Dinosaur Publications

Cowboys & Dinosaurs: No Cadillacs – just Cowboys

Rex Riders

by J.P. Carlson

Illustrations by Jim Calafiore, cover art by Fabio Pastori

Published by Monstrosities Books, 431pp. £9.47 hardback from Amazon.

The ‘Weird West’ is a term used to describe the mixing of Wild West lore with other more fantastical genres of fiction. It was perhaps made famous initially by DC’s (Detective Comics) 1970’s title Weird Western Tales, which combined cowboys with elements of horror, but the ideas predate that. The special effects guru Willis O’Brien (of King Kong fame) might well be considered the godfather of this fusion, with a script melding cowboys with dinosaurs that not only gave rise to 1956’s The Beast of Hollow Mountain, but also the 1969 film Valley of Gwangi.

In both films, a carnivorous dinosaur rampages through turn-of-the-century Mexico, combining the stock adventure favourite of cowboys with dinosaurs. In that tradition, 2000A.D.’s cowboys rounding up the Late Cretaceous herbivores as livestock for the meat-less 23rd Century in Flesh, was extremely popular when it first appeared in the comic in 1977 – and, indeed, the original writer Pat Mills successfully returned to that world in March of this year (2011) with the latest instalment, Flesh: Texas. Where the West is concerned….Weird Works.

And indeed it is Texas that is the setting for J. P. Carlson’s take on this combination of children’s favourites – cowboys and dinosaurs. In Rex Riders, the year is 1881, and in the south of the lone star state lies the small town of Dos Locos. Zeke Calhoun is a 14 year old orphan, staying on his uncle Jesse McCain’s Double R ranch, and finding it difficult to settle in to life away from the city he grew up in. Dos Locos is dominated by the money and influence of the wealthy owner of the Crossed Swords Ranch, Dante D’Alessandro, McCain’s former boss, who would be extremely happy to take over the Double R. Into this uneasy scenario there one day charges a solitary Triceratops in pursuit of a stagecoach and – as one character later observes – "one thing was for certain: the Wild West suddenly seemed a lot wilder."

The pretext for the presence of the dinosaurs – that of conservation by an extraterrestrial race – is familiar, used by Anne McCaffrey in her 1978 ‘Dinosaur Planet’ – but after that, everything about the story is startlingly original. The characters have an authenticity and depth that makes them believable, and are far from stereotypical: Carlson has skilfully presented the mythos of Old West values and honour through a 21st century lens, so that age, gender, ethnic or racial group does not constrain any character. Maria del Fuego, a 14 year old Hispanic girl is as much of a hero as Zeke, the book’s central character, from whom we experience most of the narrative.

And the story that those characters travel through just keeps growing and growing – the extraterrestrial environment is seamlessly linked to the Old West as though perfectly natural, and more of a ‘jungle adventure’ than anything outlandish. As much a tale of cowboy adventure and exciting dinosaur encounters, the canvas of the narrative is huge – in one scene, the two central protagonists discuss the future of the Old West, and D’Alessandro’s speech about the changing world is reminiscent of Tolkien writing about the inevitable onslaught of the future on an idyllic rural way of living in Lord of the Rings.

Perhaps as a nod to the heritage of this fusion genre, the book has the occasional services of penciller/inker Jim Calafiore, known for his work on Marvel Comics Exiles and DC’s Aquaman. However, it should be noted that, though elegant, they are few in number: the illustrations do not tell the story as a comic would, these twenty or so illustrations are chapter headers, scattered throughout over 400 pages of text. This is very far from a comic.

It is extremely hard to find any flaws with the book – for the most part, Carlson skilfully avoids dealing with the animals as dinosaurs at all: to the characters, they are just animals from another ‘country’, that present threats or opportunities, depending on whether they are rampaging, or a potential agricultural commodity – and one feels that this is exactly how the inhabitants of Dos Locos would react to such an incursion, in that time. If I had – purely as a palaeontologist! – to find a flaw, it would be the knowledge of the palaeontologist Professor Kornbluth: in 1881, I doubt that he would be able to identify an animal as a Baryonyx, over 100 years before Bill Walker found that first claw in a Surrey clay pit. But these are merely pedantic points – generally the characters have exactly the right quantity of ignorance of dinosaurs for average US citizens at that time – which is virtually total.

