The Dinosaur Princess

The Dinosaur Lords #3

by Victor Milán

With The Dinosaur Princess, we return to Paradise, Victor Milan’s fabulous alternate fantasy universe where humans from Earth were transported to a world where dinosaurs never became extinct.

It is a marvelous but dangerous place, a realm where knights ride these beasts in order to fight epic medieval battles, a place where magic is real.

The ancient gods who brought mankind to Paradise have returned to judge their human experiment. The Grey Angels, fabled ancient weapons of the gods, have come to rid the world of sin.

And if humans are deemed unworthy, they will be scourged from the face of Paradise.

Genres: Fantasy, Dinosaurs, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy

464 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2017

About the author

Victor Woodward Milán was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. In 1986 he won the Prometheus Award for Cybernetic Samurai. He has also written several shared universe works for the Forgotten Realms, Star Trek, and Wild Cards Universes. He has also written books under the pseudonyms Keith Jarrod, Richard Austin (Jove Books The Guardians series), Robert Baron (Jove Books Stormrider series), and S. L. Hunter (Steele series with Simon Hawke, who used the pen name J. D. Masters). He also wrote at least 9 novels under the "house name" of James Axler for the Harlequin Press/Gold Eagle Books Deathlands series & Outlanders series.

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

My rating is 2.5 stars.

The Dinosaur Princess is the third installment in Victor Milán’s The Dinosaur Lords epic fantasy series, which has been described by George R.R. Martin as “a cross between Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones.” And where the first two books delivered loads of dinosaurs at war with more than a little pulse-pounding action, this novel slows the pace down considerably, focusing on characterization, worldbuilding, and tons of political intrigue.

After the titanic struggle against the Grey Angels’ Crusade, Emperor Felipe of the Empire of Neuvaropa begins picking up the pieces, rewarding the heroes of the hour and punishing the turncoats. Even before the celebrations can end however, new tragedy strikes at the heart of the kingdom with the kidnapping of the Princess Montse from the palace itself!

Leading the frantic rescue effort is the newly christened Prince of the Empire Jaume dels Flors. He and his remaining knightly companions attempting to pick up the trail of the kidnappers and run them to ground before they can flee the continent aboard ship to parts unknown. Their search soon revealing that more than political intrigue is going on but also demonic machinations, as the magic of the legendary Fae is revealed!

With her beloved once again off on a mission, the newly restored Princess Melodía must brave the political intrigues at court and calm her father’s temper as other call for war to be declared to retrieve her sister. Melodía constantly battling her newfound disdain for the pompous royal court, her hatred for her rapist Duke Falk von Hornberg, and her fear of the subtle manipulations of Falk’s willy mother, Margrethe. All of it seemingly overwhelming her until an ancient family member returns to court, taking Melodía under her wing; this matriarch of the Delgado family one of the most devious, most ruthless politician to ever live upon Paradise!

Meanwhile, Rob Korrigan and Karyl Bogomirskiy are busy attempting to restore peace and order in the war-torn provinces over which they have become nobles. Their task complicated by their disdain for royalty and the leftover supports of the Grey Angels’ Crusade. And if that wasn’t problem enough, Karyl slowly begins to discover exactly who saved him in an earlier battle and why!

All of this basically means that this third volume of the series is a bridge story or a setup book. A chance for the author to slow down the pace, introduce new characters and new plots, as well as begin to build energy and tension for future events. And on many levels, The Dinosaur Princess does a masterfully job of accomplishing all of these things.

First, Victor Milán spends a great deal of time adding new depth to the world of Paradise. Readers finally able to explore the true nature and objectives of the Grey Angels, as well as become introduced to their enemies, the demonic Fae. There are even brief hints of an eternal war between the two taking place in another dimension. And in the mortal realm, the wide world of Paradise begins to come into further focus; other nations becoming more important to the narrative, as players from outside the Empire of Neuvaropa begin to appear, taking a part in the ongoing political schemes.

Second, our main characters get tons of development. The returning faces like Melodía, Karyl and Rob get the lion’s share of course, and since there is no war going on, that time is spent exploring their past and their present circumstances, developing them into more mature, well-formed people. But the author also finds plenty of pages to feature the two, new faces of the power struggle brewing in the Empire: Falk’s mother Margrethe and her Delgado counterpart Rosamaria. These two ruthless, cunning women quite the devious creatures, who are sure to fill future pages with murder, mayhem, and Game of Thrones-like manipulation.

With all that goodness though, The Dinosaur Princess fails to deliver in two other, very important areas. Failures which actually caused this tale to not quite live up to the previous novels in my eyes.

Probably the most agonizing of the missteps was the lack of dinosaurs. As I’ve said in every one of my previous reviews, dinosaur knights and their titanic battles is what sold me on reading this series to begin with and kept me coming back to it. Victor Milán able to vividly portray the immensity of these animals and the epic nature of their clash in battle to the point I had to read about them. But, unfortunately, this book just did not feature any of that. Dinosaurs curiously missing from the majority of this narrative.

Right behind the dinosaur extinction was the slow pacing. This has been an issue for me in all the previous novels: a tendency for nothing much to happen for chapter after chapter, but in those other books the author always livened things up a bit with a huge reveal or an epic battle. Here nothing terribly exciting happens. Certainly, we have the conclusion to Jaume’s rescue attempt and a frantic conclusion, but for whatever reason, neither of those excited me. Perhaps it was just the lack of dinosaurs, I’m not sure.

