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Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen
Former soldier Andrea Herrera isn’t happy with where her life’s taken her. Specifically, Hell Creek, Montana, 65 million years before the present. As far as careers go, making sure the dinosaurs don’t eat her paleontologist clients comes in a pretty dismal second choice to serving her country. But when their time machine malfunctions, Andrea and her team are trapped in a timeline that shouldn’t exist with something a hell of a lot more dangerous than terrible lizards: other humans.
Kidnapped by the stone-age descendants of a lost time colony, Andrea finds herself stripped of her technological advantages and forced into a war against the implacable armies of the Slaver Empire. Even worse, the Slavers have captured the time machine and the mission’s one surviving paleontologist, using his futuristic weapons for their own ends.
Andrea’s only hope lies with the ferociously intelligent and violently insane tribal war-leader, Trals Scarback. Armed with his mystic sword, his trained velociraptor, and his herd of war-triceratops, this former slave has the resources and motivation to take on the empire. But can Andrea persuade him to see her as a partner rather than a tool for his ambitions? Only if she beats the barbarian at his own game and becomes the Tyrannosaur Queen.
Kidnapped by the stone-age descendants of a lost time colony, Andrea finds herself stripped of her technological advantages and forced into a war against the implacable armies of the Slaver Empire. Even worse, the Slavers have captured the time machine and the mission’s one surviving paleontologist, using his futuristic weapons for their own ends.
Andrea’s only hope lies with the ferociously intelligent and violently insane tribal war-leader, Trals Scarback. Armed with his mystic sword, his trained velociraptor, and his herd of war-triceratops, this former slave has the resources and motivation to take on the empire. But can Andrea persuade him to see her as a partner rather than a tool for his ambitions? Only if she beats the barbarian at his own game and becomes the Tyrannosaur Queen.
507 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Daniel M. Bensen
25 books83 followersDaniel M. Bensen writes alternate history, science fiction, and fantasy. He teaches English in Sofia Bulgaria, where he lives with his wife and daughters in the Balkan Tower of Matriarchy.
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April 18, 2018Look at that cover! And then it opens with an epigraph from Voltaire. And it was free. If you think I could resist that combination, you are sadly mistaken.
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November 29, 2015As one of the beta-readers, I cannot be objective about rating this novel. However, what I can definitely say is that I was awed by the thoroughness of Daniel Bensen's research about paleontology (dinosaurs!) and Neanderthals.
The drawings were sweet too:
(It's a didelphodon. ;) )
Erratum: As Dan points out in his comment below, this drawing is not included in the book; it was a gift for us beta-readers. :)
If you have the tiniest smidgen of interest in the Earth of old, go ask the author for a free Advance copy.
The drawings were sweet too:
(It's a didelphodon. ;) )
Erratum: As Dan points out in his comment below, this drawing is not included in the book; it was a gift for us beta-readers. :)
If you have the tiniest smidgen of interest in the Earth of old, go ask the author for a free Advance copy.
January 3, 2016
Dan Bensen specializes in unlikely romances, and there's nothing more unlikely than this one: a futuristic soldier stuck in the past with a Conan-the-Barbarian type. And yet both characters soon transcend type to become real individuals, and their romance is sweet and moving.
Besides, this is set in an alternate history where people lived alongside dinosaurs! And someone rides a T-Rex! Tyrannosaur Queen is an awesome, quirky book with real heart, and you'll never read anything else like it.
Necessary disclosure: Dan is a client of mine, but I have no financial interest in this book.
Besides, this is set in an alternate history where people lived alongside dinosaurs! And someone rides a T-Rex! Tyrannosaur Queen is an awesome, quirky book with real heart, and you'll never read anything else like it.
Necessary disclosure: Dan is a client of mine, but I have no financial interest in this book.
July 23, 2025
Bensen gave me a review copy of the Audible audiobook, so here it is:
Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen revisits a classic Burroughsian scenario: dinosaur-fighting cavemen, and treats it with simultaneous gravity and humour. The narrative plays itself completely straight, and the cavemen take their own affairs seriously, while the time travelling interlopers are free to rail at the absurdity of things, but typically end up the butt of the joke. And of course, there's tons of dino action. And metamorphic battlesuit action. And dino-on-metamorphic battlesuit action. The combination of it all is great fun.
