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Primordia #1
In Search of the Lost World
Ben Cartwright, former soldier, home to mourn the loss of his father stumbles upon cryptic letters from the past between the author, Arthur Conan Doyle and his great, great grandfather who vanished while exploring the Amazon jungle in 1908.
Amazingly, these letters lead Ben to believe that his ancestor’s expedition was the basis for Doyle’s fantastical tale of a lost world inhabited by long extinct creatures. As Ben digs some more he finds clues to the whereabouts of a lost notebook that might contain a map to a place that is home to creatures that would rewrite everything known about history, biology and evolution.
But other parties now know about the notebook, and will do anything to obtain it. For Ben and his friends, it becomes a race against time and against ruthless rivals.
In the remotest corners of Venezuela, along winding river trails known only to lost tribes, and through near impenetrable jungle, Ben and his novice team find a forbidden place more terrifying and dangerous than anything they could ever have imagined.
Amazingly, these letters lead Ben to believe that his ancestor’s expedition was the basis for Doyle’s fantastical tale of a lost world inhabited by long extinct creatures. As Ben digs some more he finds clues to the whereabouts of a lost notebook that might contain a map to a place that is home to creatures that would rewrite everything known about history, biology and evolution.
But other parties now know about the notebook, and will do anything to obtain it. For Ben and his friends, it becomes a race against time and against ruthless rivals.
In the remotest corners of Venezuela, along winding river trails known only to lost tribes, and through near impenetrable jungle, Ben and his novice team find a forbidden place more terrifying and dangerous than anything they could ever have imagined.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2017
1887 people are currently reading
2818 people want to read
About the author
Greig Beck
46 books1,147 followersHi GoodReaders, I’m an Australian author residing in Sydney with my wife, son and a mad Golden Retriever named Jessie. My novels are now available globally, also in Large Print and now in full AUDIO format.
I grew up spending my days surfing at Bondi Beach before entering a career in Information technology which took me around the world. After completing an MBA, i was appointed both an Australasian director of a multinational software company, and tasked with setting up the USA arm of the organisation.
Today, I spend most of my time writing... with plenty left over for surfing.
More information about me and my works can be found at either www.greigbeck.com, or join me on FaceBook (Greig Beck Author).
I grew up spending my days surfing at Bondi Beach before entering a career in Information technology which took me around the world. After completing an MBA, i was appointed both an Australasian director of a multinational software company, and tasked with setting up the USA arm of the organisation.
Today, I spend most of my time writing... with plenty left over for surfing.
More information about me and my works can be found at either www.greigbeck.com, or join me on FaceBook (Greig Beck Author).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 280 reviews
June 2, 2025
Лошо написано, с остра нужда от редактор и коректор…
Не е за мен!
Dnf на 11%…
Не е за мен!
Dnf на 11%…
September 17, 2020
The Land That Time Forgot, Jurassic Park: Lost World, Land of The Lost (tv show), Lost, Dinosaur Island, and heaps of other books, movies and tv shows - all inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's original book. I think Arthur himself, would be shocked by the cult his little story began. But jeez I'm glad he wrote it, because I grew up on this stuff. Shame he never wrote a sequel.
Anyway, here's yet another rewrite of the original Land of The Lost, and before you say, " Oh Beck has ripped off Conan Doyle's story," I can say no, he didn't - well maybe a teensy bit. Think of Greig Beck's story as a nicely updated and modernized version of the original, with hotter, smarter girls (and blokes) included and scarier beasts, and different enough to make it his own story. There's plenty of action and a great writing style to boot. No typos either. Beck has done a truckload of research and it shows. I spent many fascinating sessions reading the various wikis on things like monster prehistoric snakes, and killer cockroaches (brrrrr!).
How good is it? Well l read it while on holidays in Eden, New South Wales, a beautifully scenic part of the world, only I didn't go and admire the scenery; nor did I go and have the world's best fish and chips at The Great Southern Hotel. I read this instead.
Anyway, here's yet another rewrite of the original Land of The Lost, and before you say, " Oh Beck has ripped off Conan Doyle's story," I can say no, he didn't - well maybe a teensy bit. Think of Greig Beck's story as a nicely updated and modernized version of the original, with hotter, smarter girls (and blokes) included and scarier beasts, and different enough to make it his own story. There's plenty of action and a great writing style to boot. No typos either. Beck has done a truckload of research and it shows. I spent many fascinating sessions reading the various wikis on things like monster prehistoric snakes, and killer cockroaches (brrrrr!).
How good is it? Well l read it while on holidays in Eden, New South Wales, a beautifully scenic part of the world, only I didn't go and admire the scenery; nor did I go and have the world's best fish and chips at The Great Southern Hotel. I read this instead.
July 13, 2018
A present day lost world
Primordia is a great story about a group of young adventurers that decided to follow up on a map ( found with quite a story in itself) and see if they could find where there might be living dinosaur type creatures living in the jungles. It had to be just in a certain time span when a comet came by every 10 years, in a certain place in the world, and for a certain period of time. This book is finding the map and the adventures there!
Primordia is a great story about a group of young adventurers that decided to follow up on a map ( found with quite a story in itself) and see if they could find where there might be living dinosaur type creatures living in the jungles. It had to be just in a certain time span when a comet came by every 10 years, in a certain place in the world, and for a certain period of time. This book is finding the map and the adventures there!
December 9, 2019
This reads like a how a 14-year-old boy, a fan of Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Discovery channel documentaries on snakes would write a book. Even as I listened to it sounded like the stories I wrote as a young teenager. This is both the first audiobook I’ve listened to and the first from author Greig Beck. He’s been recommended to me by a friend at work whose a big fan, and know I like the type of books he writes; lost civilisations, monsters, ex-special forces involved. Seeing this as an audiobook at my local library I thought I’d give it a go.
Boy was I shocked.
First the plot. Ben Cartwright is an ex-marine who has comes home for his father’s funeral. While cleaning out the attic for his mom, he finds a bunch of papers and a journal that were from his great-grandfather, also called Benjamin Cartwright who was a famous explorer. In amongst the papers is a letter from old Cartwright’s friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yes, the Sherlock author. Along with the letter, is a first copy of Doyle's book The Lost World, with Doyle saying the Cartwright’s adventures had been inspiration for the book. Believing that this Lost World might be a real place, Ben and a group of friends from his old home town go on a crazy expedition, first to London, to find the original map at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s house and the onward to Venezuela, to find the fabled tabletop mountain. Their journey coincides with the arrival in orbit over South America of the comet Primordia which enters our orbit every 10 years; and when it does it causes strange electromagnetic effects. Ben and his gang find the cave entrance to this mystic land, and as they enter this prehistoric land they must battle both the deadly beasts they find there and a team of hunters that have followed them and find a way back before they are trapped there.
Like I said this is my first audiobook, so I wasn’t sure that if I’d had read it like a standard book, it would have sounded like would in my head, because listening to it.... was an experience. When I said before it was like a 14 year old writing it I was wrong, a clever 14 year old then yes. The way the plot is explained and how the characters talk to each is done in a basic, yet over the top fashion (like if a teenager was writing it), which is why I found it funny as it sounded a bit like the stories I wrote around that age. If it wasn’t for a few swear words this could have been passed as a YA book or younger. The characters talked to each other all and acted like teenagers, or at least how teenagers acted in 80s and 90s films. But the thing is they’re not. Ben is 35, Emma 31. It’s in little things I noticed. Emma is friends with Ben’s mother, yet calls her Mrs Cartwright. Why wouldn’t an adult call another adult, her friend, by her first name like a normal person. Seemed very much like how teen drama would have written it.
Much of the dialogue between the characters falls into this cliched, simple and over the top aspect.
