Scan barcode
wyrmdog's review against another edition
1.0
I came back for the abuse this book heaps upon its reader at every turn. I did so willingly and with hope that this book would be the one that lifted the chauvinist idiocy and gave us more dinosaurs, more fantasy, and more fun. Alas, I was to be disappointed.
First, let's just talk about the worst part of the book: Melodia, the titular Dinosaur Princess. If you have even a modicum of imagination you can see why the book is named this and it has naught to do with its most superficial reading. Yes, Melodia rides a dinosaur. But before we get there, what does Melodia do?
She cries. At the end of EVERY STUPID SCENE she cries. She is portrayed as having grown not at all from her time as a military officer and war hero in the last book where she fought dinosaurs from horseback and lived to tell the tale. That badassery was jettisoned almost immediately so that we can see how distraught she is at the fate of ANOTHER dinosaur princess (the more superficially titled sort, but ultimately, the better character), her little sister. Instead of advocating for herself she needs to be rescued again only this time by grandma where she continues to be a blubbering moron instead of the amazing and fun character she could be.
No, this book settles on its haunches and gives us more dinosaurs, but dinosaurs that defy the laws of physics, dinosaurs that exist almost solely as an afterthought. This book gives us more female POV page-count, but spends it almost entirely on their failures or on their sobbing fits. This book gives us a frantic chase to rescue a kidnapped child only to have the entire narrative thread disappear as if it never was. In the process it peels back the skin to show us a political situation that is entirely ignored, but which if used, would have done wonders for the story.
I get that Melodia is traumatized and damaged by her rape and the abduction of her sister and feeling in over her head, but there is no progress, only a deus ex machina that makes her even the least bit tolerable. It just comes too late to matter.
The book lacks the gonzo fun of the Rose Sea, the gravitas of the Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire - as well as their horror - and it lacks in delivering dinosaurs except as the most superficial of background elements.
The action scenes are stilted and un-fun. The dinosaurs are presented clinically. The homo-eroticism reads like the heter0-eroticism that came earlier, which is to say, clumsily. Intriguing characters are mostly dead now leaving us only with the bland ones (Montse excepted, but there is so little of her). There is so much potential here and ALL of it feels wasted.
I can't finish it and I have less than 20% of the book to go. I know I will finish it eventually, probably soon, but I am taking a break to read Nancy Drew. I need a palate cleanser before I finish. I am 99% positive that nothing that remains in this book will change my opinion of it, but I'll come back if it does.
First, let's just talk about the worst part of the book: Melodia, the titular Dinosaur Princess. If you have even a modicum of imagination you can see why the book is named this and it has naught to do with its most superficial reading. Yes, Melodia rides a dinosaur. But before we get there, what does Melodia do?
She cries. At the end of EVERY STUPID SCENE she cries. She is portrayed as having grown not at all from her time as a military officer and war hero in the last book where she fought dinosaurs from horseback and lived to tell the tale. That badassery was jettisoned almost immediately so that we can see how distraught she is at the fate of ANOTHER dinosaur princess (the more superficially titled sort, but ultimately, the better character), her little sister. Instead of advocating for herself she needs to be rescued again only this time by grandma where she continues to be a blubbering moron instead of the amazing and fun character she could be.
No, this book settles on its haunches and gives us more dinosaurs, but dinosaurs that defy the laws of physics, dinosaurs that exist almost solely as an afterthought. This book gives us more female POV page-count, but spends it almost entirely on their failures or on their sobbing fits. This book gives us a frantic chase to rescue a kidnapped child only to have the entire narrative thread disappear as if it never was. In the process it peels back the skin to show us a political situation that is entirely ignored, but which if used, would have done wonders for the story.
I get that Melodia is traumatized and damaged by her rape and the abduction of her sister and feeling in over her head, but there is no progress, only a deus ex machina that makes her even the least bit tolerable. It just comes too late to matter.
