Dinocalypse Now (Dinocalypse Trilogy #1)

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Dinocalypse Now (Dinocalypse Trilogy #1)

by Chuck Wendig (Goodreads Author)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 107 ratings · 30 reviews

AN INVASION...
FROM PREHISTORY!

When the Century Club is called in to prevent the assassination of FDR, it’s just another day on the job—but what they discover puts not just the President, but the entire world in jeopardy.

With psychic dinosaurs taking over Manhattan and beyond, it’s up to Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and the other Centurions to save humanity—from ex...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published May 2012 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC

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Apr 24, 2012 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/04/...

Dinocalypse Now starts off with a bang as Jet Black falls from the sky during a speech given by FDR, jet pack sputtering and hissing, punctured by bite marks. Bite marks! What, you may ask, can bite into metal? Well, the title of the book is a pretty good clue. Jet Black is a Centurion, an intrepid group of crime fighters with hideouts and bases all over the world. His counterpart, Sally Slick, is on the ground, part of th...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 Lyndsey marked it as to-read-soon · review of another edition

Time-traveling, psychic.... Dinosaurs?! OHMYGOD. WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN OUT WHEN I WAS A KID? Chuck, you must travel back in time, give this to me as a kid, and make me the happiest little nerd girl in the world.

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 20, 2012 Qwill / The Qwillery rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am thoroughly enchanted by Christian N. St. Pierre's cover - Pterodactyls! Sally Slick flying with Jet Black! Mack Silver flying above! The Statue of Liberty and Manhattan in the background! Wow! But what about the story, you ask? Oh, the story is fantastic and lives up to the promise of the cover. Chuck Wendig knows how to wield a pen, much as Sally Slick knows how to wield her wrench. They both do it exceptionally well.

Dinocalypse Now is set in the world of the Spirit of the Century Role Pla...more I am thoroughly enchanted by Christian N. St. Pierre's cover - Pterodactyls! Sally Slick flying with Jet Black! Mack Silver flying above! The Statue of Liberty and Manhattan in the background! Wow! But what about the story, you ask? Oh, the story is fantastic and lives up to the promise of the cover. Chuck Wendig knows how to wield a pen, much as Sally Slick knows how to wield her wrench. They both do it exceptionally well.

Dinocalypse Now is set in the world of the Spirit of the Century Role Playing Game (RPG). I was unaware of the RPG's world prior to reading Dinocalypse Now and it is certainly not a prerequisite to enjoying the story.

Dinocalypse Now features some of the Centurions who are members of the Century Club. They are heroes who fight the good fight with grit and determination to protect the world from doers of evil. The Centurions fear an attempt on F.D.R.'s life and are protecting him as he gives a speech in New York City, but an evil plan is afoot. Is it FDR or the Centurions themselves who are at risk? Can the Centurions save the world?

In addition to the Centurions, Dinocalypse Now features sentient gorillas, psychic Saurians, Atlantean artifacts, magic, an evil villain, and some amazing technology. Mr. Wendig's writing is exceptional. I could easily envision the scenes unfolding before me. The characters are very well done. I cared about each of the Centurions with their very clearly delineated personalities and skills. I am especially fond of Professor Khan an academic who helps the Centurions and yearns to be truly one of them.

The pacing is extremely fast partially because the chapters are short and the story jumps from place to place as it rushes toward the cliffhanger of an ending. Oh yes, there's a cliffhanger, but don't let this deter you. This is a great read. It's fun, fascinating, and filled with action.

Dinocalypse Now is wildly imaginative and beautifully written adrenalin-fueled pulp. I can not wait for the next book.

I give Dinocalypse Now 5 Qwills.
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Jun 05, 2012 Rob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Are you looking for some summer reading? Are you looking for something that promises psychic dinosaurs, world-conquering gorillas, Atlantis, two fisted action, and pulpy goodness? Then do I have a recommendation for you.

Dinocalypse Now is the first foray into fiction by Evil Hat Productions. They enlisted the talents of Chuck Wendig to create a story based on the game Spirit of the Century. The game’s setting is a brighter version of the pulp novels of the early twentieth century. The predecesso...more Are you looking for some summer reading? Are you looking for something that promises psychic dinosaurs, world-conquering gorillas, Atlantis, two fisted action, and pulpy goodness? Then do I have a recommendation for you.

Dinocalypse Now is the first foray into fiction by Evil Hat Productions. They enlisted the talents of Chuck Wendig to create a story based on the game Spirit of the Century. The game’s setting is a brighter version of the pulp novels of the early twentieth century. The predecessors to this story are illustrious and include; The Shadow, The Rocketeer, Sky King, Doc Savage, Wu Fang and many others.
The book opens in grand pulp style with Jet Black hurtling to the earth contemplating how this is going to appear to Sally Slick. He had been given the easiest job in protecting FDR during his speech here in New York City and now he is the one plummeting to his doom. In addition to these two, the cast of characters includes Mack Silver, Professor Khan, and several other members of the Century Club. We follow the exploits of these stalwart heroes as they struggle to save the world from the conqueror gorilla Khan and his army of dinosaurs.

