Book Review: Journey to Chandara

First of all... in case you haven't heard about it, do a quick search on Limusaurus, Limusaurus, Limusaurus, Limusaurus, and Limusaurus. While most of the news seems to revolve around its fingers, the fact that it's a herbivorous and beakily toothless ceratosaur from Jurassic Asia is at least as exciting. Yes, Virginia, there's a lot we still don't know about dinosaurs*.

*But we're working on it.

In the meantime, despite being out of university, I've got less time than I thought I'd have. At least the student visa and the apartment are clicking into place - but I most likely won't be able to go SVP this year.

As usual, when there isn't much else to say, what better than a book review? I recently have had the fortune to obtain a copy of Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, the latest installment in James Gurney's Dinotopia series, and will review it right here and now.

Like the previous books, Journey to Chandara (or JtC) is a big, colorful, and lavishly illustrated book. As one commenter on this blog said, "James Gurney paints like God". And I'm inclined to agree. The artworks run the gamut from near-photorealistic to quasi-impressionist, with hints at a whole variety of distinct art styles in between (Alma-Tadema? Is that you?) If you're buying this book, chances are you're buying it to pore over the pictures, and Gurney certainly delivers here. The journey itself allows depiction of various "Dinotopianized" cultures, including Egyptian, Chinese, Tibetan, and Russian, which again adds to the diversity of the book.

Another welcome development is the appearance of feathered dinosaurs. While a good deal of ornithomimids are still scaly, there now are fluffy oviraptorids and therizinosaurs. Also, Witmer's work on dinosaur nostrils has apparently not yet caught up with Dinotopia, but that's more of a pedantic quibble than anything. Those dinosaurs really are believably interacting with humans.

If there is something to actually complain about, it's the story. The Dinotopia books are all light on plot, and this one is no exception. The "plot" is basically Arthur Denison Passing Through Dinotopia On His Way To His Goal, And What Befell Him There. That's it. I just spoiled most of the book for you (with the exception of Emperor Hugo Khan, which - I must admit - was a big surprise). It's the standard Dinotopia formula - book 2 tweaks it a little, but that's the general outline. Furthermore, interesting characters are introduced, and then forgotten a few pages later. And Arthur Denison has gone from a rational, scientific sort of person to someone who swallows anything he's told without argument (apparently, he really believes that those guys at Bilgewater are going to soar heavenward), and there is rather more "mystical" talk here than in previous books.

Finally, one thing that bugged me (pun not intended) was that the implications of a few things. In the first book, dinosaurs and (shudder) dolphins were the only sentient non-humans. In this book, though, we are treated to sentient singing butterflies. Does this mean that everything with a nervous system higher than a jellyfish's is capable of talking and thinking? Why are fish eaten here then? Do sauropods go out of their way not to step on ants? Arrrggghhhh...

In short, it's a glorious book. But the plot could have been fleshed out a little more, and some points should not be thought about too much. The pictures, though, are glorious, and worth getting the book for.

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara and its cover copyright James Gurney.