In summation, The Dinosaur Princess promised a more character focused story with Game of Thrones-like scheming, backstabbing, and royal mayhem mixed in with a great deal of exciting worldbuilding. Certainly, it delivers on these promise in many ways, evolving the characters and the world in many exciting ways, but in doing so, it failed to correct the pacing issues of previous installments and made the fatal mistake of underutilizing the dinosaurs and their knights. No doubt, I’ll pick up the next book in the series due to the tantalizing dreams of more dinosaur battles, but I can’t say I have very much optimism about the trajectory of the series at this point.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

[Mogsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/09/18/...

In the first book, The Dinosaur Lords, Victor Milán took my imagination by storm with Paradise, a land populated by dinosaurs and the medieval knights that rode them. While things slowed down a little in its sequel The Dinosaur Knights, I still had faith enough to grab the next book, because surely a premise this cool deserved a second chance. Sadly though, instead of picking up again, the plot has continued to lose its steam in this third installment, and I think maybe it’s time to face the hard truth that the honeymoon period between me and this series might be over.

The Dinosaur Princess begins with a kidnapping. With the confusion of the war and all parties still reeling from the revelation of the Grey Angels, the royal family’s enemies have struck the palace and stolen away Montserrat, the adored little sister of Princess Melodía. Taking it upon himself to rescue the girl, Melodía’s lover and the hero of the realm Prince Jaume dels Flors has gathered a team to go after the kidnappers before they can reach the coast and disappear. Luckily for everyone, Montserrat isn’t as helpless as many think she is. Using her language skills to eavesdrop and spy on her captors, the young teen has left an invaluable trail of clues for the Jaume to follow, and the rescue would have succeeded too, if not for an unexpected twist.

As another faction enters the fray, those already embroiled in the war have no idea what to make of the mystical implications behind this development. Some remain skeptical of Jaume’s account of what happened and as a result, both his and Melodía’s standing are damaged in the eyes of the court. This setback is the last thing the princess needs as she attempts to counsel her hot-tempered father, while those with questionable allegiances whisper dangerous sentiments in his ear and others scream loudly for blood and revenge. Meanwhile, dinosaur master Rob Korrigan and his friend the famed captain Karyl Bogomirskiy have their hands full trying to keep the people of the countryside calm and stave off any dissent. Becoming elevated to noble positions should have helped, but to no one’s surprise, it doesn’t.

This series has been described as Game of Thrones meets Jurassic Park, and while I found this to be a brilliant pitch for the first book, the comparison has become less appropriate for the sequels. We seem to be in a holding pattern right now, with the political intrigue having lost much of its attraction, and the pacing of the overall story arc has slowed to a crawl. Most discouraging of all, there has also been a decrease in the dinosaur action. Considering this is the main selling point of the series, this last issue might have been the most detrimental to my enjoyment.

I also feel we’ve lost sight of the main goal, somewhat. Princess Montserrat’s kidnapping smacked strongly of being a diversion, and sure enough, it served as a precursor to another bigger reveal. When so many other conflicts still in the air though, I wasn’t sure throwing a new bombshell like that into the mix was the right decision. The Dinosaur Knights already had the feel of a “bridge” book, and I was looking forward to some steps towards resolution in this third installment, not more interruptions or distractions to weigh down the storyline. All the exposition required to set up this new plot development only served to slow the pacing down some more, and although the author might have tried to offset this by injecting more shock value into the battle scenes and descriptions of scantily clad female characters, that just put me off even more.

With most books that don’t work for me though, I can still usually find a silver lining, and in this case, I loved the focus on Montserrat. While Melodía may be the star of the series, in my eyes her little sis has already surpassed her in many ways. To be honest, I was actually quite unimpressed by the main characters, their roles remaining in a holding pattern like so much else in this book (e.g. Rob and Karyl), though Melodía did have her moments towards the end, making up for the impotent rage she exhibited for most of the novel. A couple more new faces also join the cast, most notably the mercurial Margrethe and the crafty Rosamaria. I admit to being very curious to see where Milán will take the story with this pair of powerful, clashing personalities at court, and if I pick up the next book, these two women will be a big part of the reason.

At this point, I can’t say I’m as excited about this series as I was before, but there’s still probably time for things to turn around, especially now that we’ve spent two books setting up the groundwork for the eventual showdown between the great houses of Paradise, the Grey Angels, and now the newly introduced faction. The slowness along with the lack of any meaningful development in the story made this book a struggle to get through, but if we get more dinosaur action and plot progress in the next one, I could be tempted to read on.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for The Dinosaur Lords here
Review for The Dinosaur Knights here

So this book put me in a bit of a bind. Qualitatively it is on the level with the previous two books: serviceable prose, fascinating world, knights on dinosaurs, decent enough characters. But it just didn't satisfy me in the same way the first two books did. Then it struck me: this book suffers from secondbookitis even though it was the third book.

Secondbookitis, to put it briefly, is where the book falls between the first and last installment in a trilogy (though it can apply to any book in a series) where it serves more as a set up and bridge to the next installment instead of being able to stand on its own merits. The story clearly moves towards some destination, but it is a destination in another book so the story feels sort of meandering.