The ending of the book does leave one with the sense that it might not be the last time that we can venture into this ‘Weird West’ version of Texas – and I for one would be happy to do so.

Jeff Liston
Trustee of the Dinosaur Society

Dinosaurs - A Field Guide

Gregory S Paul

The first authoritative book on dinosaurs in the style of a field guide.

Descriptions of over 700 dinosaur specied by renowned expert, Gregory A Paul, are illustrated with over 600 colour and black-and-white images, including anatomical reconstructions and skull diagrams.

The extensive introduction begins with the simplest and most useful questions - 'What is a dinosaur' - and goes on to treat a wide range of topics from taxonomy, evolution, biology and behaviour to a discussion of fossil discoveries and palaeontological research. You can even imagine a trip back in time to see dinosaurs - 'Dinosaur Safari'.

The bulk of the book is devoted to full treatment of the five dinosaur groups: protodinosaurs; predatory dinosaurs and protobirds; prosauropods; sauropods; and ornithiscians. After each family introduction, the species text includes biometrics, fossil remains (proportion of full animal recovered and sites at which specimens have been found), age, distribution and formations, habitat (where known), and habits (mainly based on anatomical features). The level of knowledge about species varies considerably and this is fully reflected in the species accounts.

A fascinating insight based on the most up-to-date knowledge on dinosaurs that would make a great christmas present.

ISBN: 978-1-4081-3074-2

Publisher: A & C Black Publishers Ltd

Publication Date: 31 Oct 2010

Pages: 304pp (278x 226mm)

Dinosaurs Alive! (An Augmented Reality Book)

By Robert Mash

When I was first introduced to dinosaurs over 50 years ago there were only one or two books available and they were in black and white with limited illustration. Dinosaur films were startling but the animation was hardly lifelike and dinosaurs eating humans was geologically unsound – as man and beast were separated by almost 60 million years.

Now we have a new type of book on the market using a new technology that enables the webcam on your computer to recognise pages of the book and trigger the appearance of 3D animations that come to life! The new technology is called Augmented Reality and you are able to control the 3D images that appear on your computer screen.

The book itself will be noted for it’s beautiful cover, which is soft to the touch and brightly coloured with your focus brought quickly to a reptilian eye that stares at you from centrepage!

There are no page numbers but the inside cover and the first two pages tell you how to install the software, give tips on how to use it and advise you to contact carltonbooks.co.uk if you experience any problems. When you see a black square with a symbol looking like a dinosaur eye you are on an AR page. Look out for monsters!

After the title pages there are twenty double page spreads listed as: Meet the Dinosaurs; Old Timers; Super Heavy Weights; Diplodocus (AR); Killing Machines; Micro Monsters; Tough Guys; Stegosaurus (AR); Sprinters and Plodders; Scary Oddballs; Quetzalcoatlus (AR); Ferocious Beasts; Power Packs; Big Heads; Pentaceratops AR; Longest and Tallest; Master-Minds; Extreme Eaters; Tyrannosaurus AR; Death and Extinction followed by a Glossary and answers to the quiz questions posed on the Masterminds pages.

Each spread is beautifully illustrated with a mix of full colour reconstructions, excellent line drawings and photographic images. Facts and descriptive notelets fill each spread. They are succinctly written and provide abundant details on your favourite animals.

The book would be very good value without Augmented Reality but it is the sight of dinosaurs acting fierclesly, hunting for food or fighting each other that will earn Dinosaurs Alive a special place in your book collection.

Remember however, that to view these amazing acts you will need a computer fitted with a webcam and a copy of the "Dinosaurs Alive" software (present inside the front cover of book or downloaded from Carlton Books Website). Before you buy you can experience the thrill of using this reality package on the web at Amazon Books. Once hooked you will need to check for the following minimum system requirements:

PC Hardware: a webcam, CPU: Intel Pentium 4.2GHZ or above or AMD equivalent, RAM: 1GB memory, Graphics card: most graphic cards and onboard chipsets are suitable (e.g. Nvidia, ATI and Intel). Software: Windows XP SP2 or above, Windows Vista.

