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badseedgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Read for the HA 2022 Halloween Challenge: Zombie
How could this have been anything less than 3 stars? Zombie dinosaurs sound amazing to me, but in the end this was ultimately equivalent of reading junk food. There was not much plot and what there was, was very silly. Some of the plot holes:
I would just like to point out that this remote island would be a car thief's dream. Every single vehicle in this book was left with the keys in it. Every. Single. Vehicle.
How can an CIA agent not know the basics of First Aide?
Why would the CIA send an agent into an undercover service as a doctor who had the problem listed above?
I don't think I will be able to recommend this book.
How could this have been anything less than 3 stars? Zombie dinosaurs sound amazing to me, but in the end this was ultimately equivalent of reading junk food. There was not much plot and what there was, was very silly. Some of the plot holes:
I would just like to point out that this remote island would be a car thief's dream. Every single vehicle in this book was left with the keys in it. Every. Single. Vehicle.
How can an CIA agent not know the basics of First Aide?
Why would the CIA send an agent into an undercover service as a doctor who had the problem listed above?
I don't think I will be able to recommend this book.
cjcoleynz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
vikingwolf's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the cover and anything with rampaging dinosaurs always gets my attention but I found this book surprisingly disappointing. There were plot holes that you could drive a truck through and it did affect my thoughts on the book.
The book gets off to a strange start with environmental activists Alex and Tony going to where the US and Russian teams are racing each other to drill on their dig sites in Antarctica. They want to protect the lake of biological organisms that the teams are drilling into...by blowing up both operations. Yes we want to protect this fragile area of importance by blowing the whole area to hell. Where exactly does that make sense??? Of course it goes wrong and Tony is attacked by Russian men infected with something deadly. Alex flees to the US side of the lake where his furious dad is leading that team.
His father Marcus has discovered what is believed to be dead preserved dinosaurs from the frozen water but Alex gets a close up view as he crosses the lake and is sure that the T Rex is actually alive. The dinosaurs are to be transported to an island owned by rich expedition leader De Kirk. However as the dinosaur thaws out it is going to cause chaos on the ship, biting people and infecting them with the zombie reptile type virus that has decimated the Russian party.
The next part of the book that I found totally unbelievable. The CIA are monitoring what De Kirk is doing and have placed an agent on his ship, posing as the ship's new doctor. The only problem is, Veronica has no medical training and when faced with the T Rex bites and injuries, she has no clue what to do. She even has to be told by Marcus that she needs to give the victims antibiotics in case of infection. WTF kind of plot is that??? There is no way that the CIA are putting someone without medical training to pose as a doctor! She also isn't very good with a gun as Xander seems able to disarm her at will several times in the book. She is quite pathetic. Xander, the biological weapon expert brought on board by De Kirk is much more convincing that our heroes Alex and Veronica. He at least seems to be capable.
The action switches to the private island where things are starting to unravel. The thawed dinosaurs are loose on the island and everyone who is bitten is turning into a zombie. Even the main compound on the island is not a safe place to be, and Xander, Veronica and Alex realise that if they want to escape alive, they are going to have to work together in an uneasy alliance. While this part of the book has more action, everything becomes stupidly easy for our team. The next paragraph contains spoilers.
Spoiler alert! This is how the escape goes. Run to roof where there is a helicopter. Oh no, we've crashed the helo but right near the crash site is a jeep. Oh no the jeep has now run out of gas but there is a secret shelter just ahead hidden inside the nearby volcano. Lets wire it to explode and kill the monsters...now they are stuck inside after setting the explosives but a handy fork lift truck is right there to force open the back exit along with a nice motorbike to use! *sigh* Every place they get to, there is a nice quick escape option which lets them avoid most of the zombies. Too convenient and not convincing for me.
Safe to look again! I know you have to suspend disbelief to a certain extent when you are reading books about dinosaurs and zombies but there has to be a realism of sorts where you can invest in the story and I did not find it in this book. I found the characters to be unappealing with the cliche rich psycho being like a James Bond villian and the heroes were unconvincing cardboard cut outs. The plot holes were silly, and then it throws in the dumb attraction between Alex and Veronica which as well as being an silly added afterthought, has no chemistry or interest to it at all. It is almost as if the authors though 'darn, we forgot the obligatory romance. Throw it in here!'