And that was exactly the problem with The Dinosaur Princess. All of the new, interesting things the book introduced (the neighboring Empires, more exploration of the Fae and Grey Angels histories, Imperial intrigues) seemed to be there to set up for much bigger clashes and conflicts in the next story. Where as the previous two books had some grand battle to end them this book's ending felt like it just fizzled. there was certainly character development and some story advancement but it felt more like the setting of the table instead of the meal itself.

I am still going to continue the series because there are a lot of interesting seeds and ideas that have been planted (plus: knights on dinosaurs) but this was by far the weakest installment to date. I do hold out hope the next book will be markedly better because of all the heavy lifting this book did for it. I guess stay tuned for future revelations?

Here is Chapter 2 from Tor.

[Nick Borrelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Click here for official review posted on Fresh Fiction:

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...

[Lou]

Dinosaurs? Heck, yes please. Sign me up.

[Liviu · Rating 3 out of 5]

after a superb second volume which made me reconsider the series, this was disappointing - maybe it will become more interesting when volume 4 will be released as this one is to a large extent a pass the time book without any real resolutions and introducing more story-lines in the series

[David Ivory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. Unputdownable as the climax was reached.

The strongest element of the whole series is the characters, they hold true to themselves throughout and their actions alone drive the plot. And the dinosaurs - the way he imbues whole species with different natures that are unique and obvious while being wholly original. Of course this is how dinosaurs would be like - somewhat bird-like, but with a new layer overlaid. I'll never see dinosaurs any other way now.

The only flaw? That this is the last. Ah Victor if only you were able to finish the full tale.

[Loren C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok so it didn't help that it turns out this is #3 in a series, which was not made clear by the cover or by how my library had it filed, but this book was terrible to me. I didn't get more than 20 minutes in before I'd read about two unnecessarily detailed dongs/balls, and there were basically no dinosaurs. If I wanted to read about people, I would have checked out a book just called The Princess. DNF

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, but I feel like I'm left hanging at the end. The author passed away and there was no conclusion to the series. I'm hoping someone takes up the mantle to finish it.

[Karine Darnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayant attendu plusieurs années que ce troisième tome soit traduit, j’ai finalement sauté le pas et procurer la version originale. Malheureusement comme l’auteur est décédé avant d’avoir pu écrire la fin, nous n’aurons jamais le dénouement de cette superbe série.
Dans ce troisième tome, l’histoire est moins axée sur l’action et les combats et plus sur la politique de cet univers. On en apprend un peu plus sur Aphrodite et les Anges gris et leurs intentions respectives. On retrouve Karyl toujours aussi classe et impressionnant, Rob le maître Dinosaure, La princesse Melodia, Jaume et bien d’autres. On fait aussi rapidement la connaissance de Montse la petite sœur de Melodia qui aurait eu un rôle à jouer dans les tomes manquants.
J’aime toujours autant les détails amenés par l’auteur sur son univers, la culture et les mœurs de ce monde. J’adore toujours autant ce mélange Fantasy et Dinosaures. À aucun instant, je me suis dit que cela était bizarre.
Concernant l’histoire, les complots se mettent en place, certains jouent leurs cartes pour évincer d’autres. Mais cela ne se passe pas forcément comme on l’espère. L’action revient dans la dernière partie et redonne un coup de fouet au récit.
Pour conclure, ce tome 3 est aussi plaisant que les deux premiers malgré un rythme plus lent. J’ai été ravie de retrouver cet univers et ces personnages forts. Je suis cependant triste car la disparition de l’auteur ne me permettra pas de connaître les actions de ceux-ci et la fin de cette série originale et unique qui mérite plus d’attention.
https://la-bibliotheque-du-labyrinthe...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT?!? TOR ENDED IT LIKE THAT?!?!?!

#Releasethelast3books

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a “strange” book. I liked it but was disappointed with it. I keep expecting these books to have more dinosaurs in them (I mean, the name says Dinosaur This and Dinosaur That, leading the reader to believe there will be more dinosaurs in it that actually appear). The character development is dreadful; some characters who actually developed a bit in the prior book regress in this one. The book seemed to be populated by morons; I kept finding myself asking “how are these people in charge? How do these other people remain “lords” of any kind?” Not only that, but not much really happens in this book, to be honest (granted, when the action scenes do occur, they are very well done). There is some “action” in it, but not as much as I would like there to have been. The book is mostly dialogue and people wringing their hands over their inability to make any kind of decisions of substance while allowing villains to get away scot free as well as some “key characters” constantly blubbering and crying instead of showing the strength of character that was developed in the prior two books.

This book continues the author’s errors throughout the book (just as in the first two). Most of them are still punctuation errors (and mostly involving the breaking up of lines of dialogue with misapplied quotation marks). There are also rare moments were words are either not included in sentences or what seems to be the wrong word. There as a ‘bad moment’ where Melodía was reading a letter and the author had the lines of the letter in italics. The ‘bad moment’ was that the author then inserted Melodía’s thoughts as well as general descriptive lines from the story itself (i.e. – describing what Melodía was doing at that moment) into the letter, causing a moment of consternation as Melodía became a part of the letter instead of reading it to herself (220). You would think an editor would have done a better job catching an error like that, let alone the smaller/minor errors that occurred throughout the book.

