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Anonymous Rex #1
Anonymous Rex
Vincent Rubio is an LA PI down on his luck: out of work, car repossessed, partner dead under mysterious circumstances, and his tail just won't stay put. Vince is a Velociraptor dinosaur. Dinos faked extinction, blend in latex costumes, detect each other with strong sense of smell. Vince has odor like smooth Cuban cigar. Two-bit case of arson at a hip dino nightclub lures him back to NYC - where his partner died, and a dangerous nexus of dinosaur and human mingle.
Will Vincent solve the mystery of his partner's death? Will a gorgeous blond chanteuse discover his true identity, jeopardizing both their lives? Will Vincent be able to conquer his dangerous addiction to basil, or will he wind up in Herba-holics Anonymous? Will he find true love, or resort to crumpled issues of Stegolicious?
Will Vincent solve the mystery of his partner's death? Will a gorgeous blond chanteuse discover his true identity, jeopardizing both their lives? Will Vincent be able to conquer his dangerous addiction to basil, or will he wind up in Herba-holics Anonymous? Will he find true love, or resort to crumpled issues of Stegolicious?
350 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 27, 1999
51 people are currently reading
1263 people want to read
About the author
Eric Garcia
46 books73 followersEric Garcia grew up in Miami, Florida, and attended Cornell University and the University of Southern California, where he majored in creative writing and film. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife, daughter, and dachshund. He is also developing a series for the Sci Fi channel based on the Rex novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
April 4, 2008
A hardboiled detective who's actually a dinosaur in disguise. If that's not a premise to tickle your weird-reading bone I don't know what is.
September 25, 2013
There’s a school of thought in cinema that a filmmaker can do anything with the western, as basically they’re all the same. Western films are a bit passé these days, but the same certainly holds true – in both book and film – when it comes to the hardboiled detective story. In recent weeks I’ve read about a lesbian PI investigating devil worship in the short story ’Dancing Like We’re Done’; shown my other half Jeff Bridges as a stoner, slacker Philip Marlowe in ‘The Big Lebowski’; and re-watched science fiction and chills in the Doctor Who episode ‘The Angels Take Manhattan’. Each of them a very different take on the same genre, and yet in many ways all the same. There’s a rhythm to a hardboiled gumshoe on the mean streets story, a beat that we all recognise, a cadence that each of us hears inside our mind – normally in Humphrey Bogart’s voice.
Well, here’s another example of a strange detective story that marries those beats to instrumentation quite surreal. Vince Rubio isn’t your standard private eye in downtown LA. No Vince is a velociraptor in human disguise.
Okay, this is obviously going to need a bit of background. It seems that millions of years ago dinosaurs decided it was easier for them to pretend to be human, to hide away wearing man suits so that they’d fit in with the new dominant species. Quite why some of the largest predators ever to stroll the face of the Earth decided to do this, as opposed to just treating the humans like hors d'oeuvre, is never really explained. It’s just something we have to go with. Fourteen species of dinosaur settled amongst mankind and have built their own secret society. They perform jobs alongside mankind, such as work in hospitals or the police force, but also have their own clubs and vices (Rubio himself is addicted to basil, while we also get a glimpse of dino porn). As we open our tale our detective hero is down and out – you know the drill, three day shadow and crumpled raincoat – but he gets given a case which leads him back to the most pivotal moment of his recent history: the death of his partner. He starts to investigate again.
Coming a few years after 'Jurassic Park' hit cinemas, this isn’t so much standing on the shoulders of giants, as standing on the shoulders of brontosauruses. There’s a cheeky couple of paragraphs in which our central character critiques Spielberg’s movie from the point of view of a velociraptor, and – from the point of view of a velociraptor – finds it wanting. (Why would velociraptors suddenly be filled with rage and want to kill the humans with no idea whether they even taste good?) It’s an acknowledgement that this book couldn’t have existed with 'Jurassic Park'. ‘Anonymous Rex’ even goes so far as to steal the film’s version of velociraptors. It’s a fact I only found out recently, but those creatures in 'Jurassic Park' are a lot more deinonychus than they are rapter.
So, Eric Garcia has the beats of a detective story and has the dinosaurs, but can he make this mash-up come together? Can he do something with it that makes it more than a sum of its parts?
Well, yes and no.