When Ben finds out about his ancestors history, he tells Emma and a group of old school friends. And what a convenient group they are to undertake this expedition. He’s a soldier, his high school girlfriend is a rock climber, one friend an internet millionaire to pay your everything and the other friend has a friend in England who’s a zoologist to tell us all about the animals they find. What are the odds?! The other friend is a Hollywood actress but still. None seem to have any ties or commitments; Let’s all go to the UK to look for a book missing for 100 years that might tell us where there are some dinosaurs and go to South America for an undetermined time. Ok. No one has jobs, bosses, partners or kids to tell for this sudden trip. The Goonies get away with it because they’re 15 and they are in the same town, not late 20s and have work and stuff.
After a short detour to England which could have been left out, except the author wanted a map hunting scene like it was National Treasure , they are off the South America. After a quick search they find the temple entrance to the tabletop mountain, and they are also joined by the villains of the book, because reasons really. They managed to find out about the Lost World by dark web stuff apparently, and their goal is to find a exclusive hunting range. A very pointless plot point. Really the ‘villains' are just dropped into the plot with almost zero build-up and no real link to either the place or the Cartwrights. And Belokov, the head bad guy mercenary and his money man boss are so stock villain trope they could have just been called ‘rich fat bad guy’ and ‘cruel greedy Russian bad guy’. Anyway ascending up the mountain at the top they discover an lush rainforest prehistoric world, that from the get go is trying to kill them. This bothered me. There was no sense of wonder before the terror. Thrown straight into bring attacked rather than gradually see how dangerous, in first getting there attacked by a Titanoboa, Allosaurus and raptors.
And boy was the author obsessed with Titanoboa. Now one of the reasons I read this is that I’m a big dinosaur fanboy (proper dinosaur stuff, not just Jurassic Park), so I know a bit about Titanoboa, an extinct species of snake probably the largest ever, that actually lived in South America. But I think Greig Beck has watched too many History Channel documentaries on Titanoboa and not the good ones. Here in this book they are liked super-predators. Nothing can stop them. But as a dinosaur/prehistoric fan I picked up some big errors. Ready for some dinosaur nets stuff? No? Tough.
Titanoboa, they say lived in the Paleogene (true) and ate dinosaurs(wrong). Well that’s all kind of wrong. Suppose any research other than the discovery channel Titanoboa vs T. Rex 'documentary' was too much. The Paleogene period was after the Cretaceous, right after the extinction of the dinosaurs. So;
1. Titanoboa never ate any dinosaurs because there wasn’t any left
2. One of the first dinosaurs they see is an Allosaurus which was from the Jurassic period, so Allosaurus would be farther away in time. geological speaking from T-Rex than from T.Rex to us, and snakes hadn’t evolved yet in the Jurassic.
Also, his snakes are about 70ft long, despite the fossil samples found are more like 43ft, which isn’t terrifying enough apparently. Other stuff? Jenny the zoologist says dinosaurs from fossil records had bad eye sight. What evidence? T. Rex had superb vision as did many therapod dinosaurs from images taken from fossil skull scans. A palaeontologist might know this information, but why would a zoologist? They take courses in dinosaur biology? Also she knows loads of dinosaur species? How? Why? Sets up nothing about a love of dinosaurs or took palaeontology, just oh she’s a zoologist she also knows dinosaurs, because apparently. Another thing that kind if bothered me; for a book about a lost Mesozoic lost world, there aren’t many dinosaurs, and the ones that are there aren’t the focus or have much attention. Everything is on the Titanoboa.
I was surprised The twist with the comet is not a major one, that the strange effects that comet brings is opening a portal to thr past rather than an actually lost world cut off from the rest of the world. But neither of these surprises really improve the story for me.
Overall I found this to very bland. The characters were very two-dimensional, cookie-cutteresqe, which no real depth to them, Ben stands out not for being better written really, just more written about him. The dialogue is....very basic, shockingly so. So much in fact I think it naturally didn't seem to flow together. It was about half way through the book until they reached giant snake land and then it just seemed a bit rushed. It disappointed me not much was done on exploring this world, just running from big snakes really. While some of action was enjoyable, pretty much the rest around it was just seemed very eye rollingly simplistic. I not trying to be some kind of book snob, it just I’ve read books similar to this (I’m a big fan of the Chase and Wilde booksThe Hunt for Atlantis which are of a similar vein) that managed to be that much better in terms of character, plot building etc. I would find this hard to recommend when I’ve read better books in this adventure genre which I’d suggest over this. Many have said the author’s other books are better, but now after reading this one I’m hesitant to read those, but I’ll probably give it go. Eventually. For me this was a bit disappointing and frustrating and didn’t match the potential that was there, and maybe hit me a bit more as I was expecting to like this more.
Boy was I shocked.
First the plot. Ben Cartwright is an ex-marine who has comes home for his father’s funeral. While cleaning out the attic for his mom, he finds a bunch of papers and a journal that were from his great-grandfather, also called Benjamin Cartwright who was a famous explorer. In amongst the papers is a letter from old Cartwright’s friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yes, the Sherlock author. Along with the letter, is a first copy of Doyle's book The Lost World, with Doyle saying the Cartwright’s adventures had been inspiration for the book. Believing that this Lost World might be a real place, Ben and a group of friends from his old home town go on a crazy expedition, first to London, to find the original map at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s house and the onward to Venezuela, to find the fabled tabletop mountain. Their journey coincides with the arrival in orbit over South America of the comet Primordia which enters our orbit every 10 years; and when it does it causes strange electromagnetic effects. Ben and his gang find the cave entrance to this mystic land, and as they enter this prehistoric land they must battle both the deadly beasts they find there and a team of hunters that have followed them and find a way back before they are trapped there.
Like I said this is my first audiobook, so I wasn’t sure that if I’d had read it like a standard book, it would have sounded like would in my head, because listening to it.... was an experience. When I said before it was like a 14 year old writing it I was wrong, a clever 14 year old then yes. The way the plot is explained and how the characters talk to each is done in a basic, yet over the top fashion (like if a teenager was writing it), which is why I found it funny as it sounded a bit like the stories I wrote around that age. If it wasn’t for a few swear words this could have been passed as a YA book or younger. The characters talked to each other all and acted like teenagers, or at least how teenagers acted in 80s and 90s films. But the thing is they’re not. Ben is 35, Emma 31. It’s in little things I noticed. Emma is friends with Ben’s mother, yet calls her Mrs Cartwright. Why wouldn’t an adult call another adult, her friend, by her first name like a normal person. Seemed very much like how teen drama would have written it.
Much of the dialogue between the characters falls into this cliched, simple and over the top aspect.
When Ben finds out about his ancestors history, he tells Emma and a group of old school friends. And what a convenient group they are to undertake this expedition. He’s a soldier, his high school girlfriend is a rock climber, one friend an internet millionaire to pay your everything and the other friend has a friend in England who’s a zoologist to tell us all about the animals they find. What are the odds?! The other friend is a Hollywood actress but still. None seem to have any ties or commitments; Let’s all go to the UK to look for a book missing for 100 years that might tell us where there are some dinosaurs and go to South America for an undetermined time. Ok. No one has jobs, bosses, partners or kids to tell for this sudden trip. The Goonies get away with it because they’re 15 and they are in the same town, not late 20s and have work and stuff.
After a short detour to England which could have been left out, except the author wanted a map hunting scene like it was National Treasure , they are off the South America. After a quick search they find the temple entrance to the tabletop mountain, and they are also joined by the villains of the book, because reasons really. They managed to find out about the Lost World by dark web stuff apparently, and their goal is to find a exclusive hunting range. A very pointless plot point. Really the ‘villains' are just dropped into the plot with almost zero build-up and no real link to either the place or the Cartwrights. And Belokov, the head bad guy mercenary and his money man boss are so stock villain trope they could have just been called ‘rich fat bad guy’ and ‘cruel greedy Russian bad guy’. Anyway ascending up the mountain at the top they discover an lush rainforest prehistoric world, that from the get go is trying to kill them. This bothered me. There was no sense of wonder before the terror. Thrown straight into bring attacked rather than gradually see how dangerous, in first getting there attacked by a Titanoboa, Allosaurus and raptors.
