100 books like Primitive War

In addition to his Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure story delivers world-class excitement and deeply satisfying reading. Doyle’s story of explorers who find living dinosaurs in the Amazonian rainforest can hardly be matched for its originality.

I read it long ago and found it so memorable it was worth another read more recently. And I’m glad I did. The dinosaurs are portrayed dramatically, to say the least, but I was also impressed by rereading that the characters were quite ingenious. Professor Challenger, the expedition leader, is a gruff, highly irascible fellow, given to brawling as much as to debate. Ned Malone, newspaper reporter, and central “I “ character is a riveting taleteller and keen observer of dinosaurian and human nature.

I think this is the most influential dinosaur novel of recent times. It has spawned sequels, imitators, and movies galore. Based on a catchy, if unrealistic, premise of cloning dinosaurs from DNA preserved in amber, it delivers a spellbinding plot of life-or-death confrontations with vicious beasts of the past.

I loved the cast of characters from paleontologists Dr. Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler to saboteur computer whiz Dennis Nedry to chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm. This story has elements of techno-thriller, science fiction adventure, and people-vs-monsters tales that I love best.

Dinosaur-focused fiction is way underrepresented due to the industry’s reluctance to publish such books. The series went a long way toward addressing this lack, but I wish there were more than two books in it.

Why did I love this book? Am I allowed to just say “dinosaurs ghosts?” In all seriousness, this story uses dinosaurs in a way that very few stories have ever dared to try, that being in a supernatural horror story.

I cannot help but admire the author's commitment to this premise. The author’s impressive knowledge of actual paleontology cannot be understated. As a mental health worker myself, I also love the story’s realistic depiction of a main character working through grief and trauma.

Add all of this to a story about the ancient spirits of dinosaurs haunting a museum, and I found myself enthralled by this book from start to finish.

A commonly discussed debate among dinosaur fans is whether or not Jurassic Park was influenced in any way by this book. Not only did the Carnosaur novel predate Jurassic Park but the film adaptations of both were released only weeks apart in 1993.

Regardless, this book did many of the same things in Jurassic Park several years before Jurassic Park’s release. The novel also features an eccentric billionaire cloning dinosaurs, but what I believe truly separates both stories is the fact that while Jurassic Park is set on a remote island, Carnosaur follows a sleepy little town where the primal creatures escape to and wreak havoc.

What follows is a gruesome series of attacks and mauling that send shivers down my spine each time I revisit this story. While this book is not as highly regarded as Jurassic Park, I believe it deserves to be remembered as a piece… show more.

Rob Hart’s The Paradox Hotel is bursting at the seams with interesting characters. The hotel of the title serves the needs of wealthy time tourists on their way to and from the nearby Einstein port. Working security is one January Cole. Her only friend an AI drone, January is grieving a lost love and fast succumbing to a time-travel illness that has her becoming unmoored from the present. Things go from bad to worse when she stumbles on a dead body that only she can see—turns out, it’s quite tricky to solve a murder that hasn’t happened yet. Surprisingly poignant, with moments that made me laugh out loud, and some inventive time travel shenanigans.

Although this book is only 16 pages long, it tells a story that could easily have been a novel, which is that she is capable of condensing something so dense down to so few words without making it feel like anything was left out. Here we see a rather fantastical time travel tale, but one that, although at first seems quite light-hearted, ends up being one of the darkest of such tales I've ever read...and the most thought-inducing.

I loved this book and have a very difficult time reviewing it without giving too much away, but if you've got a spare thirty minutes (you know, for you slow readers), I'd highly suggest you pick this one up immediately.

Danny and the Dinosaur sit impatiently at Granny's dining table. They can't wait for their dinner to end as Granny's cooking wasn't the best in the world! They finish and run into the garden, heading straight for the old, garden swing. But this is no ordinary swing, it can take you into the past and suddenly, they're in a jungle...with a volcano about to erupt! Can Dinosaur save the day?

The title made me stop mid-step. Sometimes, a book title is misleading. I’ve been burned before. I finally borrowed it from the library and found myself smitten by the “Dramatis Thingummy” at the very beginning and headlong in love by the end.

I re-read this series often: I weird out my neighbors by laughing so hard I can’t breathe; I seek the community of St. Mary’s. Mostly, I love Max. For all her flaws, her sarcasm, her deep-seated need to go down in flames, I love her to bits. She gives me hope that no matter how screwed up a person may be, they can find love and a place in the world. This is the first book in a many-book series. With short stories. And Christmas specials. All of which I now own.

I grew up in a house where reading was encouraged, and I wanted to carry that tradition onto my kid. He was drawn to the Magic Tree House series, and I loved these books, too. We read all of the books in the series, but I believe this book is the first.

As we read about Jack and Annie's adventures in this book (They are the main characters.), we learned a good deal about dinosaurs and the prehistoric past. It's a great way to understand history. I enjoyed how Jack and Annie wound up in a world of dinosaurs and figured out how to return home.

It is hard to think of your childhood without remembering The Magic School Bus. Both the books and the show were simply captivating and taught scientific concepts in a fun, engaging way that stuck with all of us. It is always my go-to when I am teaching science, and my kids absolutely adore watching or reading this series.