A dinosaur in a man-suit working as a private detective is a ridiculous idea, but then there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with ridiculous ideas, some of them here are a lot of fun – and Rubio does spend a lot of time having a great deal of fun with this. He’s smart and witty on the amusing details of the anthropology of it all; so we get a load of stuff on the way the society operates, how the dinosaurs live, the dangers of always being in disguise, mating habits, what they like in their nightclubs. These passages are never dull; Garcia has a great way with the joke and taking absurd and bizarre ideas and making them somehow plausible. And not only with the dinosaur stuff. Our detective, it transpires, was a fan of short lived 80’s TV show ‘Manimal’ (so was, but I was eight at the time) and at one point ends up with tickets to an all-singing, all-dancing ‘Manimal’ musical – surely a sketch from ‘The Simpsons’ yet to be made.
Unfortunately something a hardboiled detective story generally needs – particularly one with such gruesome murders – is a sense of seriousness. The route is laid out: we all know we get to the bit where the detective rounds everyone up and does the spiel of who did what to whom and why. For the story to work, that has to mean something, it has to have a certain amount of weight. And the thing that Garcia fails to do is to join the silliness and seriousness together seamlessly. When the seriousness arrives it feels like we’ve veered somewhat into a slightly different novel, one where there’s a dinosaur as a private detective and we’re supposed to look at that as something which isn’t a joke. By the end the story (SPOILER ALERT) is tackling eugenics and fertilisation experiments and these seem overly weighty subjects for this book. A hundred pages or so ago we were at ‘Manimal – The Musical’, I’m not sure we’ve quite earned the right to end up at the ethics of playing god.
But perhaps one shouldn’t be too hard – a dinosaur as a private eye is such a nutty, strange, peculiar and leftfield idea, that it’s probably never going to work as both a silly dinosaur romp and a serious detective story. Probably the only way the author could get to a proper serious conclusion and feel it merited is to have a sombre dinosaur private eye with survivor guilt over what happened to all his friends when the meteor struck = and to be frank, where the hell would be the fun in that? No, if one is going to try and pull off an insane cut and shut idea such as this one, then this book is going to be as good as it’s going to get.
Far from perfect, but at times a rapturous, basil soaked ride.
Well, here’s another example of a strange detective story that marries those beats to instrumentation quite surreal. Vince Rubio isn’t your standard private eye in downtown LA. No Vince is a velociraptor in human disguise.
Okay, this is obviously going to need a bit of background. It seems that millions of years ago dinosaurs decided it was easier for them to pretend to be human, to hide away wearing man suits so that they’d fit in with the new dominant species. Quite why some of the largest predators ever to stroll the face of the Earth decided to do this, as opposed to just treating the humans like hors d'oeuvre, is never really explained. It’s just something we have to go with. Fourteen species of dinosaur settled amongst mankind and have built their own secret society. They perform jobs alongside mankind, such as work in hospitals or the police force, but also have their own clubs and vices (Rubio himself is addicted to basil, while we also get a glimpse of dino porn). As we open our tale our detective hero is down and out – you know the drill, three day shadow and crumpled raincoat – but he gets given a case which leads him back to the most pivotal moment of his recent history: the death of his partner. He starts to investigate again.
Coming a few years after 'Jurassic Park' hit cinemas, this isn’t so much standing on the shoulders of giants, as standing on the shoulders of brontosauruses. There’s a cheeky couple of paragraphs in which our central character critiques Spielberg’s movie from the point of view of a velociraptor, and – from the point of view of a velociraptor – finds it wanting. (Why would velociraptors suddenly be filled with rage and want to kill the humans with no idea whether they even taste good?) It’s an acknowledgement that this book couldn’t have existed with 'Jurassic Park'. ‘Anonymous Rex’ even goes so far as to steal the film’s version of velociraptors. It’s a fact I only found out recently, but those creatures in 'Jurassic Park' are a lot more deinonychus than they are rapter.
So, Eric Garcia has the beats of a detective story and has the dinosaurs, but can he make this mash-up come together? Can he do something with it that makes it more than a sum of its parts?
Well, yes and no.
A dinosaur in a man-suit working as a private detective is a ridiculous idea, but then there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with ridiculous ideas, some of them here are a lot of fun – and Rubio does spend a lot of time having a great deal of fun with this. He’s smart and witty on the amusing details of the anthropology of it all; so we get a load of stuff on the way the society operates, how the dinosaurs live, the dangers of always being in disguise, mating habits, what they like in their nightclubs. These passages are never dull; Garcia has a great way with the joke and taking absurd and bizarre ideas and making them somehow plausible. And not only with the dinosaur stuff. Our detective, it transpires, was a fan of short lived 80’s TV show ‘Manimal’ (so was, but I was eight at the time) and at one point ends up with tickets to an all-singing, all-dancing ‘Manimal’ musical – surely a sketch from ‘The Simpsons’ yet to be made.