Disappointing and I know that Rich Chesler is a much better author than is shown in this book.
The book gets off to a strange start with environmental activists Alex and Tony going to where the US and Russian teams are racing each other to drill on their dig sites in Antarctica. They want to protect the lake of biological organisms that the teams are drilling into...by blowing up both operations. Yes we want to protect this fragile area of importance by blowing the whole area to hell. Where exactly does that make sense??? Of course it goes wrong and Tony is attacked by Russian men infected with something deadly. Alex flees to the US side of the lake where his furious dad is leading that team.
His father Marcus has discovered what is believed to be dead preserved dinosaurs from the frozen water but Alex gets a close up view as he crosses the lake and is sure that the T Rex is actually alive. The dinosaurs are to be transported to an island owned by rich expedition leader De Kirk. However as the dinosaur thaws out it is going to cause chaos on the ship, biting people and infecting them with the zombie reptile type virus that has decimated the Russian party.
The next part of the book that I found totally unbelievable. The CIA are monitoring what De Kirk is doing and have placed an agent on his ship, posing as the ship's new doctor. The only problem is, Veronica has no medical training and when faced with the T Rex bites and injuries, she has no clue what to do. She even has to be told by Marcus that she needs to give the victims antibiotics in case of infection. WTF kind of plot is that??? There is no way that the CIA are putting someone without medical training to pose as a doctor! She also isn't very good with a gun as Xander seems able to disarm her at will several times in the book. She is quite pathetic. Xander, the biological weapon expert brought on board by De Kirk is much more convincing that our heroes Alex and Veronica. He at least seems to be capable.
The action switches to the private island where things are starting to unravel. The thawed dinosaurs are loose on the island and everyone who is bitten is turning into a zombie. Even the main compound on the island is not a safe place to be, and Xander, Veronica and Alex realise that if they want to escape alive, they are going to have to work together in an uneasy alliance. While this part of the book has more action, everything becomes stupidly easy for our team. The next paragraph contains spoilers.
Spoiler alert! This is how the escape goes. Run to roof where there is a helicopter. Oh no, we've crashed the helo but right near the crash site is a jeep. Oh no the jeep has now run out of gas but there is a secret shelter just ahead hidden inside the nearby volcano. Lets wire it to explode and kill the monsters...now they are stuck inside after setting the explosives but a handy fork lift truck is right there to force open the back exit along with a nice motorbike to use! *sigh* Every place they get to, there is a nice quick escape option which lets them avoid most of the zombies. Too convenient and not convincing for me.
Safe to look again! I know you have to suspend disbelief to a certain extent when you are reading books about dinosaurs and zombies but there has to be a realism of sorts where you can invest in the story and I did not find it in this book. I found the characters to be unappealing with the cliche rich psycho being like a James Bond villian and the heroes were unconvincing cardboard cut outs. The plot holes were silly, and then it throws in the dumb attraction between Alex and Veronica which as well as being an silly added afterthought, has no chemistry or interest to it at all. It is almost as if the authors though 'darn, we forgot the obligatory romance. Throw it in here!'
Disappointing and I know that Rich Chesler is a much better author than is shown in this book.
imsam's review against another edition
2.0
It's basically a shitty sci-fi movie turned into a book. Like half the chapters end with the main character passing out. Gets really boring despite its obsession with keeping action going. Also stars world's worst undercover agent.
bookanonjeff's review against another edition
5.0
Zombie. Dinosaurs. Read it for that premise alone! Seriously, what more do you need? Do you want me to tell you that this was a very fast paced, easy read full of action? It was. Do you want me to tell you that there was enough resolved here to make it feel like a complete story? It was. Do you want me to tell you that the authors left enough open to continue the overall story arc? They did. Now, quit reading this review and go pick up this book!
sunny_care's review against another edition
3.0
Was this book beautifully written? No.
Was it the sort of book that affects you on a deep emotional level and really makes you think? Nope.