Mac Hardware: a webcam, CPU: Intel Core Duo 2.4GHZ or above, RAM 1GB memory, Graphics card: Nvidia, ATI or Intel. Software: Mac OS 10.4 and 10.5.

ISBN: 1847325785

ISBN-13: 9781847325785

Publisher: Carlton Books

Publication Date: 07 Jun 2010

Pages: 48pp (228 x 262mm)

Dinosaurs on the Move

By Cathy Diez-Luckie

I am always worried when I see a child or group of children sizing up a book with a pair of safety scissors! Firstly because we live in a world dominated by health and safety rules and regulations and secondly because I have always kept my books in pristine condition. However, 'Dinosaurs on the Move' begs to be cut up! It is super book to look at, from cover to cover, with cleanly drawn and beautifully coloured illustrations of nine dinosaurs and one of Pteranodon.

Only nine dinosaurs I hear you say. Yes but the end product is nine dinosaurs that come to life in your hands.

The first four pages of the books are dedicated to descriptions of the various animals you will later cut and paste. The descriptions are short but carefully written and present the majority of key facts on Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Baryonyx, Brachiosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Pteranodon, Stegosaurus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex. After that there are two pages for each animal one in colour the other with line drawings. Both sets of pages can be removed easily as the lightweight card is perforated along the length of the bound margin. For those of you good at colouring you need only to extract the pages with line drawings for younger children (and parents) you can take out the colour pages and enhance the quality and impact of the final product.

Once you have decided on colour or black and white and extracted the pages you can turn to the inside back cover and follow the simple instructions. Taking Allosaurus as an example, simply cut round each of the 16 body shapes, colour in if necessary and then use a small punch (1/8th) to cut the holes clearly marked on the head, jaw, limbs and body parts. On the back of each part capital letters tell you which parts can be fitted to each other with brass fasteners. The result is an articulated model of Allosaurus and hours of fun and learning.

In the United States Dinosaurs on the Move can be purchased from Borders and other main bookstores. Dinosaur fans living elsewhere can order from Borders on-line. The price is $14.95. Postage and packaging or shipping will be around $4.00.

The Great Dinosaur Discoveries

By Darren Naish

In 1824, bones discovered in England were identified as coming from the first dinosaur to be given a name - megalosaurus. Thousands more discoveries since then have led us on a fascinating journey. Every new discovery has brought a deeper understanding and changed the way we visualise each species and its lifestyle.

This major new book looks at the earliest scrappy finds and best guesses of the early 1800s through to the spectacular key discoveries that changed people's minds and brought dinosaurs alive in the public consciousness.

Key finds for each century are examined in chronological order, with information about the dinosaurs themselves interwoven with accounts of their actual discovery and the extraordinary scientist and explorers who found them. On this fascinating journey, we come back to the same sorts of dinosaurs more than once as new discoveries changed ideas on their appearance, biology or behaviour. The amazing new discoveries in China and South America in the last few years are fully documented, as are the major new finds of the 21st century.

Darren Naish is one the most informed vertebrate palaeontogists of his era. He is totally dedicated to getting things right and his new book on The Great Dinosaur Discoveries is an example of his detailed approach to his work. He is a real enthusiast and spends as much time as he can, with limited resources, trying to find new dinosaurs in different parts of the World. The Dinosaur Society thoroughly recommends his new book to readers of all ages.

ISBN: 978140819068

Dinoboy Rules in Dinomite Mag!

Read The Amazing Adventures of DINOBOY, the coolest hero of the last 65 million years, every month only in DINOMITE magazine! Mix the power of a T. Rex, the brains of a Velociraptor and the speed of a Gallimimus and you get DINOBOY. One moment he's Jack Bolan, a dino-mad kid, living in the 21st century - the next he's transformed into DINOBOY, a dinosaur mutation, battling ferocious dinosaurs in prehistoric times. No wonder he's every dino fan's favourite superhero, and this month they can get their hands on exclusive DINOBOY T.shirts, only from DINOMITE magazine.