Unfortunately something a hardboiled detective story generally needs – particularly one with such gruesome murders – is a sense of seriousness. The route is laid out: we all know we get to the bit where the detective rounds everyone up and does the spiel of who did what to whom and why. For the story to work, that has to mean something, it has to have a certain amount of weight. And the thing that Garcia fails to do is to join the silliness and seriousness together seamlessly. When the seriousness arrives it feels like we’ve veered somewhat into a slightly different novel, one where there’s a dinosaur as a private detective and we’re supposed to look at that as something which isn’t a joke. By the end the story (SPOILER ALERT) is tackling eugenics and fertilisation experiments and these seem overly weighty subjects for this book. A hundred pages or so ago we were at ‘Manimal – The Musical’, I’m not sure we’ve quite earned the right to end up at the ethics of playing god.
But perhaps one shouldn’t be too hard – a dinosaur as a private eye is such a nutty, strange, peculiar and leftfield idea, that it’s probably never going to work as both a silly dinosaur romp and a serious detective story. Probably the only way the author could get to a proper serious conclusion and feel it merited is to have a sombre dinosaur private eye with survivor guilt over what happened to all his friends when the meteor struck = and to be frank, where the hell would be the fun in that? No, if one is going to try and pull off an insane cut and shut idea such as this one, then this book is going to be as good as it’s going to get.
Far from perfect, but at times a rapturous, basil soaked ride.
January 26, 2011
The first of the Vincent Rubio detective series.
Vinicent is a detective having a toubled time. His partner is dead, their PI agency is washing up, he's dealing with his substance abuse problem--and oh yeah, he's a velociraptor in a latex human suit.
Eric Garcia has probably written the best selling and best reviewed dinosaur porn detective series out there. And there's a reason: the man can actually write!
The world is well crafted and written in a way that truely draws you in and have you believing that dinosaurs are amung us. The mystery is truely compelling, with a cast of characters that will truely have you guessing. And there's drama. Yes, drama in a dino porn mystery novel. Vincent's own sense of humor is what makes this novel, and the whole series really, so funny while horrible things happen around him, finding the comedy in it all.
This is a subject that could have been quite silly, treated seriously by a talented writer.
Theodore Rex this is not.
BTW, the SyFy channel actually made a movie adaptation of this novel--Sorry, no, they based it on *Casual* Rex, but called it Anonymous Rex anyway. Yeah, that's not confusing. Please, please, please do not watch that piece of crap, it knew not what it was doing.
Vinicent is a detective having a toubled time. His partner is dead, their PI agency is washing up, he's dealing with his substance abuse problem--and oh yeah, he's a velociraptor in a latex human suit.
Eric Garcia has probably written the best selling and best reviewed dinosaur porn detective series out there. And there's a reason: the man can actually write!
The world is well crafted and written in a way that truely draws you in and have you believing that dinosaurs are amung us. The mystery is truely compelling, with a cast of characters that will truely have you guessing. And there's drama. Yes, drama in a dino porn mystery novel. Vincent's own sense of humor is what makes this novel, and the whole series really, so funny while horrible things happen around him, finding the comedy in it all.
This is a subject that could have been quite silly, treated seriously by a talented writer.
Theodore Rex this is not.
BTW, the SyFy channel actually made a movie adaptation of this novel--Sorry, no, they based it on *Casual* Rex, but called it Anonymous Rex anyway. Yeah, that's not confusing. Please, please, please do not watch that piece of crap, it knew not what it was doing.
April 27, 2011
Dinosaurs never went extinct. They went into hiding, and now they live among us in human disguises.
You have to believe a concept like this because the book makes it undeniably logical. It treats the idea so seriously, yet it maintains such a lighthearted and sarcastic tone you can’t help but buy into it. The mental image of dinosaurs stepping into and out of elaborate latex human costumes is almost impossible to imagine, which makes the whole idea even better.