This book maintains the depravity from the first two books, but at least the author does not get nearly as graphic as he does in the first two books regarding the level of depravity. It is a bit more general in nature. On page 120, it is mentioned that there is artwork in Margrethe’s bedroom showing bestiality between “naked nymphs” and nosehorn bulls (some kind of Ceratopsian). Later in the book, there is more artwork described involving bestiality (214). This time, it is between humans and “horrors” this time consisting of pictures of not just Deinonychus but other dinosaurs raping humans. Seriously. As much as I wanted to ask, “What is wrong with these people?”, the correct question would be to ask, “What is wrong with the author?” There is a disturbing moment, too, where the author describes Margrethe’s nude body right before she tells her son to come over and give her an appropriate kiss (121). It’s just a gross moment. There’s also some oral sex (between Jaume and the commander of an opposing group of soldiers and then later with the Faerie queen violating Karyl while he’s sleeping). The worst had to involve the bestiality, then the implications of incest.

Magic is used to a much greater extent in this book, and to greater effect. It is used primarily in the beginning to assist Montse’s kidnappers, especially 194-199. It also appears at the end, as the Fae help Karyl and Rob flee through the city after escaping the walls of the Imperial Palace.

Regarding the supernatural beings that appear, Aphrodite continues to make random appearances throughout the book to visit with Karyl about whatever strikes her fancy as being important. Queen Uma of the Fae shows up (225-228) and spends the rest of the book trying to get Karyl to join forces with her, as she believes he owes her “something” for how she saved his life and “restored” him to broken health and gifted him his amazing sword. We also learn a bit more about what happened to Karyl between his falling off the three-hundred-foot cliff and his appearing as a beggar months later, about what the Fae did to him.

The book actually begins with the Grey Angel Uriel visiting his “brother,” Raguel, in Raguel’s “domain.” Raguel has flutes in his arms (or armor). Thinking at first “flutes” meant the musical instrument, it reminded me of the description of the King of Tyre in the Book of Ezekiel. Then, I got to wondering if it referred to him wearing armor with some kind of design, so I looked it up online to learn that “fluting” is indeed a design used in making armor to increase its overall strength without making it “thicker;” the armor is “ridged” and the “ridges” allow energy to be absorbed and transferred better than “flat” armor. Aphrodite appears in Raguel’s domain, next, followed by Gabriel (a female Grey Angel). Gabriel then appears before the Emperor Felipe at the end of the book.

Two of the Grey Angels have names of two archangels mentioned in the Christian Bible. There is Gabriel, and then the Grey Angels’ king, King Michael. King Michael is the “most important” Grey Angel, and Gabriel is not too far behind King Michael in terms of importance. On a side note, somehow Margrethe knows that Uriel is Emperor Felipe’s “confessor,” and she also has some kind of “ancient Artifact” that immediately grabs his attention the first time she visits him (211).

The best part of the book has to be chapters 41-50 involving Karyl’s and Rob’s escape from assassins and the Imperial Palace, lest they be framed for crimes they did not commit. The next best part is chapter 37 and involves Karyl. He visits the Imperial Palace to explain why he believes going to war with a rival empire on the other side of the continent is a bad idea. The author did an excellent job at making the ladies and lords who wished to go to war look like fools; I loved how Karyl did not have to do anything to make them look foolish, either, other than ask pointed questions. Margrethe, Duke Faulk’s mother, who needs to be fed to some carnivore, makes a complete fool out of herself. It was precious as her arrogance got ahead of her common sense and failed to stop her mouth in time to avoid her own trap. I felt Karyl was in rare form in both of these moments, be it verbally sparring with idiots who have no idea or concept about what they are talking about or physically as he was fighting for his life in a running battle with a bunch of assassins through the castle.

Melodía was so annoying in this book! After her “character growth” in the second book, I could not believe how useless Melodía turned out to be in this book! She constantly cries! For nearly the first half of the book, it seems like any “scene” in which she is in ends with her crying and feeling useless and depressed and alienated! It is so frustrating because she is so cursed useless! Instead of truly building upon what she did in the second book and catapulting her forward into more character growth, the author has her slowly revert to the useless prop she was in the first book, only she now knows what she is capable of vis-à-vis the second book, which causes her greater grief and paralysis as she fails to see what she is capable of doing within the confines of the Imperial Palace.

Not only that, but I wish she would either just castrate Duke Faulk or gut him and get it over with! The author has her continually “freezing” and whining internally about how she can’t possibly tell her father or her lover/betrothed how this Northerner violated her by anally raping her! She says early on that she refuses to be a victim to what he did to her, but then she remains a victim! It’s so freaking annoying! Between the “palace intrigue,” her constant crying and paralysis, and her inability to use the brain she clearly developed and used in the second book, she’s practically worthless as a character. It takes her multiply-great grandmother to enter the fray and save the day for Melodía! It’s ridiculous! Not only that, but the title of the book probably comes from Princess Melodía learning how to not just ride a dinosaur but excel at it, learning in a few short weeks what most knights cannot learn in several months of training! After she begins training with some other “master” per her grandmother’s instructions, she actually becomes interesting again. At least she used a dinosaur to great effect to help enable Karyl and Rob to escape!

