Think Like a Dinosaur: And Other Stories [Paperback]

James Patrick Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

This first major retrospective collects Kelly's finest short fiction from a 20-year career and includes a dazzling array of work, from hard science fiction and Twilight Zone-inspired fantasies to stark futuristic horror. The grim fable "Pogrom" presents a near-futuristic scenario in which internecine warfare has broken out between the ageing boomer generation and a youthful dispossessed proletariat who must support them. The landmark novella "Mr Boy" is the wildly inventive tale of a genetically stunted 12-year-old who literally lives inside his mother, who has turned herself into a three-quarter-scale model of the Statue of Liberty. "The First Law of Thermodynamics" is a remarkable evocation of the psychedelic sixties -- the time of Vietnam, Kent State, and acid rock -- in which, like that era itself, nothing is what it appears to be. The now-famous title story, "Think Like a Dinosaur", is a tale of a transporter beam maintained by aliens, through which humanity can visit the stars.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a handsome, limited edition collection of the best work by one of the finest short fiction writers in science fiction. There are 14 stories in all, ranging from straight SF to tales that stray into the fantasy and horror genres. Of special note is the title story, which earned the 1996 Hugo Award for Best Novelette and a 1996 Nebula Award nomination. But all of the stories are excellent in their own right. An insightful forward by James Patrick Kelly's friend and sometimes collaborator John Kessel (Corrupting Dr. Nice) leads off the collection and explores Kelly's somewhat underrated career. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA?A unique collection of short stories that explore what it is to be human in the technological age, new scientific discoveries, and the dawn of space travel. The selections, representing a 20-year writing career, are easy to read and enjoyable even for non-science-fiction readers. The title story is set on a planet inhabited by intelligent dinosaurs who have discovered the secret of instantaneous space travel and who teach the protagonist to think like a reptile. Some stories are futuristic; in "Pogrom," the generation gap has swelled to violent proportions. Other stories appear, at first, to be contemporary fiction, but there is always a little twist to make readers shudder and realize this is NOT normal. "Big Guy" explores the implications of a future high technology world where people rarely meet face to face and everything is done via virtual reality.?Susan McFaden, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Golden Gryphon Press (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930846207
• ISBN-13: 978-1930846203
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Patrick Kelly has had an eclectic writing career. He has written novels, short stories, essays, reviews, poetry, plays and planetarium shows. His most recent writing project is James Patrick Kelly's Strangeways, a series of ebooks for Kindle featuring some of his best stories. His short novel Burn won the Science Fiction Writers of America's Nebula Award in 2007. He has won the World Science Fiction Society's Hugo Award twice: in 1996, for his novelette "Think Like A Dinosaur" and in 2000, for his novelette, "Ten to the Sixteenth to One." His fiction has been translated into eighteen languages. With John Kessel he is co-editor of Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka, The Secret History Of Science Fiction, Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology and Rewired: The Post Cyberpunk Anthology. He writes a column on the internet for Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and is on the faculty of the Stonecoast Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine and the Board of Directors of the Clarion Foundation. He produces two podcasts: James Patrick Kelly's StoryPod on Audible and the Free Reads Podcast. His website is www.jimkelly.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story collection, November 24, 2001

By 

Fosky Bob "human" (Vacaville, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Like a Dinosaur: And Other Stories (Hardcover)

James Patrick Kelly is a wonderful secret. If you polled a representative sampling of readers who call themselves SF fans, I would bet that not 50% are familiar with James Patrick Kelly. This is a shame because Mr. Kelly's work are of the very highest quality. This collection of short fiction shows off the very best of Kelly's stories and not one of them should be missed.

My favorite story of the collection is 'Mr. Boy', a wonderful novella about a 25-year-old who has re-engineered himself to remain in a 12-year-old body. This is Mr. Boy. Throughout the story Mr. Boy begins to mature, and he's not quite sure how to handle this. This 60+ page novella makes the entire collection worth purchasing, but there's so much more.

The wonderful stories "Rat", "Monsters", "Think Like a Dinosaur", and many more make this one of the most outstanding collections that I've had the good fortune to come across. Like all Golden Gryphon press books, this is an extraordinary collection from a very talented author. The Golden Gryphon imprint on a book is enough to make me open the wallet, even if it's an author that I am totally unfamiliar with. They put out excellent quality books filled with very good fiction. Highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Handsome volume of the best work of a major SF author, November 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Think Like a Dinosaur: And Other Stories (Hardcover)

This volume contains fourteen of Kelly's best stories,including twoHugo nominees and four Nebula nominees. The title story is the best known, and the most discussed, of all of them, seen by many as a response or follow-up to Tom Godwin's classic, "The Cold Equations." The other stories represent the best of Kelley's work, and make it available in a permanent form. This is the first volume from a new publisher, Golden Gryphon, and is a very well-produced volume. (I hope someone is bringing single-author collections such as these to the attention of libraries, since they provide the only way for most libraries to get some of the best work of today's leading authors.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece, June 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Think Like a Dinosaur: And Other Stories (Hardcover)

Golden Gryphon Press has been publishing a long and wide range of single author short-story collections--and I must, obviously, admit that James Patrick Kelly's (author of WILDLIFE and LOOK INTO THE SUN) THINK LIKE A DINOSAUR AND OTHER STORIES has gained a special place in my heart. One of the leading SF stylists, Kelly's stories have a perfect blend of lyricism and sheer storytelling power; recently, he has earned well-deserved attention with his Hugo-winning stories, "Think Like a Dinosaur" and "10^16 to 1," respectively. Pick up this collection at all costs.