The dinosaurs are updated to fit more modern discoveries: feathers abound, misconceptions are corrected with turkey sized (but still deadly) velociraptors, and some reasonable speculation is made like ceratopsian quills. Alas, time moves forward, and it's looking ever more likely that Tyrannosaurus rex didn't have feathers (at least not a thick covering of them), but I can hardly hold that against the story. The point is it's an attempt at taking dinosaurs seriously as real animals that once lived in our world, rather than monsters there to kill.
That same effort extends to the anthropology of the cavemen: to them, dinosaurs are animals, that they hunt, tame, fear, worship, etc. just as we do. They have customs, beliefs, and act reasonably within their cultural rubric. Several riffs are made on the old "grug talk caveman" trope: our heroine assumes the non-intelligence of her captors, only to have the tables turned when she has trouble mastering their complex language. The book is full of such humour that lands on the time travellers: a moment when Chris realizes he forgot to pack a certain tshirt, and hence was unable to go full Dr. Stone, made me actually laugh-out-loud, not puff-air-from-the-nose "lol" as I so often do.
Layered on top of this is something of a bodice-ripper: Andrea finds herself the object of desire of Trals Scarback, a highly intelligent Conan-type who feels the constant compulsion to murder those around him. He can control it, mostly. Andrea can give as good as she gets, and it's not as dark as that makes it sound...and if that's really not your thing (like me), it's still mostly a pulpy scifi adventure story. I suppose that also applies if it is your thing. A Sharon Green book this is not.
The backstory is painted with a deft hand: the world of the future, where climate refugees migrate across America, is sketched out by Andrea's offhand recollections and comparisons. The situation of the past is explained with just enough detail to intrigue, but not fully collapse into cliche. The "illegal time colonists" all being white, and the Slavers' possession of English copies of the Bible suggest some kind of separatist church group. But why is the colonists' ancient city called "Mega"? Megalopolis? Mecca? If the Bible is written on the Plaques of Truth, what's on the Plaques of Lies? Harry Potter? What the hell was Ngarong babbling about when he turned on the radio? Something about a satellite? It doesn't really matter, but it does tickle.
Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen revisits a classic Burroughsian scenario: dinosaur-fighting cavemen, and treats it with simultaneous gravity and humour. The narrative plays itself completely straight, and the cavemen take their own affairs seriously, while the time travelling interlopers are free to rail at the absurdity of things, but typically end up the butt of the joke. And of course, there's tons of dino action. And metamorphic battlesuit action. And dino-on-metamorphic battlesuit action. The combination of it all is great fun.
The dinosaurs are updated to fit more modern discoveries: feathers abound, misconceptions are corrected with turkey sized (but still deadly) velociraptors, and some reasonable speculation is made like ceratopsian quills. Alas, time moves forward, and it's looking ever more likely that Tyrannosaurus rex didn't have feathers (at least not a thick covering of them), but I can hardly hold that against the story. The point is it's an attempt at taking dinosaurs seriously as real animals that once lived in our world, rather than monsters there to kill.
That same effort extends to the anthropology of the cavemen: to them, dinosaurs are animals, that they hunt, tame, fear, worship, etc. just as we do. They have customs, beliefs, and act reasonably within their cultural rubric. Several riffs are made on the old "grug talk caveman" trope: our heroine assumes the non-intelligence of her captors, only to have the tables turned when she has trouble mastering their complex language. The book is full of such humour that lands on the time travellers: a moment when Chris realizes he forgot to pack a certain tshirt, and hence was unable to go full Dr. Stone, made me actually laugh-out-loud, not puff-air-from-the-nose "lol" as I so often do.
Layered on top of this is something of a bodice-ripper: Andrea finds herself the object of desire of Trals Scarback, a highly intelligent Conan-type who feels the constant compulsion to murder those around him. He can control it, mostly. Andrea can give as good as she gets, and it's not as dark as that makes it sound...and if that's really not your thing (like me), it's still mostly a pulpy scifi adventure story. I suppose that also applies if it is your thing. A Sharon Green book this is not.
The backstory is painted with a deft hand: the world of the future, where climate refugees migrate across America, is sketched out by Andrea's offhand recollections and comparisons. The situation of the past is explained with just enough detail to intrigue, but not fully collapse into cliche. The "illegal time colonists" all being white, and the Slavers' possession of English copies of the Bible suggest some kind of separatist church group. But why is the colonists' ancient city called "Mega"? Megalopolis? Mecca? If the Bible is written on the Plaques of Truth, what's on the Plaques of Lies? Harry Potter? What the hell was Ngarong babbling about when he turned on the radio? Something about a satellite? It doesn't really matter, but it does tickle.