DINOMITE is the number one magazine that's mad about dinosaurs. Every issue is packed full of incredible features, awesome posters, loads of facts, puzzles, drawings, plus lots and lots of brilliant things to win! And this month's fab free gift is a dinosaur skeleton to assemble!

Published by Signature Publishing Ltd, the latest issue of DINOMITE is on sale now at all good retailers and newsagents.

For further information contact DINOMITE on 01428 601020 or email julie.patten@signaturepl.co.uk

Uzasny Svet Dinosauru (Translates as Amazing World of Dinosaurs)

Vladimír Socha

This recently published Czech book has 320 pages and contains numerous illustrations, photos and new information regarding the field of dinosaurs paleontology

More details can be viewed here.

Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Birds

John Long and Peter Schouten. 2008, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-537266-3. pp. 193.

Review by Dr Darren Naish, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth (longer version here)

The idea that feathers decorated and insulated the bodies of the small bird-like predatory dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous – the coelurosaurs – is no longer a speculation limited to controversial artwork, but the mainstream view. Spectacular fossils from the Lower Cretaceous rocks of Liaoning Province in north-east China have shown that feathers, and simpler, filament-like 'proto-feathers', were widespread among coelurosaurs, being present in compsognathids and basal tyrannosaurs as well as in the maniraptorans (the oviraptorosaurs, troodontids, dromaeosaurs and kin). In this new book, author John Long and artist Peter Schouten have worked together to show-case a diversity of coelurosaurs (many of which are only recently discovered) in modern, state-of-the-art life restorations.

Schouten is well known for the several volumes he has illustrated for author Tim Flannery, most recently A Gap in Nature (William Hieneman, 2001) and Astonishing Animals: Extraordinary Creatures and the Fantastic Worlds They Inhabit (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2004). Like A Gap in Nature and Astonishing Animals, Schouten's artwork is the main focus of Feathered Dinosaurs (rather than Long's text), so it would be wrong for a reviewer to comment on the text and to merely state in passing that there were lots of pretty pictures.

I love Schouten's art and think that his renditions are novel, insightful, exciting and often just beautiful. The giant compsognathid Sinocalliopteryx is depicting attacking a dromaeosaur (an interaction inspired by the fact that the Sinocalliopteryx type specimen has a dromaeosaur leg preserved in its stomach) and Saurornitholestes pulls flesh from the immense carcass of a fallen Quetzalcoatlus, the sheer size of the pterosaur being wonderfully conveyed by the fact that, even on this double-page spread, all we get to see of it is its eye and the back of its head. An adult Epidendrosaurus feeds its young and the alvarezsaurid Shuvuuia – shown as having a head resembling that of a pangolin – licks termites from an opened gallery in rotten wood. Buitreraptor gapes wide in a silent scream, and both Ornitholestes and Huaxiagnathus (referred to throughout the book as Huaxignathus [sic]) are shown clambering around in trees (homages to Paul's 1988 Predatory Dinosaurs of the World?).

Schouten's attention to detail is so good that we see the ticks nestled in the folds of skin around the eye of Alioramus. Scavenging insects are visiting the eyes and decomposing flesh of that dead Quetzalcoatlus, tyrannosaurs have eyelashes and fine hairs in their ear and nasal orifices, and frayed feather-tips betray the fact that maniraptoran hand feathers must have been subject to a reasonable amount of erosion. These animals are vibrantly alive, and they fit into their environments in the way that real animals should. Schouten's theropods are undeniably avian in appearance, and among the most avian of non-avian theropods depicted so far. But I actually think that the birdiness often goes too far, especially when the modern-day inspiration that Schouten drew from is all too obvious.

The bad news is that Schouten's lack of experience with non-avian dinosaurs sometimes shows. The most obvious problem with his dinosaurs is that many of them are far too chunky, with stout hindlimbs and bodies way broader than they should be. Some details are also portrayed incorrectly.

But these are trivial gripes. This book is a joy to look at and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in dinosaurs.

