I was a kid and would dump out my box of action figures and let them go at it. Batman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars guys and the "Love Boat" crew (Yes, they had action figures too. Yes, I had some. Don't judge me.) all fighting side by side to save humanity.
Did I mention psychic dinosaurs?
Check out my blog for a longer review. http://www.williamallenpepper.wordpre...
Did I mention psychic dinosaurs?
This book is like when I was a kid and would dump out my box of action figures and let them go at it. Batman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars guys and the "Love Boat" crew (Yes, they had action figures too. Yes, I had some. Don't judge me.) all fighting side by side to save humanity.
Did I mention psychic dinosaurs?
Check out my blog for a longer review. http://www.williamallenpepper.wordpre...
May 9, 2015
so this is a tie-in novel to the roleplaying game Spirit of the Century, a light-hearted pastiche of 1920s era pulp adventure fiction... or its modern retro-interpretations such as Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer etc. The book delivers on that premise, but it nevertheless falls flat by going on too damn long. The concept of "Gorilla Khan the Conqueror Ape takes over the world with an army of psychic dinosaurs" is very, very silly and the only way to take that story seriously is... I don't know if you can. Author Chuck Wendig deserves credit for trying, but the book would have been better if it had been wrapped up a lot quicker.
May 16, 2012
Rollicking good time. Wendig does a great job of bringing Jet Black, Sally Slick, Mack Silver and the rest of the Spirit of the Century cast to life. I'm very glad I supported this project on Kickstarter -- I've already gotten more than my money's worth.
May 9, 2012
Terrific pulp read, can't wait for the sequel. But even more than that, I want to see the Benjamin Hu and Professor Khan novels. Hell, I want it all, this was so much fun...
April 20, 2012
This was an excellent throw back to the pulp adventures of old with modern style. Lots of interesting characters and ends with a wonderful cliffhanger.
May 19, 2012
Got this as part of a Kickstarter package. Greatest deal in recent history. Waiting for the next book in the series with great anticipation.
Thanks Evil Hat!
Thanks Evil Hat!
May 18, 2012
Freakin awesome!
May 15, 2012
Fun read! A great pulp fiction story full of psychic dinosaurs, conquerer apes, and a group of heroes called The Century Club.
April 13, 2012
Review pending from The Ranting Dragon.
September 3, 2017
This book gets one star from me just for being a tie-in to Spirit of the Century. I really enjoyed seeing that universe brought to life, and seeing a roleplaying session brought to life. Very cool.
Unfortunately, that is the main thing this book has going for it, while it has a lot of other things going against it. The plot is okay, though not very cohesive. The writing, meanwhile, leaves a lot to be desired. It's hammy and repetitive. There are a lot of similes in the book, and most of them are either inane or nonsensical.
The portrayal of the characters is perhaps the weakest point of the book. They all overthink seem to overthink everything, judging by their internal monologues. And despite being superhuman heroes or villains, very few of them seem to be more than overgrown teenagers. Worst of all is the love triangle between the three primary characters, Jet Black, Mack Silver and Sally Slick. The first acts like a mopey child, the second is a womanizing jerk, making it completely unbelievable that the third would fall for either of them.
As such, I find it difficult to recommend this book to anyone except a fan of Spirit of the Century. Even then, they should read it for the exciting romp through the world of the Centurions, and not for a good portrayal of the featured characters from the core game book. I feel like the game book did a better job of portraying our heroes than this book did.
Unfortunately, that is the main thing this book has going for it, while it has a lot of other things going against it. The plot is okay, though not very cohesive. The writing, meanwhile, leaves a lot to be desired. It's hammy and repetitive. There are a lot of similes in the book, and most of them are either inane or nonsensical.
The portrayal of the characters is perhaps the weakest point of the book. They all overthink seem to overthink everything, judging by their internal monologues. And despite being superhuman heroes or villains, very few of them seem to be more than overgrown teenagers. Worst of all is the love triangle between the three primary characters, Jet Black, Mack Silver and Sally Slick. The first acts like a mopey child, the second is a womanizing jerk, making it completely unbelievable that the third would fall for either of them.
As such, I find it difficult to recommend this book to anyone except a fan of Spirit of the Century. Even then, they should read it for the exciting romp through the world of the Centurions, and not for a good portrayal of the featured characters from the core game book. I feel like the game book did a better job of portraying our heroes than this book did.
