Dragon Teeth

A fun Western novel, with some historical characters mixed in. Felt a little disjointed, almost like it was two different stories, and one character is just kind of forgotten with motives never explained, but overall a pleasant enough read.

If you're looking for a great adventure from Michael Crichton, you shouldn't start with this one. This one is more of a fictionalized biography. Additionally, despite that the title of the book is Dragon Teeth and the cover prominently features a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull or something akin to that species, the "dragon teeth" refer to the teeth of a brontosaurus - decidedly not a carnivorous dino. It's a very misleading cover. The story is... okay. It feels rushed, as though Crichton never got to really fill the characters with emotional depth that would make you really care. As this was discovered and published posthumously, I'm going to believe that this was the case. Although I've never been particularly enamored of any of his characters, they've never seemed as dull as poor William Johnson did. The writing was simple and flat. The occasional part did grab your attention a little more, but then it went back to a plain dullness. With the right actor, I feel like this could be a great TV mini-series or even a movie, but it just didn't make for a really compelling book. It lacks detail and emotional depth, glossing over what might have made for interesting characters so that you feel very little emotion toward anyone when they inevitably are killed. It very much is a biography, although apparently much was changed to make it more interesting if you read the afterword. I also felt this book lacked the underlying warning that Crichton always embedded into his books about where technology or mankind was headed. This book, simply put, is just not the masterpiece one might anticipate. Unless you're looking for fictionalized period paleontology, I don't recommend this book. It's definitely not something I'll be rereading.

Must have been good because I finished it within 48hrs. Couldn't put it down. The characters, the history, the story....all good. But, then again, when has a Michael Crichton book ever not been good. Worth the time and energy to read this one. Love M.C.

Action-packed, quirky, and fast-paced. Really dug this book. Ha! Get it?!? Paleontology!

I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of this novel for a chance to read it in exchange for an honest review. I love dinosaurs, loved Jurassic Park, and the story was something that I knew vaguely enough to make it intriguing. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. What hinders this novel is Crichton not actually publishing it himself. The novel reads as a rough draft at times, with dialogue feeling more like people talking in dead space than an atmosphere or complete scene. This is less noticeable at the beginning but becomes apparent as you reach the ending. There are plot points that I think, had he intended to publish it in his lifetime, may have been neatened or otherwise revised to fit better into the story. The story also seems rather bare bones, pun intended, and other than inserting facts about the time, not much is done to create a setting and strong characters. Most any character could be replaced in a scene with another, especially the outlaws, so the continual changing of names and groups of characters can get confusing. I think that the marketing I have seen for this novel is a little off-base as well. It's comparing it to Jurassic Park, and his wife, Sherri, is claiming this is a great companion. Frankly, I disagree. This is first and foremost a Western novel. The main plot uses the bones as a tool to get the protagonists moving westward, and little is seen of the bones themselves. I also felt that there wasn't much action between Marsh and Cope, which was disappointing since it seemed like the feud would play a more prominent role. I was especially hoping for some subterfuge and was disappointed to not see much more than a single man surviving in a weird situation. It was an enjoyable book, especially once the second part began, but it seems like Crihcton wrote this more as an experiment than something intended for publishing. I wonder if he wasn't confident in the facts of the feud and how to present it in a believable light, because of the mix between fiction and nonfiction in the novel. I will have to check out his recommended reading about the dinosaur bone hunting in the badlands, though, it seems like there were some big incidents between Marsh and Cope.

Some of this I really loved, but I was uncomfortable with how Crichton referred to Native Americans in this book... especially for a book written in 2017.

Based on historical fact, not a bad read about hunting for dinosaur bones in the early west. What was really interesting is it is set in the area I am now living in, so a double bonus.

Written by Michael Crichton, published after his death, follows Johnson as he goes on a hunt for dinosaur bones. I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel. We got to meet Marsh and Cope and learn about the bone wars, which I never really knew. These two men did amazing things for paleontology. We also got to meet a lot of historical figures (whom I will not name), which was interesting. This was a western novel, and I would definitely read more westerns written in this style. As far as the audio went, the narrator for this book did a wonderful job. He put you back into the 1800’s, and I honestly thought that Johnson was a real person until I went and looking up more information and found out he wasn’t…. If you like westerns, or just well written novels, give this a shot. Do. It.