February 16, 2016
Being a dinosaur fan, while a lot of fun, can be a hell of a drag. Dinosaurian fiction must invariably skirt a fine line between substance and shlock. This line is more finely cut than most. Your average spec-fic dino story general falls into two categories: the strictly scientific angle; see your palaeontologists and Crichtons, and your stock B-movie monster stuff; an admittedly much larger category.
Daniel Bensen's anomalously named "Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen" is, by definition, hard to pin down. It tells an unapologetically campy "caveman and dinosaurs" story, while somehow edging in enough scientific competence and wit to levitate it from the tangled thorns of its peers. The key is a healthy dose of hard science fiction, and contemporary-accurate dinosaurs.
Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen tells the story of Andrea Herrera, a near-future career soldier whose retirement from the military sees her escorting scientists to the late Cretaceous. Until everything goes wrong! *Dun Dun DUN* On paper, Groom is a time travel story, but at its heart, it is pure Conan the Barbarian inspired fantasy. Overwhelming, close combat violence is a definite theme, among characters, setting, and the terrible lizards themselves.
Those pulp sensibilities certainly shine through; but what I truly enjoyed about Groom was its strict attention to detail. Bensen isn't afraid to highlight the anthropological nature of his bronze age civilization, which leans heavily on, surprisingly enough, linguistics. This keen fixation of thorough world building flies in the face of Groom's otherwise footloose approach to character development and dialogue. Here there be quips, which circles back to pulp. And the story's overall feeling of duality.
This is where the story stumbles a bit for me. Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen could have swung full-bore into hard sci fi; its world of feathered t.rexes and quilled triceratops certainly allows for it. And it might have benefited from such treatment. It's in the characterization of bombastic warriors and snarky-cum-deranged scientists that allows for cliches to worm their way into the gears. Esp. the ending.
But I can see why Benson went this way.
When things click, its enough. Dinosaurs are inherently badass creatures, and conflations are hard to pass up. There is plenty to love about Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen. The warrior culture called the Ethelek are pastoralists whose livestock happen to be ceratopsian. The handling of Triceratops caravaneers is brilliant, as well as how the animals in turn affected their shepherds: leaders, drivers.
There's just something to be said about scenes involving characters casually prostate over those wicked brow horns, and then urging the beasts into a canter with a pelting run for their lives. Another day at the office. Classic.
It also hosts one of the most "out of left field" yet oddly satisfying epilogues I've read in a long time.
In the end, Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen is a pretty cool tale, written by someone who knows a thing or two about dinosaurs. Real dinosaurs: of the paleontological variety. These aren't your B-movie dopes. They're several steps removed from their real world counterparts, but then -- how realistic is a bloodthirsty, dreadlocked champion-prophet bedecked with his own velociraptor?
I thought not. Still -- pretty awesome, I'll admit.
Daniel Bensen's anomalously named "Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen" is, by definition, hard to pin down. It tells an unapologetically campy "caveman and dinosaurs" story, while somehow edging in enough scientific competence and wit to levitate it from the tangled thorns of its peers. The key is a healthy dose of hard science fiction, and contemporary-accurate dinosaurs.
Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen tells the story of Andrea Herrera, a near-future career soldier whose retirement from the military sees her escorting scientists to the late Cretaceous. Until everything goes wrong! *Dun Dun DUN* On paper, Groom is a time travel story, but at its heart, it is pure Conan the Barbarian inspired fantasy. Overwhelming, close combat violence is a definite theme, among characters, setting, and the terrible lizards themselves.
Those pulp sensibilities certainly shine through; but what I truly enjoyed about Groom was its strict attention to detail. Bensen isn't afraid to highlight the anthropological nature of his bronze age civilization, which leans heavily on, surprisingly enough, linguistics. This keen fixation of thorough world building flies in the face of Groom's otherwise footloose approach to character development and dialogue. Here there be quips, which circles back to pulp. And the story's overall feeling of duality.
This is where the story stumbles a bit for me. Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen could have swung full-bore into hard sci fi; its world of feathered t.rexes and quilled triceratops certainly allows for it. And it might have benefited from such treatment. It's in the characterization of bombastic warriors and snarky-cum-deranged scientists that allows for cliches to worm their way into the gears. Esp. the ending.
But I can see why Benson went this way.