And boy was the author obsessed with Titanoboa. Now one of the reasons I read this is that I’m a big dinosaur fanboy (proper dinosaur stuff, not just Jurassic Park), so I know a bit about Titanoboa, an extinct species of snake probably the largest ever, that actually lived in South America. But I think Greig Beck has watched too many History Channel documentaries on Titanoboa and not the good ones. Here in this book they are liked super-predators. Nothing can stop them. But as a dinosaur/prehistoric fan I picked up some big errors. Ready for some dinosaur nets stuff? No? Tough.
Titanoboa, they say lived in the Paleogene (true) and ate dinosaurs(wrong). Well that’s all kind of wrong. Suppose any research other than the discovery channel Titanoboa vs T. Rex 'documentary' was too much. The Paleogene period was after the Cretaceous, right after the extinction of the dinosaurs. So;
1. Titanoboa never ate any dinosaurs because there wasn’t any left
2. One of the first dinosaurs they see is an Allosaurus which was from the Jurassic period, so Allosaurus would be farther away in time. geological speaking from T-Rex than from T.Rex to us, and snakes hadn’t evolved yet in the Jurassic.
Also, his snakes are about 70ft long, despite the fossil samples found are more like 43ft, which isn’t terrifying enough apparently. Other stuff? Jenny the zoologist says dinosaurs from fossil records had bad eye sight. What evidence? T. Rex had superb vision as did many therapod dinosaurs from images taken from fossil skull scans. A palaeontologist might know this information, but why would a zoologist? They take courses in dinosaur biology? Also she knows loads of dinosaur species? How? Why? Sets up nothing about a love of dinosaurs or took palaeontology, just oh she’s a zoologist she also knows dinosaurs, because apparently. Another thing that kind if bothered me; for a book about a lost Mesozoic lost world, there aren’t many dinosaurs, and the ones that are there aren’t the focus or have much attention. Everything is on the Titanoboa.
I was surprised The twist with the comet is not a major one, that the strange effects that comet brings is opening a portal to thr past rather than an actually lost world cut off from the rest of the world. But neither of these surprises really improve the story for me.
Overall I found this to very bland. The characters were very two-dimensional, cookie-cutteresqe, which no real depth to them, Ben stands out not for being better written really, just more written about him. The dialogue is....very basic, shockingly so. So much in fact I think it naturally didn't seem to flow together. It was about half way through the book until they reached giant snake land and then it just seemed a bit rushed. It disappointed me not much was done on exploring this world, just running from big snakes really. While some of action was enjoyable, pretty much the rest around it was just seemed very eye rollingly simplistic. I not trying to be some kind of book snob, it just I’ve read books similar to this (I’m a big fan of the Chase and Wilde booksThe Hunt for Atlantis which are of a similar vein) that managed to be that much better in terms of character, plot building etc. I would find this hard to recommend when I’ve read better books in this adventure genre which I’d suggest over this. Many have said the author’s other books are better, but now after reading this one I’m hesitant to read those, but I’ll probably give it go. Eventually. For me this was a bit disappointing and frustrating and didn’t match the potential that was there, and maybe hit me a bit more as I was expecting to like this more.
April 27, 2022
Prehistoric/Sci-fi horror. Terrifying and smart. This series may not be for everyone, but for me, it's sheer enjoyment. Amped for book #2. Greig Beck is one phenomenal writer.
dnf
November 30, 2021DNF 25%
Man writing women with highlights like:
man: Are you sure you are ready to go into the jungle, it could be deadly.
woman: You'll protect me.
woman: I'm 32.
man: You are still pretty.
Man writing women with highlights like:
man: Are you sure you are ready to go into the jungle, it could be deadly.
woman: You'll protect me.
woman: I'm 32.
man: You are still pretty.
July 14, 2020
Enjoyed the story!
It starts with Ben who receives some letter correspondences of his grandfather and that starts his adventure in search of the Lost World.
Some of the ideas were borrowed from the Lost World, but the action and the beasts in the story are very scarily built and enjoyable to read about.
Loved it.
It starts with Ben who receives some letter correspondences of his grandfather and that starts his adventure in search of the Lost World.
Some of the ideas were borrowed from the Lost World, but the action and the beasts in the story are very scarily built and enjoyable to read about.
Loved it.
May 15, 2019
I decided to take try a new author.....and I really enjoyed this book. It starts off a little slower than I’m use to but over all enjoyed it. Ben Cartwright goes home for his father funeral and finds a box that contains a letters addressed and received by Sir Conan Doyle, the author of the Lost World. The letters were written by Ben’s great great grandfather, the 1st Ben Cartwright, describing a lost world. Ben and his friends from childhood decide that they are up for an adventure and find out if the lost world really exists. They go on an adventure to the Amazon and they find more than they expected.
May 1, 2019
I don't think I read The Lost World in my younger days, or if I did I don't remember, but I certainly saw at least one film version as a kid, not that I can actually remember that now! I've always been fascinated by dinosaurs and would look at anything connected to them, something that I still do today. When I first became aware of this trilogy I knew I just had to pick it up and read it, especially with such great covers. I liked the idea that Ben was following in the footsteps of his long dead relative and that it was this man's expedition that inspired a classic novel. It sounded like a nice plot twist to get things started instead of just a retelling of the original story. Ben and his friends do use the journal to pinpoint their location and it leads them to the plateau.
I'm always fascinated by the idea of a Lost World than can only be accessed at a certain time. Here in the jungles of Venezuela, every ten years the brief visit of a comet overhead signals a short window of time where an empty plateau above the jungle is turned into a dangerous Lost World of dinosaurs that can be explored. The location is hidden at the end of a secret river that the locals avoid but Ben's group and a rival group will not be stopped by tales of terror when they want to see this alleged plateau for themselves. However as fascinating as I find the idea of going looking for this dinosaur world, the reality of the danger and big hairy jungle spiders would stop me going anywhere near it.
Ben's team come up with the idea of the expedition after a few drinks and Ben's tale of what he found in the attic. They first have to go in search of the journal mentioned in the papers, unaware that an internet search of things mentioned has triggered the interest of another man who has been searching for the lost world for years and will stop at nothing to get there. Now there are two groups who want to find the plateau and their paths will cross in the jungle-one a group of friends with no exploration experience and the other a group of mercaneries led by a ruthless man out to make money from his discovery. The clash of the groups turned out a little different from what I expected, but it added more potential dinosaur meals to the equation!
The characters are a decent enough group, along with a couple of characters where you look forward to them becoming dinosaur chew toys. The book takes a bit of time to set the scene for the expedition and allows the reader to get to know the characters during the search for the journal and the jungle trek itself. The real action begins when they find the actual plateau and after that it is full of dinosaurs, danger and death, which is what I was looking for. There are lots of scary dinosaurs to enjoy and also a gigantic titanoboa which was a great addition to the story that I wasn't expecting to see. Our group enjoy several days of terror trying to stay alive and then looking for a way to get off the plateau before the comet vanishes and leaves them standed there for another ten years.
My main issue with the book is that it took 124 pages out of 231 pages to actually reach the plateau. I think the jungle trip could have been shortened as nothing of any note was happening or they could have spiced it up a bit with a spider attack or something similar. The first half of the book was certainly slower, though I wouldn't say it was boring. I just wanted to get to the good stuff a bit quicker. Once we get to the dinosaurs, the plot certainly livens up and we get the danger and death that we were expecting. I also felt that the poor attempt at a love triangle, which fizzles into nothing before it even starts, was pretty much a waste of time, and the sex scene appeared to have been put in for the sake of it. It really didn't fit well into the story for me and could just have been missed out.
