Tom's DINOSAUR WARS books have been described as "Star Wars meets Jurassic Park." Filled with action and adventure, his stories follow Yellowstone Park naturalist Chase Armstrong and Montana rancher's daughter Kit Daniels in their struggle to survive an invasion of intelligent dinosaurs returning from space. The invaders intend to reclaim their home world, bringing all the other huge beasts of the past with them! Hopp writes savvy science fiction suitable for all ages.
With a cover like that, and at the cost of nothing on Kindle, you better believe I'm going to give Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall by Thomas P. Hopp a whirl.
The first and obvious question is: Does the book follow through on the promises of its cover? 100% YES. There are rampaging dinosaurs, tank battles, horseback riding, and space warfare galore. There's even a mecha element, as the invading dinosaurs' tank equivalent is a 10 foot-tall dinomorphic fighting machine.
Far from being a goofy romp through all the tropes of genre fiction, Earthfall takes its dino invasion premise seriously. The stock characters become three-dimensional as they grow together and face new challenges. Even the dinos themelves, which are intelligent, have depth.
That, by the way, was the biggest surprise of Earthfall. In Planet of the Apes fashion, there are multiple dino characters with different ideas about how to deal with the human race. Hopp took special care to flesh out the dinos' back story, even so far as to give them a mythology and spoken language. These scenes contrast well with the typical "invasion" scenes, brief one-shots alien dinos descending and/or taking over different parts of the country.
Ironically, the story elements that most beggar belief don't have to do with a dinosaur moonbase or an alien invasion, but the ease with which the threat is resolved in the book's final act. This problem was mitigated by the fact that my impressions of the book were already set, and the bulk of the action we actually get to "see" is believable.
"How do you fight an enemy shooting at your from Phaeon Crater? Every twenty-four hours the earth rotates like a giant rotisserie. When the moon is overhead we get blasted." -Brig. Gen. Matthew Davis
There are four main plots in the book, the central plot centering on a ranch in Montana's Bear Tooth Mountains. The sideplots include the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado, and a roving Army tank troop. After a few exposition-rich chapters to set the table, the plot moves with crackling energy. Hopp demonstrates skill in his prose, marrying character thought and action with good pacing.
There's much more to this story than people running around trying not to get eaten by dinosaurs. There are victories and defeats, comeuppances and second chances, mutinies and armistices. The characters with their varied motivations and backgrounds are true to reality, which makes the suspension of disbelief that much easier.
In conclusion, this book surprised me with its commitment to spinning a sprawling, entertaining story from an admittedly silly premise. The mashup of genres--alien invasion, dinosaur, sci-fi, mecha, thriller--just works. And, I might add, there's no objectionable content that would keep a child from reading it. It's truly a book for all ages. I give it five stars out of five.
There are four books in Hopp's Dinosaur Wars series. The next book is Counterattack, whose cover is just as enticing as Earthfall's.
Leave a comment below if you want me to read and review it.
I invite you to read the first 4 chapters of my new sci-fi book, Seeds of Calamity, for free. If it piques your interest, get yourself a copy at Amazon. I appreciate the support!
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