When things click, its enough. Dinosaurs are inherently badass creatures, and conflations are hard to pass up. There is plenty to love about Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen. The warrior culture called the Ethelek are pastoralists whose livestock happen to be ceratopsian. The handling of Triceratops caravaneers is brilliant, as well as how the animals in turn affected their shepherds: leaders, drivers.
There's just something to be said about scenes involving characters casually prostate over those wicked brow horns, and then urging the beasts into a canter with a pelting run for their lives. Another day at the office. Classic.
It also hosts one of the most "out of left field" yet oddly satisfying epilogues I've read in a long time.
In the end, Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen is a pretty cool tale, written by someone who knows a thing or two about dinosaurs. Real dinosaurs: of the paleontological variety. These aren't your B-movie dopes. They're several steps removed from their real world counterparts, but then -- how realistic is a bloodthirsty, dreadlocked champion-prophet bedecked with his own velociraptor?
I thought not. Still -- pretty awesome, I'll admit.
October 13, 2021
The Short Answer
A surprisingly fun dinosaur time travel adventure full of cavemen, medieval soldiers, and dinosaurs. Somehow Daniel M. Benson has managed to create a plausible scenario that involves all of those. I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks there are not enough books with dinosaurs in them.
The Long Answer
This book was a total surprise. I looked into it because of all the good reviews, and it was only $1 on Amazon, so I figured why not.
Well, let me tell you, it was worth every penny and more. Given the title I was kind of expecting some kind of trashy pornographic time travel romp where someone is captured by a caveman and maybe gets all Stockholm syndrome on them. Thankfully that isn't what this book is. Yes, someone gets captured by a caveman, but there's so much more going on.
The book is told from the viewpoints of four different characters. Each character has a distinct voice so you're never confused as to who's chapter you're reading. I've seen much more established authors mess this up, so I'm very impressed. The characters are all well rounded, believable, and most importantly they are likable.
The author does an excellent job at giving us just enough information so that we believe the universe he's created, without getting too bogged down on tedious specifics. He stays focused on the characters which is what makes the whole thing work. I recently read End of an Era by Robert J. Sawyer and I found Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen to be a much better book on pretty much every level.
If I had a gripe with this book it's that it struggles to decide who the story is about at times. You can see this in the overly long title "Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen". It's about the groom right? Or is it about the Tyrannosaur Queen getting a groom? This leads to an unfortunate moment in the ending where the author has to choose which character gets to have the better end to their character arc, and I'm not entirely sure he chose correctly. That said, it's a minor gripe. I'm going to have to read more of this author's stuff because if he can pull this off he's either super lucky or extremely talented.
Finally the title. It's just too long. It's a shame this book wasn't called Tyrannosaur Queen, or Forest of the Tyrannosaur, or something else a bit shorter and snappier that didn't sound like it was desperate to be porno. I feel like I'll have trouble talking people into reading it based on the title alone. But I will try, and you should too. It's a lot of fun.
A surprisingly fun dinosaur time travel adventure full of cavemen, medieval soldiers, and dinosaurs. Somehow Daniel M. Benson has managed to create a plausible scenario that involves all of those. I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks there are not enough books with dinosaurs in them.
The Long Answer
This book was a total surprise. I looked into it because of all the good reviews, and it was only $1 on Amazon, so I figured why not.
Well, let me tell you, it was worth every penny and more. Given the title I was kind of expecting some kind of trashy pornographic time travel romp where someone is captured by a caveman and maybe gets all Stockholm syndrome on them. Thankfully that isn't what this book is. Yes, someone gets captured by a caveman, but there's so much more going on.
The book is told from the viewpoints of four different characters. Each character has a distinct voice so you're never confused as to who's chapter you're reading. I've seen much more established authors mess this up, so I'm very impressed. The characters are all well rounded, believable, and most importantly they are likable.
The author does an excellent job at giving us just enough information so that we believe the universe he's created, without getting too bogged down on tedious specifics. He stays focused on the characters which is what makes the whole thing work. I recently read End of an Era by Robert J. Sawyer and I found Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen to be a much better book on pretty much every level.
If I had a gripe with this book it's that it struggles to decide who the story is about at times. You can see this in the overly long title "Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen". It's about the groom right? Or is it about the Tyrannosaur Queen getting a groom? This leads to an unfortunate moment in the ending where the author has to choose which character gets to have the better end to their character arc, and I'm not entirely sure he chose correctly. That said, it's a minor gripe. I'm going to have to read more of this author's stuff because if he can pull this off he's either super lucky or extremely talented.