Overall it was still a very enjoyable dinosaur book with enough action and gore to keep the interest of the creature feature fan. Fans of the original work might find it interesting to look at as well though I have no idea if it sticks close to the original story or is totally different. I have already read and am about to review book 2 in the series, and have purchased the third book which I have not yet read.
I'm always fascinated by the idea of a Lost World than can only be accessed at a certain time. Here in the jungles of Venezuela, every ten years the brief visit of a comet overhead signals a short window of time where an empty plateau above the jungle is turned into a dangerous Lost World of dinosaurs that can be explored. The location is hidden at the end of a secret river that the locals avoid but Ben's group and a rival group will not be stopped by tales of terror when they want to see this alleged plateau for themselves. However as fascinating as I find the idea of going looking for this dinosaur world, the reality of the danger and big hairy jungle spiders would stop me going anywhere near it.
Ben's team come up with the idea of the expedition after a few drinks and Ben's tale of what he found in the attic. They first have to go in search of the journal mentioned in the papers, unaware that an internet search of things mentioned has triggered the interest of another man who has been searching for the lost world for years and will stop at nothing to get there. Now there are two groups who want to find the plateau and their paths will cross in the jungle-one a group of friends with no exploration experience and the other a group of mercaneries led by a ruthless man out to make money from his discovery. The clash of the groups turned out a little different from what I expected, but it added more potential dinosaur meals to the equation!
The characters are a decent enough group, along with a couple of characters where you look forward to them becoming dinosaur chew toys. The book takes a bit of time to set the scene for the expedition and allows the reader to get to know the characters during the search for the journal and the jungle trek itself. The real action begins when they find the actual plateau and after that it is full of dinosaurs, danger and death, which is what I was looking for. There are lots of scary dinosaurs to enjoy and also a gigantic titanoboa which was a great addition to the story that I wasn't expecting to see. Our group enjoy several days of terror trying to stay alive and then looking for a way to get off the plateau before the comet vanishes and leaves them standed there for another ten years.
My main issue with the book is that it took 124 pages out of 231 pages to actually reach the plateau. I think the jungle trip could have been shortened as nothing of any note was happening or they could have spiced it up a bit with a spider attack or something similar. The first half of the book was certainly slower, though I wouldn't say it was boring. I just wanted to get to the good stuff a bit quicker. Once we get to the dinosaurs, the plot certainly livens up and we get the danger and death that we were expecting. I also felt that the poor attempt at a love triangle, which fizzles into nothing before it even starts, was pretty much a waste of time, and the sex scene appeared to have been put in for the sake of it. It really didn't fit well into the story for me and could just have been missed out.
Overall it was still a very enjoyable dinosaur book with enough action and gore to keep the interest of the creature feature fan. Fans of the original work might find it interesting to look at as well though I have no idea if it sticks close to the original story or is totally different. I have already read and am about to review book 2 in the series, and have purchased the third book which I have not yet read.
March 4, 2018
This goofy book is a comic in the form of a novel, with implausible situations but lots of fast action and multiple gruesome deaths by monsters. I was not pleased with the language, the constant and gratuitous use of my Lord's name in vain.
November 1, 2020
I did not finish this book but am giving it 2 stars anyway since it wasn't poorly written on a page by page basis. The story, however, was just one cliche after another. In many respects this book was written to be a movie in that it leaves out necessary bits (like how the bad guys find the MC & co. in England) and includes unnecessary bits (like the MC involving a sweet little old wheelchair bound lady in the recovery of some information).
MC, retired special forces, goes home for father's funeral and discovers a family connection to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's lost world. High school friends include jock, hot girl (now actress), tech millionaire asian guy and the MC's unrequited love. (Note: actress character seems solely to exist to create the threat of a love triangle and be the stereotypical complainer). They all decide to chase the dream of finding the lost world and fly off to England to recover the journal with all the clues. Bad guys stereotypically flub stealing the journal from the MC's hotel room but get enough info to create a race to see who gets to the lost world first. Everybody travels to the Amazon and makes it to the area the locals consider taboo because everyone who goes there dies. Then the bad guys create a hostage situation right out of about a million tv shows and I stopped reading.
Bottom line: You may enjoy this book if you can ignore the endless cliches I couldn't.
MC, retired special forces, goes home for father's funeral and discovers a family connection to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's lost world. High school friends include jock, hot girl (now actress), tech millionaire asian guy and the MC's unrequited love. (Note: actress character seems solely to exist to create the threat of a love triangle and be the stereotypical complainer). They all decide to chase the dream of finding the lost world and fly off to England to recover the journal with all the clues. Bad guys stereotypically flub stealing the journal from the MC's hotel room but get enough info to create a race to see who gets to the lost world first. Everybody travels to the Amazon and makes it to the area the locals consider taboo because everyone who goes there dies. Then the bad guys create a hostage situation right out of about a million tv shows and I stopped reading.
Bottom line: You may enjoy this book if you can ignore the endless cliches I couldn't.
December 31, 2023
I like a good exploration adventure tale, and this one delivers. Exploring in his attic one day, Ben comes across correspondence between his great grandfather and Arthur Conan Doyle which leads him to believe that The Lost World from Doyle's books was based on a real expedition to the tepuis in Venezuela. All he has to do is uncover a lost notebook from his great grandfather to point the way to a land where dinosaurs still roam. However, the pathway is only accessible every 10 years for some reason.
Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without millionaires to fund the trip and a race with villains to get to the dinosaurs. After all, what is an author going to feed all the dinosaurs with if he doesn't have extra sacrificial characters? And when a random character pops up 100 pages after a brief mention, you know he's going to make a nice dinosaur dessert, too.
I spent a good chunk of time watching real tepui exploration videos before reading this because I wanted a good visual of what they're like. The National Geographic one called "The Last Tepui" reveals just how alien they look at the top. They're so other-worldly that it's no wonder they inspired Doyle to write The Lost World. However, there's certainly not a jungle scape at the top, so you'll have to let yourself roll with the setting a bit until the author explains what's going on.
I always like a good Greig Beck book because he keeps you turning the pages. I don't feel absolutely compelled to pick up the next book in the series like I did with The First Bird, but it was still a fun read. I just wish his books were available from the library. But, alas.
Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without millionaires to fund the trip and a race with villains to get to the dinosaurs. After all, what is an author going to feed all the dinosaurs with if he doesn't have extra sacrificial characters? And when a random character pops up 100 pages after a brief mention, you know he's going to make a nice dinosaur dessert, too.
I spent a good chunk of time watching real tepui exploration videos before reading this because I wanted a good visual of what they're like. The National Geographic one called "The Last Tepui" reveals just how alien they look at the top. They're so other-worldly that it's no wonder they inspired Doyle to write The Lost World. However, there's certainly not a jungle scape at the top, so you'll have to let yourself roll with the setting a bit until the author explains what's going on.
I always like a good Greig Beck book because he keeps you turning the pages. I don't feel absolutely compelled to pick up the next book in the series like I did with The First Bird, but it was still a fun read. I just wish his books were available from the library. But, alas.
January 23, 2023
The Lost World redux
Greig has put in plenty of action with a nice link to the original Lost world by Doyle. Having tasted dinosaurs with Michael Crichton, Primordia comes across as one of the better dinosaur books I have read with a runaway comet and for a brief window time becomes immaterial with an Open Sesame effect, a nice insertion to allow for the undiscovered tract of land and also explain why it has not been discovered till date despite the century since Doyle's Lost World.