But wait, there’s a story going on, too. It’s almost irrelevant, as the whole book could ride on the world-building Eric Garcia does, but it’s equally mind-blowing. It starts with Vincent Rubio, a velociraptor private investigator still reeling from the death of his partner. He is the typical private eye archetype (almost a stereotype, but way more likable): falling behind on bills, no girlfriend, in bad need of money, reduced to snapping racy pictures of cheating husbands to buy the Chinese takeout that’s now spoiling in his bare refrigerator.
Then he gets assigned a case of arson, which quickly balloons into a massive conspiracy. Not only is this case about more than just a fire, it involves why his partner was killed. The mystery takes effort to figure out, but once I did it was a satisfying read.
And the sex is great, too. Sex scenes between dinosaurs wearing human costumes. It is laughably absurd, but Garcia makes it so believable you can’t help but take it seriously. This is an ideal blend of world-building and storytelling.
I did a book/movie comparison on my blog. Check it out.
You have to believe a concept like this because the book makes it undeniably logical. It treats the idea so seriously, yet it maintains such a lighthearted and sarcastic tone you can’t help but buy into it. The mental image of dinosaurs stepping into and out of elaborate latex human costumes is almost impossible to imagine, which makes the whole idea even better.
But wait, there’s a story going on, too. It’s almost irrelevant, as the whole book could ride on the world-building Eric Garcia does, but it’s equally mind-blowing. It starts with Vincent Rubio, a velociraptor private investigator still reeling from the death of his partner. He is the typical private eye archetype (almost a stereotype, but way more likable): falling behind on bills, no girlfriend, in bad need of money, reduced to snapping racy pictures of cheating husbands to buy the Chinese takeout that’s now spoiling in his bare refrigerator.
Then he gets assigned a case of arson, which quickly balloons into a massive conspiracy. Not only is this case about more than just a fire, it involves why his partner was killed. The mystery takes effort to figure out, but once I did it was a satisfying read.
And the sex is great, too. Sex scenes between dinosaurs wearing human costumes. It is laughably absurd, but Garcia makes it so believable you can’t help but take it seriously. This is an ideal blend of world-building and storytelling.
I did a book/movie comparison on my blog. Check it out.
September 24, 2013
What is the Premise: This book is the first book in the Dinosaur Mafia series, in terms of publication date, but the 2nd one if you take the events of the books chronologically. The truly amazing thing about these books - in which the dinosaurs have NOT gone extinct, at least not all of them, but have evolved to a smaller size and live side-by-side with humans with the help of a lot of latex, glue and straps to disguise themselves - is that while you are reading them you just go with it, because it is written so convincingly.
My Synopsis and Review: This story is mostly about Vincent Rubio, a detective and the main character of all the Dinosaur Mafia books. Rubio's partner and mentor Watson has been killed - supposedly in a hit-and-run by a taxi in New York while taking part in a mysterious investigation. Rubio has gone on a serious bender with the basil (dinosaurs can't get drunk by drinking alcohol - their recreation of choice is with herbs, which get them "high") and is refusing to buy the story about what happened with Watson and as a result has just about burned all his bridges and lost most of his business. Things are looking really bleak when he gets thrown a bone by one of the big companies in town - which seems to lead right back to the case that Watson was investigating when he was killed. Although this story is a bit dark, it provides quite a number of laugh-out-loud moments as well. At its base, this story is a well crafted noir detective yarn.
My Synopsis and Review: This story is mostly about Vincent Rubio, a detective and the main character of all the Dinosaur Mafia books. Rubio's partner and mentor Watson has been killed - supposedly in a hit-and-run by a taxi in New York while taking part in a mysterious investigation. Rubio has gone on a serious bender with the basil (dinosaurs can't get drunk by drinking alcohol - their recreation of choice is with herbs, which get them "high") and is refusing to buy the story about what happened with Watson and as a result has just about burned all his bridges and lost most of his business. Things are looking really bleak when he gets thrown a bone by one of the big companies in town - which seems to lead right back to the case that Watson was investigating when he was killed. Although this story is a bit dark, it provides quite a number of laugh-out-loud moments as well. At its base, this story is a well crafted noir detective yarn.
December 28, 2014
Sock-em surprises keep on punching from page one; glib humor keeps on tickling till last lines. Narrator Vincent Rubio buys a trench coat despite record heat, and cigarettes to hang unlit from his mouth - for classic Bogart image. The Los Angeles detective is broke, kicked off governing Council for pursuing why partner Ernie run down when investigating tmurder of wealthy married New York playboy Raymond McBride. Next case, arson, leads straight back to Manhattan. Everywhere, looks decidedly deceive.