Finally the title. It's just too long. It's a shame this book wasn't called Tyrannosaur Queen, or Forest of the Tyrannosaur, or something else a bit shorter and snappier that didn't sound like it was desperate to be porno. I feel like I'll have trouble talking people into reading it based on the title alone. But I will try, and you should too. It's a lot of fun.
December 31, 2016
Trals is an ex-slave warrior determined to destroy the Slaver civilization that killed his family and ruined his childhood. When a time-traveling ex-soldier and her marvellous technology drop into his world, she could be the answer to his prayers. Unfortunately, she came with a paleobotanist, who has been captured by a Slaver princess. He seems to be the answer to her prayers, because she’s sworn to destroy the ex-lover who spurned her: Trals Scarback himself.
A book with the title Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen makes certain promises to its readers. We expect gore-covered barbarians chopping folks in half, furious dinosaurs charging out of the bushes, and sweaty, slightly kinky (but not unwholesomely explicit) barbarian sex. This book delivers that well, but with more intelligence than its predecessors in the genre. The correct dinosaur species are covered with feathers and the local ecosystem is correctly described. The triceratops-herding society Trals lives in is also complex and in many ways more advanced than the Slavers who oppress them.
Bensen has also made an unusual choice in that he provides no plot device to magically translate the triceratops-herder, Slaver, and English languages. This could slow down the narrative badly, but in fact, it drives much of the personal interaction in an entertaining way. My favourite line in the novel is this: "Edmontosaurs, I believe you call them. Duck-billed dinosaurs. Named after the creature the Ethlek call an 'edmontosaur-billed bird'." But I promise not all the lines are that hard to parse. This story is primarily an adventure, and so the narrative is likewise fast-paced.
If you spent a large part of your teens reading inappropriately for your age in the sci-fi section of the library and feel nostalgic for some straight-up, easy-to-read time-travel-dinosaur-barbarian adventure, I can absolutely recommend this book. (In the interests of disclosure, I received an ARC of this book.)
A book with the title Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen makes certain promises to its readers. We expect gore-covered barbarians chopping folks in half, furious dinosaurs charging out of the bushes, and sweaty, slightly kinky (but not unwholesomely explicit) barbarian sex. This book delivers that well, but with more intelligence than its predecessors in the genre. The correct dinosaur species are covered with feathers and the local ecosystem is correctly described. The triceratops-herding society Trals lives in is also complex and in many ways more advanced than the Slavers who oppress them.
Bensen has also made an unusual choice in that he provides no plot device to magically translate the triceratops-herder, Slaver, and English languages. This could slow down the narrative badly, but in fact, it drives much of the personal interaction in an entertaining way. My favourite line in the novel is this: "Edmontosaurs, I believe you call them. Duck-billed dinosaurs. Named after the creature the Ethlek call an 'edmontosaur-billed bird'." But I promise not all the lines are that hard to parse. This story is primarily an adventure, and so the narrative is likewise fast-paced.
If you spent a large part of your teens reading inappropriately for your age in the sci-fi section of the library and feel nostalgic for some straight-up, easy-to-read time-travel-dinosaur-barbarian adventure, I can absolutely recommend this book. (In the interests of disclosure, I received an ARC of this book.)
December 30, 2015
Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen is the kind of book that hits the ground running and doesn’t stop. It’s a time-travel romance that follows a team of paleontologists led by hard-bitten veteran Andrea Herrera. They dip into the distant past to research Mesozoic flora and fauna, but their trip is quickly interrupted by a horde of dinosaur-riding barbarians.
If that doesn’t sound like the start of a fun read, I don’t know what does.
I read Groom on vacation and found it the perfect book for a getaway—fun, funny, and fast-paced. The main characters are a world-weary commando who’s lost her taste for civilian life (and civilian bureaucracy) and a barbarian philosopher who’s stuck playing politics when all he wants to do is kill. The intelligence and charisma of both characters comes through in the witty, observant narrative voice.
Vague, minor spoilers below.
There’s a lot to like about Groom, and much of it comes through in the characters. Types that could have come across as stock—the burnt-out veteran, the bloodthirsty barbarian, the spoiled princess—instead have rich characterizations and deep inner lives. Their evolutions are an intrigue and a delight to follow.