This book delves into the What If? scenario to link with Doyle's story. The premise made plausible by propounding that Doyle's book about Prof Challenger was based on a real story featuring the great great grandfather of this books principal character. The pastiche uses Doyle's novel as a jumping point to make a current statement and a story series.
The book is dedicated to the Titanoboa........
As a bibliophile and a bookworm, I tend to get lost in a book, the story and forget verifying the information but here things are different.
Titanoboa, T-rex, Allosaurus all in the same area at the same time.........
This is not Jurrasic Park where a mishmash of chems and diluted soups in resins created the animals. This is a look at the Cretaceous but the featured animals are from all over the place and every era, the more strange the better. Apart from the feature star T.Boa there are some really strange and deadly animals adapted to the area where survival is definitely of the fittest and man comes right at the bottom of the totem pole.
The book is tailor made for a taut ride but........ somehow after having read some of the other Beck books, I felt shortchanged. The redeeming factor being that this is a trilogy so maybe this will get better.
The varieties of fauna are well thought out like the roaches.
All in all a good read. Am going after the triology and willing to give Greig a long rope after some good reads earlier.
Greig has put in plenty of action with a nice link to the original Lost world by Doyle. Having tasted dinosaurs with Michael Crichton, Primordia comes across as one of the better dinosaur books I have read with a runaway comet and for a brief window time becomes immaterial with an Open Sesame effect, a nice insertion to allow for the undiscovered tract of land and also explain why it has not been discovered till date despite the century since Doyle's Lost World.
This book delves into the What If? scenario to link with Doyle's story. The premise made plausible by propounding that Doyle's book about Prof Challenger was based on a real story featuring the great great grandfather of this books principal character. The pastiche uses Doyle's novel as a jumping point to make a current statement and a story series.
The book is dedicated to the Titanoboa........
As a bibliophile and a bookworm, I tend to get lost in a book, the story and forget verifying the information but here things are different.
Titanoboa, T-rex, Allosaurus all in the same area at the same time.........
This is not Jurrasic Park where a mishmash of chems and diluted soups in resins created the animals. This is a look at the Cretaceous but the featured animals are from all over the place and every era, the more strange the better. Apart from the feature star T.Boa there are some really strange and deadly animals adapted to the area where survival is definitely of the fittest and man comes right at the bottom of the totem pole.
The book is tailor made for a taut ride but........ somehow after having read some of the other Beck books, I felt shortchanged. The redeeming factor being that this is a trilogy so maybe this will get better.
The varieties of fauna are well thought out like the roaches.
All in all a good read. Am going after the triology and willing to give Greig a long rope after some good reads earlier.
November 2, 2021
This book was recommended to me by two people my age that love Jurassic Park just as much as I do. People who grew up on movies like Indiana Jones or The Mummy. Yet our opinions on this particular piece of literature couldn't be further apart.
First of all, I read this book in German where it was released by the Luzifer Verlag, so I cannot speak for the original writing. But I can say that the translation was 1) full of grammatical and orthographical errors which hindered my reading flow and 2) just cringey at times. Especially the dialogue was bad and unrealistic. The character's just kept saying things that were not always related to what was going on or were trying to be funny and quirky in a situation that any normal human being would be freaking out in.
Speaking of characters... they were all really one-dimensional and I honestly could not tell them apart for the longest time. They were all extroverted in a way that not even extroverts would feel comfortable with. Their reasons for joining in on this little adventure were, in my opinion, not palpable. They simply wanted to get a kick out of the experience... but couldn't they have done that any other way? Other people take drugs for that sort of thing, not go on a wild goose chase to a place that is uninhabited and rumoured to be extremely dangerous in order to find a "lost world".
This "lost world" is basically all of the Jurassic Park movies. If you want cliches, there's way more than necessary to go around. I thought this book could maybe give the whole "dinosaurs still roam the earth" thing a new twist and it sort of did. The idea itself isn't half-bad but the execution is severely lacking.
I will not be picking up the sequels because I honestly don't care about the characters.
First of all, I read this book in German where it was released by the Luzifer Verlag, so I cannot speak for the original writing. But I can say that the translation was 1) full of grammatical and orthographical errors which hindered my reading flow and 2) just cringey at times. Especially the dialogue was bad and unrealistic. The character's just kept saying things that were not always related to what was going on or were trying to be funny and quirky in a situation that any normal human being would be freaking out in.
Speaking of characters... they were all really one-dimensional and I honestly could not tell them apart for the longest time. They were all extroverted in a way that not even extroverts would feel comfortable with. Their reasons for joining in on this little adventure were, in my opinion, not palpable. They simply wanted to get a kick out of the experience... but couldn't they have done that any other way? Other people take drugs for that sort of thing, not go on a wild goose chase to a place that is uninhabited and rumoured to be extremely dangerous in order to find a "lost world".
This "lost world" is basically all of the Jurassic Park movies. If you want cliches, there's way more than necessary to go around. I thought this book could maybe give the whole "dinosaurs still roam the earth" thing a new twist and it sort of did. The idea itself isn't half-bad but the execution is severely lacking.
I will not be picking up the sequels because I honestly don't care about the characters.
August 4, 2020
What if a classic adventure The Lost World was based on a true story? What if it was based on a true story of your great grandfather’s very own adventure? What if you had a chance to follow in his footsteps and discover the lost world for yourself? Well, then you’d be Cartwright, the intrepid protagonist of Primordia and you would indeed be in for an adventure of a lifetime. This book…this book drew me in with industrial strength nostalgia magnets. If you grow up on these tales, revisiting them in any shape or form (especially one so close to the source) is nigh impossible to resist. Those grand epic tales of adventure (on this or other planets, of lost and/or newly discovered civilizations and so on) from a century or more ago still have the power to stir the imagination, but contextually they were written in a much more innocent time and I’m using the adjective mainly to denote a certain lack of knowledge, because so much of the world lay unknown at that time. And so it was easier to imagine worlds hiding beneath the clouds or waves or tropical canopies on these or other planets. But nowadays for people cynical with knowledge in the world studied, mapped, photographed and surveyed all over…can there still be a mystery hiding in an Amazon jungle, one revealed to the world only once every ten years and briefly at that? Well, apparently. Greig Beck did some research, flexed his creative muscles and here you go…The Lost World, back and as majestic and dangerous as ever. Cartwright Jr. back to small town he left to travel the world as a military man for a funeral and sure enough there are secrets in a trunk in the attic and, conveniently enough, this year this time of the year is just the right time (the once every decade thing) to find this world, and conveniently enough all of his childhood friends are right there, eager to join him on his quest and one of them is a multimillionaire who can finance the entire thing. Even Cartwright’s high school love interest is still there and all googaa for him still. In fact, he is her perfect man, tall, handsome, rugged and from a good family. That’s right, her perfect man has no actual personal characteristics, such as…oh I don’t know, kind, smart, funny…just the superficial sh*te. But at any rate, this is a grand adventure novel, folks, the genre requires a certain level of convenience lined up and a cheesy romantic subplot. It also requires some evil pursuers, so there are those too, a guy with too much money and a passion for hunting looking for something new and strange and his bunch of merry mercenaries. So off they go, the adventurers, first to England to retrieve grandpa’s notebook and then straight to the jungle. And sure enough, the Lost World awaits there, just as magnificent and as deadly as you’d expect. Soon it’s a game of survival against the unnatural greed and evil of men and the very natural lethal surroundings. And boy is it fun. The entire thing, really, such a fun ride. Sure, it’s easy to lampoon it and dismiss it as preposterous, but just try to suspend some disbelief and go with it, the world is, after all, much stranger than we know or imagine and new findings are made all the time to support that idea. The sheer fact that Beck went with Titanoboa as his leading lady deserves so many kudos. Which is to say there is some genuine research behind the story, it’s all right there in the afterword and the rest…well, that’s just the pure joy of imagination. And why wouldn’t you want to live in a world where such things are possible? Just maybe don’t go poking around where they roam. A sound advice, which obviously no one ever listens to, because, for one thing, there’s Primordia 2. And 3. And, frankly, I’d love to read those too. In fact, if you by chance have those books on Kindle and wouldn’t mind loaning them, please message me, it can be your good deed of the day. Until then there’ll just be memories of this tale, a tale of just one of those places that should never be visited in person, but should definitely be visited via books. Oodles of fun grand adventure style quest with megaflora and megafauna. Gotta love it. Recommended.