The book lacks the gonzo fun of the Rose Sea, the gravitas of the Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire - as well as their horror - and it lacks in delivering dinosaurs except as the most superficial of background elements.
The action scenes are stilted and un-fun. The dinosaurs are presented clinically. The homo-eroticism reads like the heter0-eroticism that came earlier, which is to say, clumsily. Intriguing characters are mostly dead now leaving us only with the bland ones (Montse excepted, but there is so little of her). There is so much potential here and ALL of it feels wasted.
I can't finish it and I have less than 20% of the book to go. I know I will finish it eventually, probably soon, but I am taking a break to read Nancy Drew. I need a palate cleanser before I finish. I am 99% positive that nothing that remains in this book will change my opinion of it, but I'll come back if it does.
chukg's review against another edition
5.0
This series is great. The idea sounds silly but the execution takes it seriously and does it well, good world building, some weird mysteries going on behind the scenes, and a handful of viewpoint characters. So far each book resolves part of the story but not everything -- it's not like those series where a book could practically be a chapter in a longer book.
teaxmillions's review against another edition
3.0
These books are good fun, nothing more, nothing less. While they definitely have their problems (for example, Milán's irritating penchant to remind us about events that have already happened, far too often), they are there just for fun, and they are a quick read. The whole series I give a 3/5 stars. Unfortunately, due to the author's passing, there will be no more, which breaks my heart more than I thought it would. I'll miss Rob and Karyl, and even Princess Melodía, who grew on me with this last book. I'll miss them even more not knowing their final end.
lazydog40223's review against another edition
2.0
Ok so i am going to have to DNF this book. I may pick it up later to finish as it is the third in a trilogy and I hate to leave ir unfashionable. Who knows it may get better. I am going to review the series as a whole. In total I would give the whole series a 3.25 out of 5. First book really excited for the idea of a medieval setting with dinosaurs which felt very flat. I absolutely hate the George R.R Martin quote on the front: "Game of Thrones but with dinosaurs." Sounds awesome right. But no its fairly boring, the intrigue is fairly brand, and ots rather irritating hearing dinosaurs referred by their nicknames ex: Matador - Allosaurus or Fatty - Protoceratops. It gets confusing in the first book hearing one name then same dinosaur referred in the next chapter by a different name. It just feels inconsistent. The world building for this book seems substantial but thats all it is. Its for show and is rather empty. There are multiple languages like Spanol, Aynglssh, Frances, Slavonic but yet everyone can understand each other. There are zero language barriers. The second book starts off the same but with a slightly better beat. Its about 60% through the book where it takes off. There are characters called Grey Angels that finally show their hand and the book picks up with a slightly Resident Evil 4 vibe and its awesome. The ending though is disappointing. Its like Victor Milan found is niche and then completely fumbles it. By the end no major character dies because you know plot armor and the third book doesn't start off much better with a kidnapping. This series only makes it over 3 because of the whole horde aspect in second book.
nick_borrelli's review against another edition
4.0
Click here for official review posted on Fresh Fiction:
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=63719
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=63719
mks's review
3.0
I was interested in the concept and the initial execution of these books, but the sexualized content really turned me off. That being said, I fast forwarded (I listened on audio) these scenes. Not much "happens" in these books, but there is more insight into the war between the Fae and the Grey Angels, with a climactic scene when both emerge into the literal light of day.
I was surprised when I read a review (before finishing the book) that this would be the last book, and that it ends on a cliffhanger. I couldn't understand why, until I found the author's website strangely missing. Its only after reading his Wikipedia page that I understood that the author had passed away several years ago. Disappointing that we will probably never see this series properly concluded, unless his estate hires someone else to finish it off, like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.
I was surprised when I read a review (before finishing the book) that this would be the last book, and that it ends on a cliffhanger. I couldn't understand why, until I found the author's website strangely missing. Its only after reading his Wikipedia page that I understood that the author had passed away several years ago. Disappointing that we will probably never see this series properly concluded, unless his estate hires someone else to finish it off, like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.
More...