There is, perhaps, one noticeable exception—a character who goes Heart of Darkness a little quickly—but the complexity and nuance of the other characters more than makes up for it.
The story itself mingles the personal, intimate concerns of the main characters with the fate of the fictionalized Mesozoic societies they encounter. This does, however, raise my other gripe, which is a certain plot-relevant oversight in the construction of the powersuits that Andrea and her contemporaries wear. Still, it’s a minor concern, and if you set it aside, you’ve got a real treat of a book on your hands.
If that doesn’t sound like the start of a fun read, I don’t know what does.
I read Groom on vacation and found it the perfect book for a getaway—fun, funny, and fast-paced. The main characters are a world-weary commando who’s lost her taste for civilian life (and civilian bureaucracy) and a barbarian philosopher who’s stuck playing politics when all he wants to do is kill. The intelligence and charisma of both characters comes through in the witty, observant narrative voice.
Vague, minor spoilers below.
There’s a lot to like about Groom, and much of it comes through in the characters. Types that could have come across as stock—the burnt-out veteran, the bloodthirsty barbarian, the spoiled princess—instead have rich characterizations and deep inner lives. Their evolutions are an intrigue and a delight to follow.
There is, perhaps, one noticeable exception—a character who goes Heart of Darkness a little quickly—but the complexity and nuance of the other characters more than makes up for it.
The story itself mingles the personal, intimate concerns of the main characters with the fate of the fictionalized Mesozoic societies they encounter. This does, however, raise my other gripe, which is a certain plot-relevant oversight in the construction of the powersuits that Andrea and her contemporaries wear. Still, it’s a minor concern, and if you set it aside, you’ve got a real treat of a book on your hands.
January 5, 2017
This book explores domination/subordination in a light-hearted way, there is some truly brilliant dialogue, and it also teaches you about dinosaurs. It's not your typical rah-rah-brah testosterone fueled sci-fi, despite the pulpy cover. There is enough action to oversaturate a Michael Bay film, and there are cavemen and sexy princesses and high tech powersuits and, yes, a tyrannosaurus rex on a rampage during a stormy battle scene. And time travel. But come on, those things are all necessary to the story. They really are!
You know an author's got amazing talent when they can tie all of those elements together into a coherent story that's satisfying and fun to read.
You know an author's got amazing talent when they can tie all of those elements together into a coherent story that's satisfying and fun to read.
April 11, 2019
This book intrigued me with the concept of a time machine and trip back to the time when dinosaurs lived. I loved the twist of a parallel universe with people living alongside dinosaurs. The pictures the author included of the various dinosaurs was a nice touch that I enjoyed. I enjoyed some of the banter between the characters. Overall, an interesting story that I enjoyed.
February 8, 2024
I'm feeling strangely disappointed... I expected this to be awful, and it actually isn't. I was planning to have a chuckle over dreadful dialogue, dubious science and gross dino-porn, but turns out this was actually pretty competent.
Maybe my expectations say more than I'd like about my previous dino outings... 😆
Maybe my expectations say more than I'd like about my previous dino outings... 😆
February 22, 2024
Absolutely incredible book.
Very over the top action-packed writing about a time travelling expedition gone wrong and dinosaur mayhem. I started this with very low expectations, but ended up really enjoying it. This book is both hilarious and satisfying to read.
Very over the top action-packed writing about a time travelling expedition gone wrong and dinosaur mayhem. I started this with very low expectations, but ended up really enjoying it. This book is both hilarious and satisfying to read.
August 7, 2016
Inventive and exciting, the kind of book that the world needs more of. It has minor problems (typos, characterization), but the climax in particular was exciting and it was all just so much fun. Imagination plus research over dinosaurs equals awesome.
I was introduced to this book by Simon Roy's cover illustration. Bensen is now one of my fav dudes to follow online. Can't wait for his next book!
I was introduced to this book by Simon Roy's cover illustration. Bensen is now one of my fav dudes to follow online. Can't wait for his next book!
April 23, 2018
Full disclosure: the author gave me a free copy, but he thought I'd enjoy it and he was right.
Funny, clever, well researched this is a time-travel romance worth reading. Who doesn't want dinosaurs in their romance novels!
Funny, clever, well researched this is a time-travel romance worth reading. Who doesn't want dinosaurs in their romance novels!
April 28, 2025
OK. That was a lot of fun. Also funny in places. Not too funny, thank God. I hate it when authors throw in too many lame jokes. I almost gave this book 3 stars (actually 3 1/2 stars) because it started off a little rough, but once I got into it, the story just carried me along.