July 31, 2022
One of the biggest problems with many rpg novels is that the writer has this massive sandbox to play in, and looking through a setting source book, it would be far too tempting to try and pull everything into your story. And so often these books just end up as "everything plus the kitchen sink" losing sight of clear world building and dramatic action. That is what Dinocalypse felt like. Based off a pulp inspired rpg, with the quick paced writing of a comic writer, this could have been a lot of fun. But I just kept shaking my head as one more thing got added to the plot. Airships, rocketeers, psychic dinosaurs, a megalomaniac gorilla warlord, time traveling aliens, and so much more. In the right dose, these are all winning ideas. I am after all a big sucker for pulp adventure fiction. But this made me more interested in the rpg than any more of the novels set in its world.
November 23, 2020
Dinosaurs, pulp action and superheroes, what more could I want. I have found a genre in this type of book that I didn't know I was missing from my reading life. In this one, the Centurians are battling psychic dinosaur men, time-travel, intelligent apes and a villian from their own past. Love building on the backgrounds of Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mac Silver, Benjamin Hu, Amelia Stone and Khan as well as a world building that these heroes live in. All the adventures I wanted even since I saw Indiana Jones.
March 25, 2021
This is way better than it has any right to be. A novel based on a game about pulp heroes? IP novels are usually dreadful, and yet this one really captures the feel of the old pulps. The action never stops. I raced through the first two books of the series, and I'm exhausted. Psychosaurs take over, time portals, talking gorillas, neanderthals, supervillains. It's all here and very well written. Pulp turned up to 11 with the gas pedal mashed to floorboard.
January 3, 2022
Dinocalypse Now is a rollicking roller coaster ride of a novel. Wendig creates a world so pulpy that you almost have to strain it before reading.
The Century Club is a group of heroes straight out of 30s pulp magazine or film series. An attempt on President Elect FDR's life starts of a trail of adventure and mystery which includes dinosaurs pulled forward in time, humanoid telepathic dinosaurs, talking apes, underground cavemen, and even a trip to Atlantis.
The book is written in such a way that it involves multiple cliffhanging with each chapter. Anyone who enjoys pulpy adventures will love this delightful romp. I'm looking forward to the next installation in the series.
The Century Club is a group of heroes straight out of 30s pulp magazine or film series. An attempt on President Elect FDR's life starts of a trail of adventure and mystery which includes dinosaurs pulled forward in time, humanoid telepathic dinosaurs, talking apes, underground cavemen, and even a trip to Atlantis.
The book is written in such a way that it involves multiple cliffhanging with each chapter. Anyone who enjoys pulpy adventures will love this delightful romp. I'm looking forward to the next installation in the series.
June 11, 2021
More of a 3.5. I liked the homage to the old action/adventure pulps. I read Doc Savage and Buck Rogers books when I was a kid, and this harkened back to those for me. Wendig did a great job of bringing that era back to life. I may go ahead and listen to the second and third books, as this ended--appropriately enough--on a giant cliffhanger. Is that a spoiler?
January 13, 2016
So this is a very pulp book.
I'm familiar with some of Wendig's other works, but most of those are in the categories of role playing games and writing advice books. On the former, I honestly can't speculate how much of those were Wendig's contributions, but I won't pretend to say that I can view those works objectively (I have a very love-hate relationship with the rules and end results of what I feel are stellar concepts). On the latter, I would say Wendig's style is more like that of a drunken guru of writing, giving equal parts advice, admonishments and relaying them in shocking ways that can make what would otherwise be the same old same old lessons of many writing manuals seem easy to pick up on.
Which is, of course, why this book feels a little unusual to me. I understand that in some capacity it's mimicking a 'pulp' and 30's action novel style, but I feel like it's caught up in that so much we don't really see it go terribly far. Things in this story that are, in fact, unique twists and turns come across as just sort of par for the course. Plots really don't get resolved. We do have a sense of continuous adventure, of course, as is common for pulp-y fiction, but this feels a lot like 'part 1' instead of us having done a lot. Action kind of stays at the same level and personal conflicts, when they come up, drop away almost as quickly. And, weirdly enough, when that action does happen it feels almost entirely out of the main character's control. It is, in fact, plot driven, but you can almost feel their desire to express some kind of deeper sense of nuance and revelation to actually cause some kind of change just starting to surface by the time the novel ends and promises us a 'tune in next week.'
The reason I didn't rate this lower, however, is I'm not sure if that's a product of the genre this author was trying to emulate or the author's style.