Vince, a Velociraptor addicted to basil, can only reproduce with another raptor, inter-species limitation. But x-rated interactions "undulation"s p215 are possible, as are fights - razor teeth, spiked tails, ancestral demand to "grasp viscera" p95, rip throats, shred flesh, blood and gore. Pheremone-launching dinos hide in registered human "guises", and abuse herbs instead of drugs. "My ancestors could have .. stomped the little Neanderthals into pâté .. but they'd already decided to try to live in peace" p78. Buckles, clamps, epoxy, masks, are subject to failure. They are not Shrek ogres - green and roaring outside, cuddly inside - rather volcanos seething infinitesimally over the knife-edge of eruption. Powerful noses and individual scents separate them from hominids.
Vince, a Velociraptor addicted to basil, can only reproduce with another raptor, inter-species limitation. But x-rated interactions "undulation"s p215 are possible, as are fights - razor teeth, spiked tails, ancestral demand to "grasp viscera" p95, rip throats, shred flesh, blood and gore. Pheremone-launching dinos hide in registered human "guises", and abuse herbs instead of drugs. "My ancestors could have .. stomped the little Neanderthals into pâté .. but they'd already decided to try to live in peace" p78. Buckles, clamps, epoxy, masks, are subject to failure. They are not Shrek ogres - green and roaring outside, cuddly inside - rather volcanos seething infinitesimally over the knife-edge of eruption. Powerful noses and individual scents separate them from hominids.
February 12, 2023
_______________________________________________
If history repeats itself, I am going to get a pet T-rex. --Anonymous
Anonymous Rex is about a Dashiell Hammett style hard-boiled detective named Rubio who became basil addict after his partner was killed. Also, I should mention that he is a dinosaur, a Jurassic Park style raptor, and that 5% of the world population are also dinosaurs wearing disguises.
I liked this book. It’s a fun, easy read. That being said, I can’t believe a word of it.
Oh, I can suspend disbelief in just about anything I read that isn’t written by Donald Trump. For instance:
• I know I believe in magic because I occasionally buy a lottery ticket.
• I believe in aliens even when I wear my tinfoil hat.
• I believe in time travel because how else could I have gotten from an hour ago to now.
• I believe in Abominable Snowmen, because every winter at least one snowman stands in my neighbor’s yard and just stares me. How abominable is that?
However, I found it difficult to believe that dinosaurs walk the Earth today disguised as human beings.
Yes, I know most scientists believe that birds are really just meat-eating dinosaur theropods (relatives of T-Rex) that survived the big meteor shower 64 million years ago and who have evolved into bee hummingbirds that weigh less than a dime. I believe that theory because hummingbirds are really, really scary, but I am not convinced that brontosaurs can pass for human by wearing a Mission Impossible disguises. Maybe it is just me.
Otherwise I greatly enjoyed the book, and look forward to re-reading the other two books in the series: Casual Rex and Hot and Sweaty Rex.
_______________________________
I will say that after I wrote the above review, I watched the U.S. State of the Union Message, and I observed all 535 of the members of the congress very carefully. As a result, I am coming around to the idea that members of congress ARE our reptilian overlords, but maybe they are just worms.
If history repeats itself, I am going to get a pet T-rex. --Anonymous
Anonymous Rex is about a Dashiell Hammett style hard-boiled detective named Rubio who became basil addict after his partner was killed. Also, I should mention that he is a dinosaur, a Jurassic Park style raptor, and that 5% of the world population are also dinosaurs wearing disguises.
I liked this book. It’s a fun, easy read. That being said, I can’t believe a word of it.
Oh, I can suspend disbelief in just about anything I read that isn’t written by Donald Trump. For instance:
• I know I believe in magic because I occasionally buy a lottery ticket.
• I believe in aliens even when I wear my tinfoil hat.
• I believe in time travel because how else could I have gotten from an hour ago to now.
• I believe in Abominable Snowmen, because every winter at least one snowman stands in my neighbor’s yard and just stares me. How abominable is that?
However, I found it difficult to believe that dinosaurs walk the Earth today disguised as human beings.
Yes, I know most scientists believe that birds are really just meat-eating dinosaur theropods (relatives of T-Rex) that survived the big meteor shower 64 million years ago and who have evolved into bee hummingbirds that weigh less than a dime. I believe that theory because hummingbirds are really, really scary, but I am not convinced that brontosaurs can pass for human by wearing a Mission Impossible disguises. Maybe it is just me.