NOTE: I was given a free link to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I'll do my best but the author was clever enough to name the main character after my wife, Andrea Herrera. I am sure that was just a coincidence, but it made me smile nevertheless.
The story: The publisher's description is better than anything I could provide. I will add that this is a time travel story where a commercial/scientific expedition is taken into the past, but their equipment is not military quality. It has safeguards that prevent the scientists and their escorts from using their technology to kill people or animals unless those animals/people pose a real threat as judged by the onboard AI. The natives use this limitation to their advantage by acting non-threatening until they can get within range to exploit weaknesses in the suit. This allows Trals (rhymes with Charles) Scarback to get close to the expedition and capture the main character, Andrea Herrera.
Any problems with this story? There are a number of tricky issues with time travel that imply that time travel includes traveling in space. The author manages to address that issue correctly although he doesn't call much attention to it. Probably all for the best. Another problem/possibility with time travel is that one need not go back in time, but actually slip into a parallel universe where the so-called "past" developed in a different way.
Be sure to check out other stories that take on similar problems with time travel such as...
o Timeline by Michael Crichton which talks about time travel as slipping between parallel universes, and...
o "Just One Damned Thing After Another" by Jodi Taylor where the author talks about time travel as a form of space travel. This book is the first one in the series but I don't recall exactly which book in the series addresses space travel using a time travel machine, but the author does discuss it.
Any modesty issues? Yes. The F-word was used quite a bit although the use of vulgar language was gently criticized by one of the characters. Sex did occur, was a subject of discussion and was described in a little more detail than I am used to, but not out of bounds. Homosexual sex was also discussed as a possible alternative to male-female sex but was not described. It was also implied that women were in danger, sometimes deadly danger, in their relationships with men. The women seemed to see this as common, but also had ways of avoiding the worst of it.
The ending was anticipated well before it happened (in general) but was exciting nevertheless. Lots of action. I liked it a lot and helped to bring the rating up to 4.
I'll probably read this book again in the future.
NOTE: I was given a free link to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I'll do my best but the author was clever enough to name the main character after my wife, Andrea Herrera. I am sure that was just a coincidence, but it made me smile nevertheless.
The story: The publisher's description is better than anything I could provide. I will add that this is a time travel story where a commercial/scientific expedition is taken into the past, but their equipment is not military quality. It has safeguards that prevent the scientists and their escorts from using their technology to kill people or animals unless those animals/people pose a real threat as judged by the onboard AI. The natives use this limitation to their advantage by acting non-threatening until they can get within range to exploit weaknesses in the suit. This allows Trals (rhymes with Charles) Scarback to get close to the expedition and capture the main character, Andrea Herrera.
Any problems with this story? There are a number of tricky issues with time travel that imply that time travel includes traveling in space. The author manages to address that issue correctly although he doesn't call much attention to it. Probably all for the best. Another problem/possibility with time travel is that one need not go back in time, but actually slip into a parallel universe where the so-called "past" developed in a different way.
Be sure to check out other stories that take on similar problems with time travel such as...
o Timeline by Michael Crichton which talks about time travel as slipping between parallel universes, and...
o "Just One Damned Thing After Another" by Jodi Taylor where the author talks about time travel as a form of space travel. This book is the first one in the series but I don't recall exactly which book in the series addresses space travel using a time travel machine, but the author does discuss it.
Any modesty issues? Yes. The F-word was used quite a bit although the use of vulgar language was gently criticized by one of the characters. Sex did occur, was a subject of discussion and was described in a little more detail than I am used to, but not out of bounds. Homosexual sex was also discussed as a possible alternative to male-female sex but was not described. It was also implied that women were in danger, sometimes deadly danger, in their relationships with men. The women seemed to see this as common, but also had ways of avoiding the worst of it.
The ending was anticipated well before it happened (in general) but was exciting nevertheless. Lots of action. I liked it a lot and helped to bring the rating up to 4.
I'll probably read this book again in the future.
November 19, 2019
Note: I listened to an audio book.
This book is so bad I had to force myself to keep listening and I still only made it 31% of the way through. And I like time travel and dinosaur books. Let's start by saying that if your story depends on PhDs acting stupidly you better justify it. This author doesn't. It starts with the "lead PhD being unnecessarily rude to and generally belittling her security. All the PhDs panic repeatedly. I ask you, if you were putting together a team to go back in time to see dinosaurs would you pick easily panicked people?