A Time Traveller's Field Notes and Observations of Dinosaurs

by Henrietta Gray

Illustrated by Robert Nichols and Neil Reid

Geologists work with time but their clock started ticking 4.5 billion years ago! Imagine therefore how much a geologist would value the invention of a time machine. A machine that would allow him or her to move through time and study at first hand an ever changing planet.

Our perception of the world at any time during its long history is based on the sophisticated study of rocks and minerals undertaken by geologists. They can interpret the environments and geography of our planet from the rocks they study and provide an insight into the complex relationships that developed between the evolving planet and the animals and plants that existed on its surface. Geologists are trained to observe, measure and record and they keep detailed field notebooks with notes and annotated drawings.

Any geologist travelling through time would adopt a disciplined approach in order to write up his or her finds and experiences at a later date. The same discipline was adopted by the natural scientists of the 17th to 19th centuries, long before radio and television.

A Time Travellers Field Notes and Observations of Dinosaurs relates the tale of a bright young naturalist who discovers a time machine in her father' workshop (the family summerhouse and garden shed). She learns how to use the machine and is soon visiting ancient time zones.

The story is set in the year 1915 and her voyages through time involve the use of a book written by her father who was away in France serving King and Country. The book indicates that her father had travelled both back and forward in time hence her detailed knowledge of a host of scientific facts such as the geological timescale and of animals and plants described for each of her voyages. From the beginning of her adventures she adopts a mature scientific approach and her journal records in detail her experiences, observations and sketches.

The journal is beautifully reproduced as A Time Travellers Field Notes and Observations of Dinosaurs. It is essentially a field notebook with interesting asides about her family and friends and her dog named Bruno.

The book is faithfully written in the style of a mature and educated young lady of the early 1900's. It provides an enjoyable and informed insight in an ancient world populated by the most fascinating creatures to have lived on Earth. It stretches beyond the normal everyday description of a host dinosaurs by size, weight and types of teeth. It involves the reader in the joy of escapism yet clearly illustrates the need to record and observe diligently and to write and express oneself clearly if your want to be part of history yourself.

A Time Travellers Field Notes and Observations of Dinosaurs is written by Henrietta Gray and beautifully illustrated (in real life by Robert Nichols and Neil Reid). The book is different in approach and is charming and innovative in terms of the storyline.

Dinofile by Professor Richard Moody

Review by Dino Aulakh

Dino-File written by Professor Richard Moody and published by Hamlyns is a handy encyclopaedia which covers a bounty of knowledge of the most famous 120 Mesozoic beasts. The majority of are dinosaurs but there are also descriptions of pterosaurs, icthyosaurs, pleiosaurs, turtles and crocodiles. Each animal is introduced by a classificaton from infraorder to scientific name and the meaning of name in English. A simple strip of information that adds to greater understanding both of the individual and its close relatives.

Colourful drawings of each dinosaur add to the beauty of this guide with every detail of the body from nostrils to brow-horns, from spiked tail club to scythe like claws.

Small silhouettes are employed to draw comparison between the dimensions of each beast to those of a man two metres tall. The illustrations reflect the animal in motion and together with a short, but detailed description of the animal provide a great insight in the history and evolution of the dinosaurs.

Dinofile is an authentic collection of facts for amateurs and professionals alike and is perfect gift for a DINONERD!

"If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today"

A unique book written by Dougal Dixon, due to be published October 22nd 2007 by Ticktock Media. You can download the press release or find further details here: "If Dinosaurs "Were Alive Today".

"Cassell's Atlas of Evolution"

The first complete look at the evolution of the earth, from the beginning of the solar system to the present day. Further details: Cassell's Atlas of Evolution

"Evolution & Biogeography of Australian Vertebrates"

A large reference volume providing a comprehensive overview of the knowledge of vertebrate diversity within Australia, together with a discussion of the factors that influenced the evolution & distribution of the faunas we see today. You can download the book brochure and order form or you can visit the website at www.auscipub.com

"Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight" click here

Dinosaurs of the Asian North-East click here

The Original Dinosaur club publication click here

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