Not only that, but Rob Corrigan is also just as useless as she is, if not worse, for practically the entire book. I almost wish he had been killed by the end of the second book. He does nothing but drink and complain and become besotted with jealousy about Karyl training a young woman before plotting with some of Karyl’s “mortal enemies” to “kidnap” Karyl for his own “best interests.” He refuses to recognize that he has new responsibilities now, to the Emperor, and he is failing in his duties because of his moping about because he feels he has lost his best friend. What does he do? He continually tries to drink himself into a drunken stupor. Not only that, but instead of telling anybody that the Emperor’s “confessor” is a Grey Angel, he keeps that knowledge to himself for nearly the whole book! Why would he not have told Karyl, his best friend, who probably would have been the only one who believed him?!? He assumes the worst of his best friend regarding the Fae and tries to set up a “trap” to have Karyl put somewhere “safe” for his own good until he comes to his senses. Unfortunately for Rob, he fails to realize that his betraying his friend like he is supposed to do is a trap intended to kill both Karyl and Rob. I think I ‘hated’ his character more than Melodía’s for its inability to grow after the events of the first two books. He was a complete waste of space, other than to show more growth in Karyl’s character (as at the end, when Rob asks Karyl why Karyl forgave him and did not kill Rob for his betrayal, Karyl says that he does not have many friends, let alone friends who are alive, so he’d rather forgive Rob and keep his friendship rather than lose another friend (paraphrased). I mean, Rob does not even show any interest in copulating with attractive women, the author has messed up his character so badly!

Overall, I liked this book more than the second one. However, it really felt like the author was trying too hard when it came to the “palace/royal intrigue.” I mean, why wouldn’t the Emperor have sent scores of soldiers scouring the countryside looking for the kidnappers of his youngest daughter when he was alerted to her being taken? Jaume found her kidnappers rather quickly, so it made zero sense for him to have done as little as he did, which was prohibiting others from looking for his missing daughter. Why didn’t the Emperor give the support that was needed? He should have had the “sympathy support,” if nothing else, considering how Montse was so beloved by practically everybody. I was really wishing the author would have had some of the nobles and lords killed off, even if accidentally, by the assassins throughout the story. I was still disappointed by it, though, because it felt like it was some kind of “holding pattern” for future stories that may or may not be printed (as Tor apparently did not purchase the latter three stories at the same time it purchased the first three).

I did find out that the author had originally written three “huge, 250,000-word” books but was encouraged to cut them in half, making six books (as described at https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-inter...). As this book ends on essentially a “cliff-hanger,” that really sucks almighty. Hopefully Tor does decide to publish them so that The Ballad Of Karyl’s Last Ride can be completed. In any case, I am done with the series (for now, until if and when the rest of it is published). It turned out to be more of a disappointment than I expect it to be, sadly, and I am not sure I can say I am glad I took a chance on reading it.

[Anthony Solometo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book and it’s a fun story but the lack of conclusion is really frustrating. This book is primarily set up for a 4th book that was never written and had I known I would’ve stopped at book 2.

Fun story but not know how this all ends is why this is only getting a 3 from me.

[S. Policar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew by the end of book two and was certain by the time I reached the last ten chapters of this book that this was never meant to be the end of this series.
As much as I've loved reading these three books, I almost wish I hadn't. This story isn't finished and it unfortunately never will be since Mr. Milan passed away in 2018. We are left with a cliffhanger ending, so many questions that will never be answered, and a set of quests that our heroes will never finish.
I still give this 5 of 5 paws because this story and it's inability to tell its conclusion make this a series and a story readers will think about for a long time to come.
I hope Mr. Milan is in the afterlife riding a tyrant as loyal and brave as Karyl's beloved Shiraa like the creator of a world as amazing as Aphrodite Terra deserves.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dinosaur Princess (The Dinosaur Lords, #3)
by Victor Milán
I am happy to finally review this book. I have been waiting for my Shirra to come to the peace with her beloved “Mother” Karl. Victor Milan just sets us fans up for the next three books, that I hope Tor allows to come to print very soon. The Dinosaur Lords is an addictive storyline with characters like the strong little Montse, her older and alluringly beautiful sister Melodia, and the striking love interest Jaume. Surprisingly the series has been taken over by Shirra and Karl where the fans love seeing this pair in action. This book does not disappoint the fans of this beloved character as she has a dynamic role in the book. Dinosaur Princess focuses on the political and social conflicts affected by the end of the Grey Angel Crusade. With the dramatic end of the Crusade literally in the jaws of the fans beloved Shirra. The Emperor has to pardon, those characters he previously thought were in rebellion, Jaume, Karl and Rob for their aid and help ending the Crusade. Much to Melodia’s regret to accept those pardons the Emperor unknowingly pardons Duke Falk, the evil scheming, rapist who is in deep with ploys to destroy the Empire. Melodia in the pages of Dinosaur Princess learns skills that will enable her to stand up for her empire, herself and her friends interest. She makes connections to an ancient and wise advisor, learns new physical and psychological skills that will enable her to find forgiveness, gratitude and personal strength. With all her positive improvements the problems facing her and the Empire are mounting as the enemies are coming out of the woodwork. With more drama, and magical and political prowess, Victor Milan sets up the next three books in Dinosaur Princess.

[Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victor Milán's "The Dinosaur Lords" series comes to a rip-roaring conclusion.
In the aftermath of the failed Grey Angel Crusade, Melodia's little sister Montse is abducted by agents from the Trebizon Empire, a powerful seafaring nation to the east of Nuevaropa. Falk's conniving mother Margarethe arrives at court to work her wiles against the Emperor, while Melodia's grandmother comes to school her in the art of intrigue.

Despite the failure of Raguel, the Grey Angels are still interested in destroying humanity. Their ancient enemies, the Fae, have also taken an interest in the course of events, and humans are merely pawns in the great game.

