Customer Reviews

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Journey to Chandara is, in my opinion, the best Dinotopia book written so far. It maintains the journalistic feeling of the first two books (A Land Apart From Time and World Beneath) while exploring new territory and characters. We travel to new cities, such as Bilgewater (built entirely out of ships), the nomadic Jorotongo, Thermana (mentioned, but not visited before), and the extremely exotic Chandara.

We get new characters to intrigue us, such as the Liners and Spotters of Sauropolis and their eternal debate on life. The emperor of Chandara is quite a surprise too; he's certainly not what you would expect!

One of the best things about Journey to Chandara is that James Gurney allowed fans to help. Fans were allowed to compile a list of cities and their locations, and their information was added to the updated map. Fans from the Official Message Board who visited James Gurney are also painted throughout the book.

The art is as astounding as ever. The Hudson River Valley School art style has certainly crept into many of Jim's paintings (Bilgewater, Ruhmsburg, and other landscapes), as well as some distinct Norman Rockwell (mostly in Jorotongo). Many of the paintings are near photorealistic while others maintain the National Geographic diagram style that has worked so well for Gurney.

My one problem with the book was the pacing. I sometimes felt that characters and places were introduced and left too quickly. True, this is what would happen on a journey across the island, but I wanted to stay with the characters longer and explore their cities just a little bit more.

All in all, this book is a great addition to the saga of Arthur Denison in his explorations of the island. I would highly recommend this book to anyone of any age.

Richly illustrated (one of the reasons I grabbed the book) and continues the theme of Arthur Denisons "found journals". Having grabbed the original Dinotopia and First flight, decided I wanted to add this to my collection.
Id give it 5 stars, except there seems to be the occasional odd "jump" in the narration, where I felt a bit left behind. Only happened in two spots though.
Overall, the rich images,some nearly photo standard, really carry the book, with the text linking it all together. Another visual treat from the imagination of James Gurney, I would recommend it for childeren from about 6 years old to those of us who have kept the child within us (no matter how old you actually are!). I intend to keep these copies not only for my children, but hopefully for their children also.
Highly recommended

I've followed James Gurney's career throughout my own (Matt Gaser) and each book he creates just keeps getting better. The details in every illustration take you to a magical place. For me it's inspiring to dive into his books travel into the mind of Gurney through the world of Dinotopia and then sketch/paint and create worlds of my own. A wonderful addition for any one period. Looking forward to his next project???

A wonderful story and a beautiful work of art...and a surprising place to find nuggets (reminders) about life's wisdoms. A great buy.

This book takes you on a charming voyage I didn't want to end. I actually spaced my reading over several weeks to prolong the experience. Much like other Dinotopia books it is packed with charming scenes and intriguing narrative. I also finally figured out the magic of the Dinotopia series; the combination of paintings and narrative triggers memories and day dreams that actually alter consciousness (like all good art should). The reading experience was the closest I've gotten to that dreamy state of mind I achieved as a kid reading books like Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe. Additionally, this book contains Gurney's best paintings ever.

Journey to Chandara is a brilliant instalment in the Dinotopia series and a wonderful story on its own. Beautiful full page paintings bring the story to life and the many diagrams make it fun for kids to read along. This book is sure to capture the heart of any child at any age and deserves a place on your bookshelf next to its two predecessors.

James Gurney does it again with Journey to Chandara. While First Flight was somewhat lacking in the charm that made the first two books so enjoyable, this entry into the Dinotopia series was a marvelous return to form. The visuals of this series never disappoint, and one could spend hours staring at the beautiful illustrations. The narrative struck me as maybe veering a little more towards a children's story than previous titles, but it was an entertaining adventure nonetheless. A must-have for any fan of Dinotopia and dinosaurs in general!

I purchased the fourth dinotopia book. As usual, it was beautifully illustrated with wonderful characters. The only thing I didn't enjoy much was the plot. Out of the three, this was the lamest plot. It felt like too much was happening while not very much was happening at all. But still, it's kind of a must have for the lovers of the original dinotopia books. Good addition to the series.

i bought this asa xmas gift for my boyfriends family to complete their collection and i got a chane to read them all with my bpyfriend! utterly amazing and a great read and adventure for any age

I've been a fan of Gurney's art, of the written and painted kind, for years. My aunt had given me the first two books in the series way back when I was a wee lad, when I still wanted to become a paleontologist (before I discovered rocks bore me). (My personal favorite is The World Beneath.)
I grew excited when I heard this next installment was being released, but never got around to owning a copy. Fast forward some years now, and, although I do not in any way regret getting myself a copy, I feel that this may not be Gurney's strongest issue.

The artwork itself is as lively and beautiful as ever. I felt bad if I paid too much attention to the text and flipped a page without really taking closer looks at his paintings; he truly does craft some great artwork.
The gripe I have, then, is with the story. I feel that at times it became boring, as if I was grudgingly being dragged by Arthur and Bix to Chandara. I would even forget what the purpose was in going, and why this Hugo Khan was so mysterious. The action scenes don't feel as exhilirating, and I think Gurney mustered up some filling-in to make the journey longer.
Perhaps Gurney gave himself a weak plot to begin with, but, having already sketched and painted a lot of the scenes, decided to stay with it and fill the journey with some feeble twists and turns.

Nevertheless, I still admire and respect Gurney and his craftsmanship, and recommend this book to any fan of the series, or else anyone with an imagination and fascination with dinosaurs (which should hopefully be everyone).
Here's hopin' he continues Denison's travels!