February 22, 2023
Outstanding adventure. I'm mad at the ending, but I'm sure it's what makes the second book worth reading.
December 14, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this one. I've read other Beck novels and LOVED them (To The Center of the Earth series and Seed of Evil, being really good ones) and I've also liked some of them (Siberian Incident, anyone?). I *mostly* liked this one. My main problem was the initial trek into the jungle. It took WAY TOO LONG. About 50% through the novel and they weren't at the Lost World, yet. Looking back, it makes sense that this is called "In Search of" as they spend the majority of the novel searching. Then, they get there and it feels kind of rushed. I wanted to see more of the jungle, more of the dinosaurs, more of the extinct stuff. It got to the point where I really wanted to start skimming through some of the traveling parts. I understand it's a hard thing to get to, and it only comes once every 10 years, but that's all the more reason to not spend pages and pages and pages getting there.
The last 3 chapters and the epilogue were really good. I definitely enjoyed the twist/surprise ending where it's not actually a lost world but a doorway to the actual past. It's a different twist on the "hidden location" motif. I honestly want to read about Ben's 10 year adventure, as that sounds more exciting than reading another trek through the jungle adventure. There was simply too much time spent on the journey and not enough spent on the actual location.
It also led to a lot of the characters dying in seemingly rushed ways, but I can overlook that some.
Will I read the second book? Probably. Will I read it right now? Ehhhhhh...
The last 3 chapters and the epilogue were really good. I definitely enjoyed the twist/surprise ending where it's not actually a lost world but a doorway to the actual past. It's a different twist on the "hidden location" motif. I honestly want to read about Ben's 10 year adventure, as that sounds more exciting than reading another trek through the jungle adventure. There was simply too much time spent on the journey and not enough spent on the actual location.
It also led to a lot of the characters dying in seemingly rushed ways, but I can overlook that some.
Will I read the second book? Probably. Will I read it right now? Ehhhhhh...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2021
Was ein Ritt! :D
Wer auf Abenteuer steht und keine Angst vor ekligen Szenen hat, ist hier richtig!
Ich bin beim Stöbern durch Amazon über dieses Buch gestolpert und war erstmal am Hadern, weil ich normalerweise eher Richtung Fantasy und moderne Sci-Fi (oder wie immer man das bezeichnen möchte) lese.
Aber ich entsann mich meiner Liebe für Jurassic Park/World und die für Dinos generell.
Und VERDAMMT. ich bereue nichts :D
Und ich freue mich schon auf die weiteren Teile, die ich mir sofort nachbestellt habe!
Die Geschichte ist super detailliert geschrieben, der Autor schreckt vor NICHTS zurück und wenn man erstmal angefangen hat, kann man nicht mehr aufhören.
Von mir gibt es 4,5 Sterne.
WEIL: Ich hätte mir schon ein paar mehr Dinos gewünscht. Hier lag das Augenmerk doch sehr stark auf der Titanoboa.
Ist aber nur ne ganz eigene Meinung 😂
Man kann sich ja nicht auf alle Wesen gleichzeitig konzentrieren!
UND: Ich bin leider ein nörgelnder Leser, wenn es um Fehler geht. Die springen mir beim Lesen andauernd ins Auge und tun kurz weh xD
Hier gab es ein paar wenige Fehler, aber die Geschichte hat das wirklich wettgemacht.
Ich würde sagen, es ist im unteren gelben Bereich (wenn man nach einer Ampel geht :D)
Ich glaube, ich hätte es auch besser gefunden, wenn die Charaktere jünger gewesen wären.
Wer auf Abenteuer steht und keine Angst vor ekligen Szenen hat, ist hier richtig!
Ich bin beim Stöbern durch Amazon über dieses Buch gestolpert und war erstmal am Hadern, weil ich normalerweise eher Richtung Fantasy und moderne Sci-Fi (oder wie immer man das bezeichnen möchte) lese.
Aber ich entsann mich meiner Liebe für Jurassic Park/World und die für Dinos generell.
Und VERDAMMT. ich bereue nichts :D
Und ich freue mich schon auf die weiteren Teile, die ich mir sofort nachbestellt habe!
Die Geschichte ist super detailliert geschrieben, der Autor schreckt vor NICHTS zurück und wenn man erstmal angefangen hat, kann man nicht mehr aufhören.
Von mir gibt es 4,5 Sterne.
WEIL: Ich hätte mir schon ein paar mehr Dinos gewünscht. Hier lag das Augenmerk doch sehr stark auf der Titanoboa.
Ist aber nur ne ganz eigene Meinung 😂
Man kann sich ja nicht auf alle Wesen gleichzeitig konzentrieren!
UND: Ich bin leider ein nörgelnder Leser, wenn es um Fehler geht. Die springen mir beim Lesen andauernd ins Auge und tun kurz weh xD
Hier gab es ein paar wenige Fehler, aber die Geschichte hat das wirklich wettgemacht.
Ich würde sagen, es ist im unteren gelben Bereich (wenn man nach einer Ampel geht :D)
Ich glaube, ich hätte es auch besser gefunden, wenn die Charaktere jünger gewesen wären.
May 4, 2021
Um ganz ehrlich zu sein muss ich feststellen, dass ich dieses Buch nicht zu Ende gelesen habe. Es ist das erste dieses Jahr das ich abgebrochen habe, weil sowohl Inhalt als auch Stil derart unterirdisch waren, als dass sie die eigentlich spannende Idee der Geschichte nicht retten konnten.
Ich habe gut ein Drittel des Buches gelesen, dann vorgeblättert und das Ende gelesen. Meine Vermutungen wurden bestätigt. Der absolut stümperhafte Schreibstil setzte sich weiter fort und die Klischees nahmen kein Ende. Überall Redundanzen, Füllworte, Phrasen und die ständige Verwendung von Beschreibungen um dem Leser ganz genau zu vermitteln was wieso wann passiert.
Die Handlung arbeitet stupide die Stationen einer klassischen Abenteuerreise ab und verpasst es dabei grandios die Figuren zu mehr als ihren Namen zu verhelfen. Keine Charakterisierung oder Vertiefung zu Motivationen oder gar Konflikten der Charaktere mit sich oder anderen. Schade. So viel verpasstes Potenzial. Die beiden nächsten Teile der Trilogie werde ich mir nicht anschaffen. Dieses Buch wandert ins Regal und wird wahrscheinlich irgendwann aussortiert und entsorgt.
Ich habe gut ein Drittel des Buches gelesen, dann vorgeblättert und das Ende gelesen. Meine Vermutungen wurden bestätigt. Der absolut stümperhafte Schreibstil setzte sich weiter fort und die Klischees nahmen kein Ende. Überall Redundanzen, Füllworte, Phrasen und die ständige Verwendung von Beschreibungen um dem Leser ganz genau zu vermitteln was wieso wann passiert.
Die Handlung arbeitet stupide die Stationen einer klassischen Abenteuerreise ab und verpasst es dabei grandios die Figuren zu mehr als ihren Namen zu verhelfen. Keine Charakterisierung oder Vertiefung zu Motivationen oder gar Konflikten der Charaktere mit sich oder anderen. Schade. So viel verpasstes Potenzial. Die beiden nächsten Teile der Trilogie werde ich mir nicht anschaffen. Dieses Buch wandert ins Regal und wird wahrscheinlich irgendwann aussortiert und entsorgt.