I loved this book, as I have enjoyed all of this series. This installment delivers on the promise of the earlier books, placing the characters in ever more intricate trouble. Something told me that the story would not resolve itself within the confines of this volume, but that is not a criticism. I eagerly await the next series, though I understand that we may have to wait awhile. Mr Milán has another series in the works, set in a different setting.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 1 out of 5]

(ελληνική κριτική λίγο χαμηλότερα)

If you were expecting an epic conclusion to a series featuring “dino-knights”, I’m afraid The Dinosaur Princess delivers the literary equivalent of anticipating a Tyrannosaurus and receiving… a pigeon in a helmet.
🦕 Where are the dinosaurs?
By the third book, the supposed stars — the dinosaurs — have been demoted to extras in their own production. Were it not for their presence on the cover, one might assume they’d gotten lost backstage, thumbing through a mislaid script.
🛡️ Political intrigue of the soap opera variety
Milán sets out to craft a Game of Thrones with dinosaurs, but ends up with Days of Our Lives... covered in scales. The characters pontificate endlessly, yet possess the depth of a shallow groove on a vinyl record. None stand out; none inspire interest.
💤 Plot? What plot?
The narrative lumbers along like a wounded triceratops. More time is spent recounting who slept with whom and what hazy trauma the princess half-remembers (typically her violent assault from the first book), than depicting anything remotely epic. The supposed central kidnapping? Quickly forgotten amidst dialogues that read as though scribbled by drunks in a tavern.
☠️ The ending that never came
And the final twist? The author died before completing the series. Not only are you reading an unfinished mess, but you do so knowing it will remain forever incomplete. Assuming it was ever going anywhere to begin with — which, frankly, it wasn’t.

In summary:
The Dinosaur Lords may have opened with promise — something bold, something unique. The Dinosaur Princess, however, is where those promises drowned in a swamp of meandering dialogue, sidelined dinosaurs, and action doled out with an eyedropper. If you're after dinosaurs in fantasy, look elsewhere. If you're curious how a series deflates like a forgotten party balloon, this is your case study.
Frankly, it should never have been published.



Αν περίμενες επικό κλείσιμο σε μια σειρά με "δείνο-ιππότες", λυπάμαι, αλλά το “The Dinosaur Princess” είναι σαν να περίμενες Τυραννόσαυρο και σου ήρθε... περιστέρι με κράνος.

🦕 Πού είναι οι δεινόσαυροι;
Τρίτο βιβλίο, και οι δεινόσαυροι – οι υποτιθέμενοι πρωταγωνιστές – είναι… κομπάρσοι σε δική τους παράσταση. Αν δεν ήταν στο εξώφυλλο, θα νόμιζες πως χάθηκαν κάπου στο παρασκήνιο ψάχνοντας το σενάριο.

🛡️ Πολιτική ίντριγκα επιπέδου σαπουνόπερας
Ο Milán προσπαθεί να χτίσει «Game of Thrones» με δεινόσαυρους, αλλά αυτό που βγαίνει είναι «Days of Our Lives»... με λέπια. Οι χαρακτήρες πετάνε αμπελοφιλοσοφίες, αλλά δυστυχώς δεν έχουν το βάθος ούτε χαρακιάς σε δίσκο βινυλίου. Κανείς δεν ξεχωρίζει, κανείς δεν σε ενδισφέρει.

💤 Πλοκή; Ποια πλοκή;
Η ιστορία σέρνεται σαν πληγωμένος τρικεράτοπας. Πιο πολλή ώρα διαβάζεις για το ποιος κοιμήθηκε με ποιον και ποια φάση μισοθυμάται η πριγκίπισσα (συνήθως τον παρά φύση βιασμό της στο πρώτο βιβλίο), παρά βλέπεις οτιδήποτε επικό. Η απαγωγή που υποτίθεται κινεί τα νήματα; Ξεχνιέται γρήγορα πίσω από διαλόγους που μοιάζουν να γράφτηκαν από μεθυσμένους σε ταβέρνα.

☠️ Το φινάλε που δεν ήρθε ποτέ
Μιλάμε για κερασάκι μεγέθους τούρτας: Ο συγγραφέας ΠΕΘΑΝΕ πριν τελειώσει τη σειρά. Άρα όχι μόνο διαβάζεις μια ατελή μούργα, αλλά ξέρεις κιόλας πως ποτέ δεν θα δεις που το πήγαινε. Αν το πήγαινε κάπου. Που μάλλον δεν.

Συνοψίζοντας:
Αν το The Dinosaur Lords ξεκίνησε με υποσχέσεις για κάτι μοναδικό, το The Dinosaur Princess είναι το σημείο όπου αυτές οι υποσχέσεις πνίγηκαν σε βάλτο διαλόγων, ξεχασμένων δεινοσαύρων και δράσης με το σταγονόμετρο. Αν θέλεις δεινόσαυρους σε φαντασία, ψάξε αλλού. Αν θες να δεις πώς μοιάζει μια σειρά να ξεφουσκώνει σαν ξεχασμένο μπαλόνι, διάβασέ το.
Κανονικά δεν θα έπρεπε καν να έχει εκδοθεί.

[Marc Jentzsch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came back for the abuse this book heaps upon its reader at every turn. I did so willingly and with hope that this book would be the one that lifted the chauvinist idiocy and gave us more dinosaurs, more fantasy, and more fun. Alas, I was to be disappointed.