Otherwise I greatly enjoyed the book, and look forward to re-reading the other two books in the series: Casual Rex and Hot and Sweaty Rex.
_______________________________
I will say that after I wrote the above review, I watched the U.S. State of the Union Message, and I observed all 535 of the members of the congress very carefully. As a result, I am coming around to the idea that members of congress ARE our reptilian overlords, but maybe they are just worms.
July 1, 2014
This is an absolutely terrible book. I recommend it to everyone. It's perfect.
July 27, 2024
This is such an odd book to review, in both story and consumption. It is exactly what it advertises: a detective story, but dinosaurs. That’s it, it really does feel like you’re looking at some old black and white tv with some PIs feet up on the desk and too much cigar smoke in the room. I guess a more detailed review is in order.
Characters: Every character had their own unique spirit and flavor; personalities, emotions, and characterization were well individualized and never seemed to step on anyone else’s toes. There were even times when I said, “oh they’re interesting. I wonder when they’ll show up later,” and they never do. Sometimes that might be a criticism from me, but here, it’s really more of a testament to the author’s abilities as a writer to make every character compelling.
Writing: As I said before: it really does sound like an old detective film. The writing is excellent in most every way and really is the glue that holds this together. The only criticism I have is that there isn’t more individualized behavior amongst the species. Realistically, the only info we receive is, spoiler alert: everyone hates compys. Just a missed opportunity on the writers part. I think the concepts he has are awesome and really well fleshed out for the most part, but it’s a hindrance at some points in the writing where the dinosaurisms are weak and just disappointing.
Story: Really excellent stuff here; the entire plot moves along pretty well, though the third act does seem to have an abundance of twists and turns that, again, detracts from the overall story. I appreciate that there are clues to everything that the reader can pick up on as they go and many, may have solved it before they reach the end of the story. Again though, plot twists galore is nice and all, and very typical of a detective story, but it’s hard to manage all of those different points without some inevitable eye rolling on the way.
Overall, I don’t know how to rate this; I like dinosaurs, I like puzzles, this book was abundant in both. For some reason though, there were some sour notes this hit for me. The problem is, it’s still a gosh darned well written book. An impressive piece and a remarkably odd premise combined with some fantastic characterization made something that was strangely enjoyable for me. I’ll probably read the other two books in the series sometime later in my life, but for now I’m happy to close the book on another dinosaur story, as imperfect, but lovable as it might be.
4.3 🌟
Characters: Every character had their own unique spirit and flavor; personalities, emotions, and characterization were well individualized and never seemed to step on anyone else’s toes. There were even times when I said, “oh they’re interesting. I wonder when they’ll show up later,” and they never do. Sometimes that might be a criticism from me, but here, it’s really more of a testament to the author’s abilities as a writer to make every character compelling.
Writing: As I said before: it really does sound like an old detective film. The writing is excellent in most every way and really is the glue that holds this together. The only criticism I have is that there isn’t more individualized behavior amongst the species. Realistically, the only info we receive is, spoiler alert: everyone hates compys. Just a missed opportunity on the writers part. I think the concepts he has are awesome and really well fleshed out for the most part, but it’s a hindrance at some points in the writing where the dinosaurisms are weak and just disappointing.
Story: Really excellent stuff here; the entire plot moves along pretty well, though the third act does seem to have an abundance of twists and turns that, again, detracts from the overall story. I appreciate that there are clues to everything that the reader can pick up on as they go and many, may have solved it before they reach the end of the story. Again though, plot twists galore is nice and all, and very typical of a detective story, but it’s hard to manage all of those different points without some inevitable eye rolling on the way.
Overall, I don’t know how to rate this; I like dinosaurs, I like puzzles, this book was abundant in both. For some reason though, there were some sour notes this hit for me. The problem is, it’s still a gosh darned well written book. An impressive piece and a remarkably odd premise combined with some fantastic characterization made something that was strangely enjoyable for me. I’ll probably read the other two books in the series sometime later in my life, but for now I’m happy to close the book on another dinosaur story, as imperfect, but lovable as it might be.
4.3 🌟
September 15, 2023
It works. That's the main point to keep in mind when considering reading Anonymous Rex, which I highly recommend 😄
I was worried when picking it up that it would be just about the funny concepts and that it would thereafter simply be your average mystery story. Turns out it's not. Once the stage is set, all the pieces fall into place together and the story builds.