To be perfectly fair, I haven't read a lot of pulp. I'm familiar with Bannon's I Am A Woman, the works of Lovecraft and Howard, but to be honest this isn't a genre I've explored a great deal. I like the idea of adding in new continuities whole cloth for superheroes or men of mystery or adventurers a-la radio drama (check out one of my recent modern faves The Red Panda Adventures if you want to know where my tolerance for awesome and cheesy stands). I guess my problem is this is clearly not complete to me. It's caught midway in and there's too much going on in a larger world that we get fragments of. We can understand certain parts, but really it is 'to be continued.' I'm not sure if it's enough to make me want to pick up the next one honestly.
I would also make some critical comments on the style presented in the book, which doesn't seem to fit Wendig's writer advice capacity to shock or get a laugh, but seems to be more straight 'tell' narration with the occasional spiced in old time slang or comic book serial dialogue. Once again, if that's the style of the genre then bravo for copying it, but it's not for me.
And, on a quick note, I got my copy through Evil Hat Productions, who I think are actually marvelous publishers and have some very interesting ideas when it comes to roleplaying, so this is not at all a shame on them sort of thing. In fact, you could say I'm even less objective when it comes to their work, as I'm a huge fan. I do enjoy the pulp setting, and feel like this could be about a million times better (maybe it is in the next one? I'm not sure honestly), I still think they're amazing publishers and anyone who reads this should definitely check them out if you even remotely interested in role playing games, especially Don't Rest Your Head (though wow trigger warning if I've ever seen one) and FATE Core. I should be doing a review of "Don't Read This Book" to tie into the former's setting soon so we'll see if that's more of a hit.
I'm familiar with some of Wendig's other works, but most of those are in the categories of role playing games and writing advice books. On the former, I honestly can't speculate how much of those were Wendig's contributions, but I won't pretend to say that I can view those works objectively (I have a very love-hate relationship with the rules and end results of what I feel are stellar concepts). On the latter, I would say Wendig's style is more like that of a drunken guru of writing, giving equal parts advice, admonishments and relaying them in shocking ways that can make what would otherwise be the same old same old lessons of many writing manuals seem easy to pick up on.
Which is, of course, why this book feels a little unusual to me. I understand that in some capacity it's mimicking a 'pulp' and 30's action novel style, but I feel like it's caught up in that so much we don't really see it go terribly far. Things in this story that are, in fact, unique twists and turns come across as just sort of par for the course. Plots really don't get resolved. We do have a sense of continuous adventure, of course, as is common for pulp-y fiction, but this feels a lot like 'part 1' instead of us having done a lot. Action kind of stays at the same level and personal conflicts, when they come up, drop away almost as quickly. And, weirdly enough, when that action does happen it feels almost entirely out of the main character's control. It is, in fact, plot driven, but you can almost feel their desire to express some kind of deeper sense of nuance and revelation to actually cause some kind of change just starting to surface by the time the novel ends and promises us a 'tune in next week.'
The reason I didn't rate this lower, however, is I'm not sure if that's a product of the genre this author was trying to emulate or the author's style.
To be perfectly fair, I haven't read a lot of pulp. I'm familiar with Bannon's I Am A Woman, the works of Lovecraft and Howard, but to be honest this isn't a genre I've explored a great deal. I like the idea of adding in new continuities whole cloth for superheroes or men of mystery or adventurers a-la radio drama (check out one of my recent modern faves The Red Panda Adventures if you want to know where my tolerance for awesome and cheesy stands). I guess my problem is this is clearly not complete to me. It's caught midway in and there's too much going on in a larger world that we get fragments of. We can understand certain parts, but really it is 'to be continued.' I'm not sure if it's enough to make me want to pick up the next one honestly.
I would also make some critical comments on the style presented in the book, which doesn't seem to fit Wendig's writer advice capacity to shock or get a laugh, but seems to be more straight 'tell' narration with the occasional spiced in old time slang or comic book serial dialogue. Once again, if that's the style of the genre then bravo for copying it, but it's not for me.
And, on a quick note, I got my copy through Evil Hat Productions, who I think are actually marvelous publishers and have some very interesting ideas when it comes to roleplaying, so this is not at all a shame on them sort of thing. In fact, you could say I'm even less objective when it comes to their work, as I'm a huge fan. I do enjoy the pulp setting, and feel like this could be about a million times better (maybe it is in the next one? I'm not sure honestly), I still think they're amazing publishers and anyone who reads this should definitely check them out if you even remotely interested in role playing games, especially Don't Rest Your Head (though wow trigger warning if I've ever seen one) and FATE Core. I should be doing a review of "Don't Read This Book" to tie into the former's setting soon so we'll see if that's more of a hit.
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