Customer Reviews

Eridahn

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Though Robert F. Young actually sold only a handful of stories to _The Saturday Evening Post_, I tend to think of Young as the archtypical SEPost science fiction writer. His stories are polished, slick, mildly entertaining, and shallow. They are often-- though not always-- romantic and sentimental. When he waxes satirical, his targets are always obvious: the American obsession with automobiles, environmental rapists, Puritanical religious fanatics, and emotionless military men or political figures.

_Eridahn_ (1983) is a short novel expanded from a 1964 novelette published in _If_ called "When Time Was New". There is little difference between the plots of either story. I think that it is fair to say that the original novelette is more tightly written. On the other hand, Young seems to have brought some of his science up to date in the novel. He has references to more recent space probes. And he seems to have revised some of the details about dinosaurs so that their appearance and behavior is more in keeping with modern paleontological findings.

In the original version, a stegosaurus makes an exit, dragging his posterior. In the novel, it is an anatosaur that barrels off, "its tail stretched straight behind it" (3). Many paleontologists today believe that many dinosaurs raised their tails off the ground-- at least some of the time. Young is good with a number of other details: the name and look of prehistoric plants, the smell of a herd of _Tricerotops elatus_, and the movement of a _Tyranosaurus rex_ on the attack. These details were satisfying to an old dinosaur buff like myself.

And the story? Well, it is about a hero who is sent back to the Upper Cretaceous Period in a tricerotops tank named Sam. There he encounters two children who claim to be the prince and princess of Mars. And then we are off and running with a series of captures and escapes leading up to some nifty twists at the end. I am betting that after a period of time, readers will remember the beginning of the story, and the ending... but not the middle. Arthur Miller once observed that the most difficult skill for a new playwrite to learn was writing a good middle section to a play. So it is here.

_Eridahn_, then, is a passable entertainment. You won't be cheated if you read it. But don't expect anything more.

This is a good book to read for basic enjoyment of the story. No very complicated, but with interesting ideas, like an ancient civilization on Mars 74 million years ago and time machines disguised as dinosaurs. Throw in a little danger, a kidnapping plot, and a touch of romance. It would make a good Louis L'Amour plot without the science fiction element.

I'd love to see it as a movie some day.

i read this book and enjoyed the easy reading. lots of kid fun and a few surprises. kids from mars are hidden by a man in a time machine. enjoy a good book with plain language where you didn't have to quess at how the names are pronounced.