March 30, 2018
Another humdinger of a book from Greig Beck!
Ben Cartwright is on a mission to find a lost world that his great, great grandfather found in Venezuela, and takes a bunch of friends with him, all of whom have different skills and are from different backgrounds. The jungle in the wet season is a hostile place and they have to contend with all manner of beasties, the likes of which they have not seen before, and in some cases, no-one has ever seen before!
This is quite an adventure for them all, and some of them won't make it home again....
My heart was in my mouth a number of times, but that is what I have come to expect from this authors books and as usual the story was skilfully written.
I give it 4.5 stars...and hope there is a sequel to this book in the works!
Ben Cartwright is on a mission to find a lost world that his great, great grandfather found in Venezuela, and takes a bunch of friends with him, all of whom have different skills and are from different backgrounds. The jungle in the wet season is a hostile place and they have to contend with all manner of beasties, the likes of which they have not seen before, and in some cases, no-one has ever seen before!
This is quite an adventure for them all, and some of them won't make it home again....
My heart was in my mouth a number of times, but that is what I have come to expect from this authors books and as usual the story was skilfully written.
I give it 4.5 stars...and hope there is a sequel to this book in the works!
May 19, 2019
I really loved this book. I cared about the characters and was deeply invested in them finding the "Lost World" and then panicking with them as they decided they had fucked up and needed to get out if there! It's easily a 5 star read but I'm actually giving it 4.5 stars because there is one part of the book I think is 100% not realistic and it has nothing to do with dinosaurs. One of the characters gets caught kissing someone he's not supposed to and gets a hard on. When he's interrupted he only thinks, "Good grief." Like, really dude? You got caught with a boner groping some girl by your almost-girlfriend and that's the only thing you come up with? ANYWHO, everything else is great and you should totally read this book.
May 30, 2025
More prehistory with significantly fewer dinosaurs.
TL; DR: Adventure and mystery meet horror and thriller in this nail-biting journey into the long pat, where the terror of time gone by and the silent ticking of the clock will pull you in, even if the characters don’t.
I like Greig Beck’s writing; it all feels kind of like those books you’d grab off a shelf on your way out of the grocery store: solid and enjoyable enough to remember, but nothing you’re going to tell your kids about someday. This is definitely the weaker of his two series I’ve taken part in, but it’s also better paced. Another plus side, I love when the prehistoric villains aren’t necessarily just dinosaurs, but y’know…spoilers.
Characters: Pretty well fleshed out, but also forgettable. There was no major character growth to be had and definitely no consistency of emotion, but again, it is what it is for a supermarket novel. Ben was cool, Emma was fine, but their relationship was a weird one and the whole Andrea thing was weird too. Very confused as to what part that played in the whole.
Setting: The tepui was an awesome setting from the first time you saw it, and I honestly really loved the mist. It was a solid setup for a good storyline and Beck continues to do a great job at making it feel like anything could get you at any time.
Story: Pretty good, honestly felt a lot like his other series for motivation, but I’m not one to harp on a good formula. The steady devolution of behaviors and pacing of the story never let up and you were constantly wondering what’d hit them next. Overall, rapid fire, but enjoyable.
Writing: The writing is pretty good, but I keep feeling like the ending was kind of missing out. I see the point, but I’m struggling with the why. As stated previously, good pacing, but the last two chapters or so were just weird to me. It didn’t feel like there was any sort of passion of writing behind them. I could just be misreading of course, but perhaps the author knew the ending he wanted and was just figuring it was time for filler.
It’s a good book, not spectacular, but I’ll definitely be reading the next one. First back to the megs though, they’re waiting for me in my unread pile.
3.4 🌟
TL; DR: Adventure and mystery meet horror and thriller in this nail-biting journey into the long pat, where the terror of time gone by and the silent ticking of the clock will pull you in, even if the characters don’t.
I like Greig Beck’s writing; it all feels kind of like those books you’d grab off a shelf on your way out of the grocery store: solid and enjoyable enough to remember, but nothing you’re going to tell your kids about someday. This is definitely the weaker of his two series I’ve taken part in, but it’s also better paced. Another plus side, I love when the prehistoric villains aren’t necessarily just dinosaurs, but y’know…spoilers.
Characters: Pretty well fleshed out, but also forgettable. There was no major character growth to be had and definitely no consistency of emotion, but again, it is what it is for a supermarket novel. Ben was cool, Emma was fine, but their relationship was a weird one and the whole Andrea thing was weird too. Very confused as to what part that played in the whole.
Setting: The tepui was an awesome setting from the first time you saw it, and I honestly really loved the mist. It was a solid setup for a good storyline and Beck continues to do a great job at making it feel like anything could get you at any time.
Story: Pretty good, honestly felt a lot like his other series for motivation, but I’m not one to harp on a good formula. The steady devolution of behaviors and pacing of the story never let up and you were constantly wondering what’d hit them next. Overall, rapid fire, but enjoyable.
Writing: The writing is pretty good, but I keep feeling like the ending was kind of missing out. I see the point, but I’m struggling with the why. As stated previously, good pacing, but the last two chapters or so were just weird to me. It didn’t feel like there was any sort of passion of writing behind them. I could just be misreading of course, but perhaps the author knew the ending he wanted and was just figuring it was time for filler.
It’s a good book, not spectacular, but I’ll definitely be reading the next one. First back to the megs though, they’re waiting for me in my unread pile.
3.4 🌟
November 8, 2020
Emma walked beside him, her handgun dangling at her side. “I know what you’re thinking,” she whispered.
He glanced at her and let one eyebrow rise. “Oh yeah. Lay it on me.”
“You’re wondering how the hell you got here?” She gave him a lopsided grin.
He bobbed his head. “How’d you guess?”
Her smile was fragile. “Because I’m thinking the same thing. We were like all the bored, spoilt, overfed, and pampered people of the modern world. We were just looking for a little adventure. Guess we found it.”
Ben Cartwright is cleaning out the attic for his mom when he finds some correspondence between his great-grandfather and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of The Lost World. Apparently great-gramps had an adventure which was Conan Doyle's inspiration for the novel of a South American plateau where dinosaurs still roam. When Ben mentions this to the old high-school gang, they decide to go find the lost notebook (hidden in England) and then find the dinosaurs. Luckily, Ben is ex-military special forces and another friend is an internet billionaire, and the three guys and three girls set off on an adventure.
I'm a sucker for dinosaurs, but this was about as meh! as the Conan Doyle classic. It took me forever to get interested (nearly marked it DNF a few times), but it was fun while the dinosaurs were chomping and everyone was running and screaming. Unfortunately, too much of it strained credibility (the cast of characters, the plateau) or was anti-climatic (finding the lost notebook, not enough dinosaurs). And I really dislike cliff-hanger endings! Greig Beck - an Australian - sometimes writes dialog which probably sounds normal for an Aussie but not for an American (our adventurers are American). But this book is probably just meant as a fun pulpy adventure - at which it generally succeeds - and not something to overthink - which I find difficult. It was 'okay' (maybe 2.5 stars) but didn't quite work for me.
He glanced at her and let one eyebrow rise. “Oh yeah. Lay it on me.”
“You’re wondering how the hell you got here?” She gave him a lopsided grin.
He bobbed his head. “How’d you guess?”
Her smile was fragile. “Because I’m thinking the same thing. We were like all the bored, spoilt, overfed, and pampered people of the modern world. We were just looking for a little adventure. Guess we found it.”