The action in this novel is quick and light with plenty of cliffhangers as one would expect from something so rooted in pulp fiction. The prose flows easily and keeps you moving quickly from chapter to chapter. The characterization is done with a deft touch giving you enough about each of the many characters to keep you interested without overburdening you with information. With so many characters, one would think that character depth would be the first thing that was lost. One would be incorrect. Instead of providing depth to everyone, true character progression is left for the four main characters of Sally Slick, Jet Black, Mack Silver, and Professor Khan. Their personal progression was interesting and fit well with the pulp paradigm presented.

Before I picked up my copy of Dinocalypse Now, I really wasn’t a fan of the pulp style. The style always made me feel that it was gritty, dark, and stilted towards a time that I didn’t really care to remember. Now, I cannot wait for the next installment of the Dinocalypse trilogy! I recommend picking up this book as you will be highly entertained. It only has one flaw though, I have to wait for next one.
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May 04, 2012 Louis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kick-starter, fiction

Dinocalypse Now is a pulp book set in the world of a role playing game, Spirit of the Century. So you know what you are getting into, which is just a lot of fun. It moves quickly, with one cliffhanger and plot twist after another and leaves you with a smile with every chapter.

It suffers from having too many characters to follow. There are about three main story lines with the heros, and two more following the villians. While it is one way of introducing characters and giving you some reason to r...more

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May 11, 2012 David(LA,CA) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jetpack wearing heroes, psychic lizard men, intelligent apes, cavemen, mystical portals, lost cities. After the last few books I've read, I needed something like this. It feels like the novelization of a summer action film. The main characters are likeable and heroic, its fast paced, and the adventure actually has some adventure to it.

The story uses the same setting and a few characters from a pen and paper roleplaying game. In my opinion, not having experience with this game won't have a negati...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Gef rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, e-books, scifi

I didn't have a clue about Dinocalypse Now's connection to a role playing game until after reading it. It wouldn't have impacted my reaction to the story, though looking back, I kind of see how the constant action and outlandish characters would lend themselves to that kind of game. Spirit of the Century is the name of the game, with a very strong pulp adventure element from the early- to mid-twentieth century.

To describe the plot, I can go one of two ways: either bullet point the convoluted rol...more I didn't have a clue about Dinocalypse Now's connection to a role playing game until after reading it. It wouldn't have impacted my reaction to the story, though looking back, I kind of see how the constant action and outlandish characters would lend themselves to that kind of game. Spirit of the Century is the name of the game, with a very strong pulp adventure element from the early- to mid-twentieth century.

To describe the plot, I can go one of two ways: either bullet point the convoluted roller coaster ride that ensues or boil it down to a single sentence. Let's try the latter. A ragtag group of adventurers battle a talking ape and his dinosaur army. If you need more than that to hop on board, this ain't the book the for you.

The Century Club, a band of astonishing hero-types of every stripe, are tasked with providing security for President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a monumental speech, when a sudden appearance of dinosaurs and lizard people creates havoc. FDR isn't the target, however, but the Century Club. Their headquarters around the globe are targeted, destroyed, and nearly all its members are captured or killed. The few who remain are left to find out who is responsible and how to stop an army of dinosaurs and lizard people with mind control powers.

In a little more than two hundred pages, this novel moves like a bullet from one action scene to the next. If played out like a role playing game, the dice would be rolling near constantly. And somehow, Chuck Wendig manages to sneak in a little character development, which was much appreciated because the archetype characters could have been quite tedious without it.

The names of the characters are fantastic. Jet Black, Mack Silver, and Sally Slick have a Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia vibe respectively, and King Khan the sentient ape was a great villain of the classic moustache-twirling variety. Who the hell cares why he is trying to take over the world in the way he is. It's pure spectacle, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.. There are preposterous events aplenty, and one-liners fly as furiously as the fists and the bullets.

I'm not sure if I'm in a hurry to play a Spirit of the Century RPG, but I'm definitely up for reading another novel--especially if it's penned by Chuck Wendig.(less)

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Jun 24, 2012 William Pepper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is fun. Just pure fun. Dinosaurs. PSYCHIC dinosaurs. Warrior gorillas. Neanderthals. Lost city of Atlantis. Time travel. Brave wisecracking heroes with jet packs and other cool gadgets.

Did I mention psychic dinosaurs?

This book is like when I was a kid and would dump out my box of action figures and let them go at it. Batman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars guys and the "Love Boat" crew (Yes, they had action figures too. Yes, I had some. Don't judge me.) all fighting side by side to save human...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Sonny Miller rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dinosaurs, talking apes, and an ape bent on taking over the world! The story starts of with an assassination attempt on FDR from psychic dinosaurs. This is only the beginning of a plan to take over the world. Only the Centurions can possibly save us. Follow the group and their larger than life personalities as they try to figure out what or who is behind the plot.
Chuck Wendig weaves a tale that is fast paced, action packed, and extremely enjoyable.