Was it filled with action, violence, and gruesome zombie death and killings? Oh you bet.
With a title like Jurassic Dead, you just have to let this book be exactly what it is and either enjoy the mindless gruesomeness or read something else.
Was it the sort of book that affects you on a deep emotional level and really makes you think? Nope.
Was it filled with action, violence, and gruesome zombie death and killings? Oh you bet.
With a title like Jurassic Dead, you just have to let this book be exactly what it is and either enjoy the mindless gruesomeness or read something else.
writeramyshannon's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely 5 stars and if I could pick more, I would
This isn't my first book by Sakmyster, but his collaboration with Chesler made this intensifying and amazing story about a come-to-life frozen, yet heartless T. Rex. The interactions between the characters, especially father and son, Marcus and Alex, respectively, flowed perfectly with a zombie-ish but more like ... as it's described in the book "a prehistoric-skinned mash-up between human and reptile..." setting. There are some things that a son shouldn't see in his father ... Basically, it's a prehistoric zombie or undead T. Rex who is very hungry and what he does to his meals is something ... vile. Loved it. The story grabbed me from the very beginning.
This isn't my first book by Sakmyster, but his collaboration with Chesler made this intensifying and amazing story about a come-to-life frozen, yet heartless T. Rex. The interactions between the characters, especially father and son, Marcus and Alex, respectively, flowed perfectly with a zombie-ish but more like ... as it's described in the book "a prehistoric-skinned mash-up between human and reptile..." setting. There are some things that a son shouldn't see in his father ... Basically, it's a prehistoric zombie or undead T. Rex who is very hungry and what he does to his meals is something ... vile. Loved it. The story grabbed me from the very beginning.
gerd_d's review against another edition
Abgebrochen nach den ersten Kapiteln.
Die Story macht keinerlei Sinn und Übersetzung/Schreibstil sind einfach nur zum steinerweichen Schlecht.
Die Story "Logik" folgt einem Muster von:
"Wenn mein Sohn, der eben noch versucht hat meine Ausgrabungsarbeit mit einem Bombenanschlag zu Sabotieren, sagt die Dinoleichen seien gefährliche Zombies, dann ist Grund genug für mich meine Arbeit abzubrechen..."
Wieso der Sohn bei einem so Einfältigen Vater glaubt er braucht Bomben um ihn an seiner Arbeit zu hindern weiß wohl nur der Autor ... das der Übersetzer bereits auf den ersten Seiten auf Redewendungen zurückgreift für die es im Original keine entsprechung gegeben haben kann ist dem Lesevergnügen auch nicht gerade zuträglich, zudem, das Buch beginnt mit der wohl langweiligsten Reptilen-Zombie-Menschen Attacke der Literaturgeschichte.
Schade um das wirklich gelungene [b:Carnosaur|3484906|Carnosaur|Harry Adam Knight|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1307202351s/3484906.jpg|3178562] Inspirierte Cover-design.
Die Story macht keinerlei Sinn und Übersetzung/Schreibstil sind einfach nur zum steinerweichen Schlecht.
Die Story "Logik" folgt einem Muster von:
"Wenn mein Sohn, der eben noch versucht hat meine Ausgrabungsarbeit mit einem Bombenanschlag zu Sabotieren, sagt die Dinoleichen seien gefährliche Zombies, dann ist Grund genug für mich meine Arbeit abzubrechen..."
Wieso der Sohn bei einem so Einfältigen Vater glaubt er braucht Bomben um ihn an seiner Arbeit zu hindern weiß wohl nur der Autor ... das der Übersetzer bereits auf den ersten Seiten auf Redewendungen zurückgreift für die es im Original keine entsprechung gegeben haben kann ist dem Lesevergnügen auch nicht gerade zuträglich, zudem, das Buch beginnt mit der wohl langweiligsten Reptilen-Zombie-Menschen Attacke der Literaturgeschichte.
Schade um das wirklich gelungene [b:Carnosaur|3484906|Carnosaur|Harry Adam Knight|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1307202351s/3484906.jpg|3178562] Inspirierte Cover-design.
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