First, let's just talk about the worst part of the book: Melodia, the titular Dinosaur Princess. If you have even a modicum of imagination you can see why the book is named this and it has naught to do with its most superficial reading. Yes, Melodia rides a dinosaur. But before we get there, what does Melodia do?

She cries. At the end of EVERY STUPID SCENE she cries. She is portrayed as having grown not at all from her time as a military officer and war hero in the last book where she fought dinosaurs from horseback and lived to tell the tale. That badassery was jettisoned almost immediately so that we can see how distraught she is at the fate of ANOTHER dinosaur princess (the more superficially titled sort, but ultimately, the better character), her little sister. Instead of advocating for herself she needs to be rescued again only this time by grandma where she continues to be a blubbering moron instead of the amazing and fun character she could be.

No, this book settles on its haunches and gives us more dinosaurs, but dinosaurs that defy the laws of physics, dinosaurs that exist almost solely as an afterthought. This book gives us more female POV page-count, but spends it almost entirely on their failures or on their sobbing fits. This book gives us a frantic chase to rescue a kidnapped child only to have the entire narrative thread disappear as if it never was. In the process it peels back the skin to show us a political situation that is entirely ignored, but which if used, would have done wonders for the story.

I get that Melodia is traumatized and damaged by her rape and the abduction of her sister and feeling in over her head, but there is no progress, only a deus ex machina that makes her even the least bit tolerable. It just comes too late to matter.

The book lacks the gonzo fun of the Rose Sea, the gravitas of the Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire - as well as their horror - and it lacks in delivering dinosaurs except as the most superficial of background elements.

The action scenes are stilted and un-fun. The dinosaurs are presented clinically. The homo-eroticism reads like the heter0-eroticism that came earlier, which is to say, clumsily. Intriguing characters are mostly dead now leaving us only with the bland ones (Montse excepted, but there is so little of her). There is so much potential here and ALL of it feels wasted.

I can't finish it and I have less than 20% of the book to go. I know I will finish it eventually, probably soon, but I am taking a break to read Nancy Drew. I need a palate cleanser before I finish. I am 99% positive that nothing that remains in this book will change my opinion of it, but I'll come back if it does.

[Jordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok so i am going to have to DNF this book. I may pick it up later to finish as it is the third in a trilogy and I hate to leave ir unfashionable. Who knows it may get better. I am going to review the series as a whole. In total I would give the whole series a 3.25 out of 5. First book really excited for the idea of a medieval setting with dinosaurs which felt very flat. I absolutely hate the George R.R Martin quote on the front: "Game of Thrones but with dinosaurs." Sounds awesome right. But no its fairly boring, the intrigue is fairly brand, and ots rather irritating hearing dinosaurs referred by their nicknames ex: Matador - Allosaurus or Fatty - Protoceratops. It gets confusing in the first book hearing one name then same dinosaur referred in the next chapter by a different name. It just feels inconsistent. The world building for this book seems substantial but thats all it is. Its for show and is rather empty. There are multiple languages like Spanol, Aynglssh, Frances, Slavonic but yet everyone can understand each other. There are zero language barriers. The second book starts off the same but with a slightly better beat. Its about 60% through the book where it takes off. There are characters called Grey Angels that finally show their hand and the book picks up with a slightly Resident Evil 4 vibe and its awesome. The ending though is disappointing. Its like Victor Milan found is niche and then completely fumbles it. By the end no major character dies because you know plot armor and the third book doesn't start off much better with a kidnapping. This series only makes it over 3 because of the whole horde aspect in second book.

[The Critiquing Chemist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved stepping back into this delightfully detailed world that in many aspects is medieval based with the added twist of incorporating dinosaurs into the fray. Unfortunately, large swaths of this novel did suffer from the proverbial middle book slump in a series where our beloved key characters are moved about similar to that of pawns in preparation for bigger and better battles to come in later books. With that being said, the long stretches of, let’s call it character growth, did not deter from my enjoyment of this book as new characters were introduced and we continued to learn more regarding this unique literary realm in exquisite detail, specifically the mysterious Grey Angels and Fae. To a certain extent, I’m beginning to think that Milan is relying a bit heavily on the sexual shock factor, especially with regard to Falk’s conniving mother. Overall, while The Dinosaur Princess was less action packed than it’s predecessor, it laid significant groundwork both developing characters and the literary realm that the following novels will continue to grow from, especially after the shocking plot twist that Milan left us with! I, for one, am left in a state of curious, suspense as to the fate of Nuevaropa and the many human pawns at play in the ancient battle between Grey Angels and the Fae.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

It maintained being a frustrating experience in that there were a lot of things I really disliked among the many things I like. Still, it managed to be interested enough that I want to know what happens next. Of course, due to the author's passing that will likely never happen.

One of the main flaws (of which there are many) is that the human conflict is way more interesting than the supernatural conflict to the point where I wish the supernatural shit wasn't there.

You have the "gray angels" who are beings put there by the creator to maintain equilibrium. To do this they decide they either must kill all humans, or kill MOST humans. Why did they come to this decision. Who knows, they are alien and unknowable.

Of course there is a second supernatural faction, the fae. They want to kill all the humans and the gray angels and ultimately the earth itself. Why? Who knows, they are alien unknowable.

The only slightly interesting supernatural entity is Aphrodite who is basically a "mother earth" style entity who is interested in humans because they are part of existence.

