Dinosaur Park [Paperback]

Hayford Peirce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1994

In a far distant future, on a far distant world, human settlers raise dinosaurs for religious ceremonies. When 10-year-old Kerryl Ryson misbehaves, his father is fed to one of the sacred creatures. Plotting his revenge for 16 years, Kerryl thinks he can defeat his enemies with the help of a time machine--but first he must return from the dead.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hayford Peirce is the author of "Napoleon Disentimed' and the "Chap Foey Rider" stories in Analog magazine. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 315 pages
• Publisher: Tom Doherty Assoc Llc (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812550404
• ISBN-13: 978-0812550405
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,761,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original title: The Thirteenth Majestral, January 3, 2004

By 

Peter D. Tillman (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Thirteenth Majestral (Paperback)

_______________________________________
Rating: "A-" -- very cool, very Vanceian dinosaur-adventure tale.
Jack Vance fans shouldn't miss this one.

My copy of this had gone astray, so I picked up another at the used
bookstore the other day. I'd forgotten how Vanceian it is -- not really
a pastiche, it reads pretty much like a mid-period, mid-quality Vance
SF novel. 10-year old Kerryl Ryson pulls a prank that humiliates an
offworld grandee and starts a riot. As a result, his father is executed,
and Ryson and his whole clan are enslaved. Ryson grows up obsessed
with vengeance. He makes a galaxy-wide search for the Immaculate
Ultima of Aberdown, who ordered his father's death. Along the way,
he encounters exotic worlds, strange people, stranger religions, and
acquires a luxurious space yacht from one Baron Bodissey, in case
you're still wondering who the book reminds you of... Even Vance's
signature footnotes are here.

Ryson's search eventually brings him to old Earth, which has become
an extraordinarily reclusive, stratified world, with the arrogant,
aristocratic Palatines served by pallid, puling leperons, an artificial
human subspecies (another Vance trademark). He meets the
beautiful but troubled Yveena Soolis, and the tale is resolved with
some (somewhat) surprising revelations. Yes, dinosaurs are featured,
along with possibly the silliest explanation yet for their demise.

I really like The Thirteenth Majestral, and I'm pretty sure that you
Vance fans will like it too. Peirce's hommage to Vance is, well, just
about as entertaining and well-done as the real thing. Check it out.

Happy reading!
Pete Tillman

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, action-packed adventure...with dinosaurs!, April 8, 2010

By 

Robert FV - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaur Park (Paperback)

Dinosaur Park is a fun, pulpy, scifi adventure. Set in the far-flung future when humanity has colonized one end of the universe to the other, the story begins on a backwater planet where the feudal society of dinosaur ranchers is preparing for the annual spring festival, the March of Thirty-three Flowers. One 10-year old boy's childish prank (dosing a T-Rex with sneezing powder) kicks off a story of death, imprisonment, and thirst for revenge.

The main plot is a universe-spanning revenge tale with a protagonist who seems to have little control over his destiny. The story is well-written and action packed, especially in the second half. While the story builds up steam, we get immersed in a setting that is completely alien, and simultaneously, very familiar.

Much of the author's humor is expressed in proper nouns. Place names and people's titles are at first annoying and distracting in their silliness, but quickly become enjoyable for their consistency. For example, the story begins in the year 28,373 FIP, or the 28,373rd Flowering of the Indomitable Perpetuality, which is the newer way of counting time, contrasted with the OFR, or Old Fallacious Reckoning.

I found the story to be reminiscent of the one of my favorite scifi series, Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars. Meanwhile, Peirce's writing style reminded me of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, mostly in the way we are exposed to the expansive setting. It may be futuristic and alien, but it's still peopled with human beings and their foibles. The story is as much a travelogue of this incredible universe, as it is the story of one man's revenge.

While simply written, the tale is complexly layered, like a fine meal. All of the little details, like where the dinosaurs come from, the role played by the mysterious ancient race, and how our hero fits into the greater schemes of greater men, are woven together in a satisfying way.

This book was fun, interesting, and filled with dinosaurs. I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hayford Peirce's 'Dinosaur Park' is a science fiction story for Jerry Bruckheimer fans., March 31, 2010

By 

Erin Wolf (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaur Park (Kindle Edition)

How often does a novel that features death defying escapes, floods, explosions and a protagonist with as many lives as Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard' also have some of the most intricate and amusing time and memory paradoxes not seen since the days of 'Star Trek' or more recently 'The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'? A perfect blend of brawn and brain, muscle and science, whether you like action packed adventure or intergalactic space travel there is something for everyone in this epic tale of revenge, survival, romance...and dinosaurs.

The novel follows the story of a young boy named Kerryl Ryson who plays a childish prank on a malevolent dignitary that goes horribly wrong and is summarily forced to watch the execution of his father and enslavement of his entire race. The rest of the novel follows Kerryl's journey through deep space, backwards time travel and near death on numerous planets all in the desperate hopes of avenging his father's death and freeing his family from the bloodthirsty jaws of the dreaded Tyrannosaurus and his dastardly, pitiless keeper and part-time dignitary also known as the Immaculate Ultim of Aberdown.

It is advertised that the writing style of the book is intended to be a send-up to the style of author Jack Vance. Personally, never having read Vance's work, the novel's little idiosyncrasies annoyed me at first. For example, naming planets, places and races in Science Fiction is important when creating a new universe but such names as Mount Vomity, Kneedeep Ocean and Coober-Weezlers I found initially to be as obvious as a child naming their favorite doll "dolly." However, as the story progressed and having eventually "gotten the joke," what had irritated me earlier became whimsical and endearing.

Also, if you find yourself flinging your hands into the air about halfway through the novel and shouting, "Why are all of these terrible things happening to this poor guy?" Fear not, for you are not alone...maybe a little crazy for talking out loud to no one, but certainly not alone. Hang in there, unlike addictive yet inanely and inexplicably cryptic shows such as Lost, the payoff is worth the wait and after all is revealed and plot points explained it is a page-turning, barn-burning race to the end and I guarantee you'll finish the last eighty pages in one sitting.

For you non-nerds and first time science fiction readers, this novel is a fun read. Peirce's writing is totally accessible; he does a wonderful job of riding the fence when it comes to explaining the science of the fictional technology in a way that is not too technical so the cool kids can understand it and enjoyably creative so the nerds don't feel left out either.

In its original publication in 1989, the novel was titled `The Thirteenth Majestral' and thank goodness along the way someone thought to rename it `Dinosaur Park' which, despite its confusion with `Jurassic Park,' is a much more interesting and enticing title.