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Nov 23, 2012 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy

This felt a bit like eating at a pulp fiction buffet. You've got superheroes, time travel, psychic dinosaurs, two-fisted scientists, spunky mechanics, psychic dinosaurs, intelligent apes, ghost detectives, subterranean cavemen, and more. Thirteen-year-old me would have absolutely lost his shit at the prospect of all this, and to be honest thirty-three-year-old me was pretty damned excited about the idea as well.

At the same time, *all* of those things in the same book sounds like it could almost...more

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Oct 12, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

I enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to the next one in the trilogy. My only complaint was that there isn't much of a resolution to the story. I realize it's just the first part of a trilogy, but I prefer more of a complete story that leads into the next book.

Of course, I probably wouldn't care as much if I didn't have to wait for the next book to come out!

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May 16, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulp

Rollicking good time. Wendig does a great job of bringing Jet Black, Sally Slick, Mack Silver and the rest of the Spirit of the Century cast to life. I'm very glad I supported this project on Kickstarter -- I've already gotten more than my money's worth.

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Aug 10, 2012 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure

Picked up the paperback version. It is a quick and fun read.
Very pulpy adventure style, it was a quick read and enjoyable. This is a book I will definately give to my grandson to read.

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Aug 01, 2012 Caroline rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ridiculous steampunk fun with dinosaurs. There's no reason not to read this book, especially if you are stuck on a plane or in a waiting room.

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Jun 05, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book was like a Ramones album.

Short chapters, high energy, never stopping. Chapter. Chapter. Chapter. Action. Never resting. Characters are going to do something uninteresting for a minute? End chapter, switch to new characters, they're in the middle of an action scene. Run away from dinosaurs. Plan escape to Hawaii. Boat you're on explodes. Back in Hawaii. Now New York City. Boom boom boom.

It was actually sort of tiring to read, sometimes, but it kept me engaged. Plus, I mean, it's got psy...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Charlotte rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks

Lots of fun to read, but also easy to put down. I haven't read much pulp (fantasy) fiction, nor have I any experience with the role playing game this is based on, or I'd probably rate it higher. I do still look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

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Jan 24, 2013 Mick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This fun romp through the Spirit of the Century universe did everything I expected and a few nifty things I didn't expect. Enjoyable, entertaining, and chock full of talking apes. Chuck Wendig makes it work. The flavor and spirit of the pulp homage that is *Spirit of the Century* is captured and enriched.

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Aug 20, 2012 Susan Dorsey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved it! You need to read it right now! I mean right now!

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Jun 19, 2012 Caleb rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I liked it, but it was hard to visualize.

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Apr 12, 2012 Garrett Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: top-favorites

Review pending from The Ranting Dragon.

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May 09, 2012 Frank Jarome rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Terrific pulp read, can't wait for the sequel. But even more than that, I want to see the Benjamin Hu and Professor Khan novels. Hell, I want it all, this was so much fun...

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Aug 01, 2012 Max Traver rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulp-adventure

Non-stop pulpy fun from beginning to end. Great characters, good pacing, and brisk, charming writing makes for a really good read. This one has jet packs, talking gorillas, psychic dinosaurs, Atlantis, and more. A warning, tho: ends on a total cliffhanger. Bring on book two!

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Aug 14, 2012 Cthuhukid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One word: Fun.

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May 15, 2012 Jackie B! rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-ebooks

Fun read! A great pulp fiction story full of psychic dinosaurs, conquerer apes, and a group of heroes called The Century Club.

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May 19, 2012 John Utech rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Got this as part of a Kickstarter package. Greatest deal in recent history. Waiting for the next book in the series with great anticipation.

Thanks Evil Hat!

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Apr 20, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an excellent throw back to the pulp adventures of old with modern style. Lots of interesting characters and ends with a wonderful cliffhanger.

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Jan 22, 2013 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action, pulp

This book was just plain fun. It starts out with some action, follows up with a bit more action, and hold on to your butts - more action.

This is a two fisted adventure that doesn't stop pushing on the gas.

I look forward to the other books set in the Spirit of the Century universe.

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May 18, 2012 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, super-heroes

Freakin awesome!

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Oct 15, 2012 Dylan Mcintosh rated it 4 of 5 stars

The last couple of chapters dragged me in until the end of the book and I couldn't reading.

It was pretty cool to see my name in the kickstarter credits.

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Aug 29, 2012 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to concede it was a fun read. Not much depth, but a lot of color and creativity.

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About Chuck Wendig

Chuck Wendig is a novelist, a screenwriter, and a freelance penmonkey.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).

He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at th...more

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Dinocalypse Now (Dinocalypse Trilogy #1)

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