If I could give this a 2.5 star I would. Generously I round up because if there was a book 4 I would read it.

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun entry in the Paradise series with lots of action and plot developments that keep things moving nicely. There's a pretend and a real Grey Angel Crusade involving Roy and Karyl, Melodia, and eventually the Emperor and Falk. Later, Falk's mother comes to the capital to ingratiate herself with the Emperor and draws the matron of the Emperor's family to oppose her. There's more on the Angels and Creators and the Fae in the background and actively interfering with the humans. Best new character is Montse, the younger daughter of the Emperor, who is kidnapped and taken off to a neighboring Empire but keeps up her spirit and curiosity even so. Melodia learns a lot under the tutelage of her grandmother and a dinosaur master. It seems open to many more titles coming, and I'll be sure to keep up as they come out.

[Indigo Crow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um... okay. I guess... 😞
There's simply not ENOUGH to this book or any of the ones before it. There's not enough world building (and it seems like such an interesting world, too, if only I knew anything more about it), not enough character development... And not enough story.
Are there only supposed to be 3 of these books? I kinda don't believe that, because if that's really how it is, then just WTF?
And who is the Dinosaur Princess anyway? Not Montse... Melodia? Christ, she's a whiny brat, so I bloody hope not!
No, for real. Where's the rest of this book if this is supposed to be the last one? What kind of sadist leaves off like that? *glares in James Clemens general direction*
I know this isn't much of a review, but in a lot of ways, me not saying much about this book is a lot like how this book and this series actually is, so there you have it.

[Brian Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this substantially more than the preceding novel in the series, The Dinosaur Knights; the writing felt less jumpy, the politics more interesting, and the setting more established. And fantasy with dinosaurs remains cool.

That said, I had somehow imagined this would be the concluding book of a trilogy, and it's not. Most of it is spent shuffling pieces around the chessboard, positioning them for the next book. A princess is kidnapped, major political figures appear, a few pawns are eliminated from the board.

I enjoyed it. If I were to compare it to another ongoing series, I might point at The Way of Kings.

[Thijs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, just an entertaining novel in a decent, average book series. Which is perfectly fine.

There's a bit more focus on 'intrigue' in this book, wich is a bit less interesting because it isn't really intrigue. The only way it matters is because of character growth for certain characters.

The final fight is pretty cool, but other then that, the Dinosaur fights are kind of lacking. Which is a shame in a series that revolves around Knights Riding Dinosaurs. But I guess plot has to have room too, especially in a longer series.

Which brings me to the final point, it feel like shit is really starting to kick off at the end. And though it's just an entertaining series, I'm sad that I won't be able to read more because the author has passed away.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Po pokonaniu hordziaków oraz zniszczeniu avatara Raguela czas na nagrody, ułaskawienia i świętowanie. Jednak Cesarz oraz księżniczka Melodia nie spodziewają się, że w tym czasie zostaje uknuty spisek wymierzony przeciwko nim oraz ich sąsiadowi.

Młodsza siostra Melodii, Montse zostaje porwana, a cała fabuła trzeciego tomu obraca się wokół tego oraz planowania ratunku, a także posunięć odnośnie Cesarstwu Turańskiemu. Gdzieś w tle przewija się wątek Karyla oraz Roba, a potem... no właśnie, co potem?

Cała opinia dostępna na blogu: http://recenzjezlegowiskaalphy.blogsp...

[Kamal Syed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in the concept and the initial execution of these books, but the sexualized content really turned me off. That being said, I fast forwarded (I listened on audio) these scenes. Not much "happens" in these books, but there is more insight into the war between the Fae and the Grey Angels, with a climactic scene when both emerge into the literal light of day.

I was surprised when I read a review (before finishing the book) that this would be the last book, and that it ends on a cliffhanger. I couldn't understand why, until I found the author's website strangely missing. Its only after reading his Wikipedia page that I understood that the author had passed away several years ago. Disappointing that we will probably never see this series properly concluded, unless his estate hires someone else to finish it off, like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.

[Take Me Away To A Great Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dinosaur Princess by Victor Milan
(Dinosaur Lords #3)
Published by Tor Books
Release Date: August 15, 2017
Rating: 4 Stars

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy for an honest review!

I just finished reading The Dinosaur Princess by Victor Milán, the third book in The Dinosaur Lords series. This is an epic fantasy series with Fae, Angels, Humans and Dinosaurs all in a battle for the planet, Paradise and what they want for its future. I am going to start of by saying I am going to not say too much since this is the third book. .

FULL REVIEW GO TO: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXssWaFFg...

[Christian Freed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a lot of pages with just words. Hear me out. The first book was interesting and a great concept. Who doesn't want to read about knights riding dinosaurs? Book 2 was packed with action and would have been a fitting finale to the series, which is where this one fell flat. After the massive amount of battles in the second book this was just a bunch of people talking for the first 400 pages. The last one hundred pages fly with a running battle between heroes and assassins and a few angels, but it was a struggle to get through this at all.

[Kaelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are good fun, nothing more, nothing less. While they definitely have their problems (for example, Milán's irritating penchant to remind us about events that have already happened, far too often), they are there just for fun, and they are a quick read. The whole series I give a 3/5 stars. Unfortunately, due to the author's passing, there will be no more, which breaks my heart more than I thought it would. I'll miss Rob and Karyl, and even Princess Melodía, who grew on me with this last book. I'll miss them even more not knowing their final end.