So, first off, the author just ignores why this isn't an all military crew given the prospective dangers. Then we are told that everyone is given second rate powered armor even though the one military person on the crew knew that the face plate on this power armor wouldn't stand up to dinosaurs. Turns out the face plates can't stand up to a thrown spear either, but the armor's AI SOMEHOW DOESN'T KNOW THIS AND CONTINUALLY REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE ACTUAL THREATS AS THREATS??? In an amusing turn of events the ancient people learn that pretending to surrender disables the power armor. At least it is amusing until you actually think about it- given the author's approach people in power armor could be killed just by having one person go up to them and surrender while the rest kept fighting. The author repeatedly points out that this isn't military powered armor but then why does it have the surrender function and other programming applicable to military??? For that matter why does "non-military power armor" even exist????
The power armor is so bad that the one military person gets taken down twice while wearing it. She then is striped out of her armor and so essentially defenseless because all her training apparently is worthless even though two years of planning has gone into this trip. AND WHY IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO STRIP SOMEONE OUT OF POWER ARMOR (at least without some kind of medical override)???
AGAIN, why is there only one military person on this trip? All the PhDs were meant to do is take samples, so they could have just trained military personnel to do that.
Worse, a major plot point is that time travel is incredibly inaccurate being lucky to come within 5,000 years of its target. This makes no sense given the earth is rotating and moving through space therefore to even hit the earth, let along a specific spot on earth, time travel would have to be incredibly precise. The author, however, can't be bothered to think about his writing so he just throws major plot points like this out without bothering to make sense of them.
Bottom line: Not worth the read.
This book is so bad I had to force myself to keep listening and I still only made it 31% of the way through. And I like time travel and dinosaur books. Let's start by saying that if your story depends on PhDs acting stupidly you better justify it. This author doesn't. It starts with the "lead PhD being unnecessarily rude to and generally belittling her security. All the PhDs panic repeatedly. I ask you, if you were putting together a team to go back in time to see dinosaurs would you pick easily panicked people?
So, first off, the author just ignores why this isn't an all military crew given the prospective dangers. Then we are told that everyone is given second rate powered armor even though the one military person on the crew knew that the face plate on this power armor wouldn't stand up to dinosaurs. Turns out the face plates can't stand up to a thrown spear either, but the armor's AI SOMEHOW DOESN'T KNOW THIS AND CONTINUALLY REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE ACTUAL THREATS AS THREATS??? In an amusing turn of events the ancient people learn that pretending to surrender disables the power armor. At least it is amusing until you actually think about it- given the author's approach people in power armor could be killed just by having one person go up to them and surrender while the rest kept fighting. The author repeatedly points out that this isn't military powered armor but then why does it have the surrender function and other programming applicable to military??? For that matter why does "non-military power armor" even exist????
The power armor is so bad that the one military person gets taken down twice while wearing it. She then is striped out of her armor and so essentially defenseless because all her training apparently is worthless even though two years of planning has gone into this trip. AND WHY IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO STRIP SOMEONE OUT OF POWER ARMOR (at least without some kind of medical override)???
AGAIN, why is there only one military person on this trip? All the PhDs were meant to do is take samples, so they could have just trained military personnel to do that.
Worse, a major plot point is that time travel is incredibly inaccurate being lucky to come within 5,000 years of its target. This makes no sense given the earth is rotating and moving through space therefore to even hit the earth, let along a specific spot on earth, time travel would have to be incredibly precise. The author, however, can't be bothered to think about his writing so he just throws major plot points like this out without bothering to make sense of them.
Bottom line: Not worth the read.
December 13, 2024
WTAF lol. For a time-travelling dinosaur-related romance/adventure, this book has to be a 9.5 out of 10. (Sadly my rating system is forced to compare it to books that are not time-travelling dinosaur-related romance/adventure novels.)
March 30, 2016
A really fun, delightfully raucous adventure story. A team of scientists suffers a mishap with their time machine and discovers the Cretaceous period filled with tribes of human barbarians, the survivors of a time machine which crashed there some five thousand years before. Adventure and dinosaurs ensue.
However, the epilogue was terrible and nearly ruined the whole thing. Skip it unless you feel like hurting yourself.
However, the epilogue was terrible and nearly ruined the whole thing. Skip it unless you feel like hurting yourself.
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