Ben Cartwright is cleaning out the attic for his mom when he finds some correspondence between his great-grandfather and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of The Lost World. Apparently great-gramps had an adventure which was Conan Doyle's inspiration for the novel of a South American plateau where dinosaurs still roam. When Ben mentions this to the old high-school gang, they decide to go find the lost notebook (hidden in England) and then find the dinosaurs. Luckily, Ben is ex-military special forces and another friend is an internet billionaire, and the three guys and three girls set off on an adventure.
I'm a sucker for dinosaurs, but this was about as meh! as the Conan Doyle classic. It took me forever to get interested (nearly marked it DNF a few times), but it was fun while the dinosaurs were chomping and everyone was running and screaming. Unfortunately, too much of it strained credibility (the cast of characters, the plateau) or was anti-climatic (finding the lost notebook, not enough dinosaurs). And I really dislike cliff-hanger endings! Greig Beck - an Australian - sometimes writes dialog which probably sounds normal for an Aussie but not for an American (our adventurers are American). But this book is probably just meant as a fun pulpy adventure - at which it generally succeeds - and not something to overthink - which I find difficult. It was 'okay' (maybe 2.5 stars) but didn't quite work for me.
March 14, 2018
When you read as many books as I do (more than I care to admit, but less than I want to), you get a little jaded. Sure, the big names come along like Butcher, Jordan and Sanderson as well as Hobb and Thurman and they're great authors with great reads, but lost in the midst of the fine prose is the the plain, old simplicity of a story like that of Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard. This book, thanks to Mr. Beck, brings back all the John Carter/Tarzan/Quartermain-ness of a fast-paced adventure with the main emphasis on fun.
Fun is the reason I dove into Sci-Fi and Fantasy, the reason I read things like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and sometimes in the world of sarcastic, cynical works, I realize that I have, at times, distanced myself from the sheer fun of it all.
Good thing Greig Beck remembers fun and gave me a book to dive into and lose myself for a few hours.
Primordia takes on the the challenge of those writers of old and gives us Ben Cartwright (no relation to the Cartwrights of Bonanza fame) and his adventure to the deep jungles of Venezuela in search of a lost world filled with dinosaurs, danger and death.
Now, this is a well-trod trope, but Beck writes with enough energy and commitment to the idea that the old becomes new once again and I found myself gripped, staying up to the odd hours to finish the last page.
In the end, that's what it's all about, I guess.
Fun is the reason I dove into Sci-Fi and Fantasy, the reason I read things like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and sometimes in the world of sarcastic, cynical works, I realize that I have, at times, distanced myself from the sheer fun of it all.
Good thing Greig Beck remembers fun and gave me a book to dive into and lose myself for a few hours.
Primordia takes on the the challenge of those writers of old and gives us Ben Cartwright (no relation to the Cartwrights of Bonanza fame) and his adventure to the deep jungles of Venezuela in search of a lost world filled with dinosaurs, danger and death.
Now, this is a well-trod trope, but Beck writes with enough energy and commitment to the idea that the old becomes new once again and I found myself gripped, staying up to the odd hours to finish the last page.
In the end, that's what it's all about, I guess.
January 14, 2021
What if The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was based on a real story and not just Doyle's imagination? What if he had notes, letters, conversations with someone who actually went to the Lost World? What if the person who went to the Lost World had a great great grandson who discovered the notes, the maps and the correspondence? Would it be possible to recreate his ancestors tracks and go back to the Lost World?
That's the setup.
I had never read Beck before and found his a decent writer. The book felt a bit rushed (this easily could have been a 500 page book instead of a 250 page book) and a bit predictable and I'm not sure I will continue with the series (there are three books in the series) but I did enjoy the book as I was reading it.
Not to spoil anything but...of course they go to the Lost World and there are monsters and dinosaurs and action and death and betrayal etc. etc. etc. Pretty much everything you knew you would get when you picked the book up.
Good entertainment and sometimes that's all I want.
That's the setup.
I had never read Beck before and found his a decent writer. The book felt a bit rushed (this easily could have been a 500 page book instead of a 250 page book) and a bit predictable and I'm not sure I will continue with the series (there are three books in the series) but I did enjoy the book as I was reading it.
Not to spoil anything but...of course they go to the Lost World and there are monsters and dinosaurs and action and death and betrayal etc. etc. etc. Pretty much everything you knew you would get when you picked the book up.
Good entertainment and sometimes that's all I want.
October 1, 2024
Weirdly don't know how to feel about this. It's definitely not very good. The characters are written like an old person writing a teenager, but all the characters are actually mid thirties so it's very weird. None of them talk to each other properly and the romance is odd and developed too fast.
There were several times where I had to rewind and listen again because I had just zoned out and stopped paying attention.
The author also described the main characters testicles shrinking from the cold just a liiittle bit too often.
But even with all that, I enjoyed it. I get the impression the author was just super into the concept and I could feel the fun they were having with it while reading it.
There were several times where I had to rewind and listen again because I had just zoned out and stopped paying attention.
The author also described the main characters testicles shrinking from the cold just a liiittle bit too often.
But even with all that, I enjoyed it. I get the impression the author was just super into the concept and I could feel the fun they were having with it while reading it.
December 21, 2017
Primordia is a thrilling mix of terror and adventure and starts off with a shot of adrenalin and keeps ramping up with every page turned!
Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World comes to life as a group of friends set off to prove its existence..
Little do they know the horror that awaits them, as they find a place where terrifying creatures stalk the land, swim in the depths and slither through a wet, green, primordial jungle they thought long gone...The mythical Lost World turns out to be a land of NIGHTMARES!! 5-Stars
Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World comes to life as a group of friends set off to prove its existence..
Little do they know the horror that awaits them, as they find a place where terrifying creatures stalk the land, swim in the depths and slither through a wet, green, primordial jungle they thought long gone...The mythical Lost World turns out to be a land of NIGHTMARES!! 5-Stars
July 9, 2019
War ganz nett, hatte aber mehr erwartet, da sich die Idee sehr spannend anhörte.
Der erste Teil war leider ziemlich langweilig, da leider nix spannendes passierte.
Im zweiten Teil wurde alles leider schnell zu einem richtigen Klischee, was die Charaktere und deren Rolle angeht.
Zudem war es ziemlich vorhersehbar, wenn auch gut und flüssig geschrieben.
Mal sehen, ob ich den zweiten Band auch lesen werde.
Der erste Teil war leider ziemlich langweilig, da leider nix spannendes passierte.
Im zweiten Teil wurde alles leider schnell zu einem richtigen Klischee, was die Charaktere und deren Rolle angeht.
Zudem war es ziemlich vorhersehbar, wenn auch gut und flüssig geschrieben.
Mal sehen, ob ich den zweiten Band auch lesen werde.
July 19, 2020
Fast paced, modern retelling of Doyle's The List World
Although there are plenty of underdeveloped characters, they are pretty stock action movie type characters. You can pretty much guess who's going to be offed.
Besides that, I did enjoy reading this book. It went ahead with plenty of gusto (and plot holes).I was entertained as I was immersed in this world and the circumstances.
Looking forward to book 2.
Although there are plenty of underdeveloped characters, they are pretty stock action movie type characters. You can pretty much guess who's going to be offed.
Besides that, I did enjoy reading this book. It went ahead with plenty of gusto (and plot holes).I was entertained as I was immersed in this world and the circumstances.
Looking forward to book 2.
February 19, 2024
This is the type of book I've been waiting on for a while.
As a fan of Survival, Adventure, Monster and Prehistoric novels, this one checks all the marks!
Take The Lost World (Sir Authur Conan Doyle 1912) and add a modern twist.
Huge fan of this novel and I've already purchased the 2nd book of the series (Currently 3 books in this series).
As a fan of Survival, Adventure, Monster and Prehistoric novels, this one checks all the marks!
Take The Lost World (Sir Authur Conan Doyle 1912) and add a modern twist.
Huge fan of this novel and I've already purchased the 2nd book of the series (Currently 3 books in this series).
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