Dinos, PI, addiction, ... everything clicks! And none of it is useless, throughout the whole story. It may seem like a kid's story but it has all the markers you can wait for an adult story with humor, thrills, suspense, some sex, etc.
We all read books and watched cartoons where animals - dinos too - were talking and the main characters and never did those feel like they were not working. It's the same here.
Just let Vincent take you by the hand and head first into his world. You won't be disappointed. Listen to the child still in you 🙃
I was worried when picking it up that it would be just about the funny concepts and that it would thereafter simply be your average mystery story. Turns out it's not. Once the stage is set, all the pieces fall into place together and the story builds.
Dinos, PI, addiction, ... everything clicks! And none of it is useless, throughout the whole story. It may seem like a kid's story but it has all the markers you can wait for an adult story with humor, thrills, suspense, some sex, etc.
We all read books and watched cartoons where animals - dinos too - were talking and the main characters and never did those feel like they were not working. It's the same here.
Just let Vincent take you by the hand and head first into his world. You won't be disappointed. Listen to the child still in you 🙃
July 21, 2016
If the titles haven't won you over yet (Anonymous Rex, Casual Rex, Hot and Sweaty Rex), here's why you should give this book a chance:
1. The main character is a likable one. I like Vince Rubio more than Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files). At the start of the book Vince is a mess. He's addicted to basil*, he just got kicked out of the Council, he's wrecked his reputation as a PI and therefore his career is suffering, so he's broke and hungry.
* In this world, the intoxicants for dinosaurs are herbs. And not like MJ "herbs", but legit cooking herbs, such as oregano, rosemary and thyme. Alcohol doesn't affect them at all.
But then you learn that he's still grieving over his recently deceased friend and business partner, Ernie, which was what drove him to go to extremes to investigate the supposed accident that killed Ernie. So that kind of fierce loyalty and desire for the truth has to count for something, right?
He's also got some good fighting skills, , demonstrates he is a gentleman without needing to state it repeatedly , and did I mention yet that he's a velociraptor?
2. The side characters aren't just meat shields. They're fleshed out enough such that when things happen to them, you feel for them.
3. I like the idea that each dinosaur has their individual natural scent, which is apparently very strong for other dinosaurs, but undetectable to humans. Remember this part because it's one of the things that trips up the antagonist.
4. There's a chance to view the issues of inter-racial and inter-species relationships, and the advances of biotechnology (genetic manipulation), in light of our current social climate. When is it a breakthrough of love, and when is it an abomination? It could also be a trans issue, maybe? Like is it bad for humans to want to be dinosaurs? And how a dinosaur who starts to think he's human is considered suffering from a disease.
5. It was fun learning about the stereotypes of each dinosaur in this universe. Like how the Brontosaurus is the quarterback type, the Ankies (Ankylosaurs) the used-car-salemen, and the Compys (Procompsognathus) are the small but aggressive simpletons. T-rex's seem like the demon bosses, and Triceratops are kind of the heavyset but common folk. You also have the sharp-featured Carnotaurs (Ernie and McBride), suave and wily Raptors (Donovan and Vince) and no-nonsense Hadrosaurs (Glenda). And so on. I used to watch the TV show Grimm, and this reminded me a bit of that.
What I didn't like about the book:
1. Forget about rational thought from the very start. The basic premise is that dinosaurs faked their extinction and have been disguising themselves as humans all this time. Signing up for this book means you agree to let the laws of nature bend around. How does a creature the size of a bus squish itself into a stretchy suit to look like, say, being generous, a six-foot-tall man? Where do the snouts go? How do the claws turn into hands? More importantly, how do they go to the bathroom in case of an emergency?
This book cajoles you into not looking too closely at it. Just be a bro and let these things slide. Don't let your pretty little head be caught up in petty details involving the Law of Conservation of Mass.
2. All that dinosaur sex. Ech. A few pages of detailed, though enthusiastic, reptile copulation does nothing for me. Also, re-read my point #1 above. Just thinking about dino-human sex is like trying to mentally draw an Escher diagram of Peg A fitting into Slot λ.
3. The climax suffers from Talkative Villain (Those Meddling Kids!) syndrome. As a detective, Vince has a few hunches, but these are all just confirmed when he conveniently catches most of the baddies in a single room and they explain their entire nefarious plot to him. In that same scene, Vince talks for an awful long time, in a dramatic fashion, and I can't help think that if I were a more impatient villain that would have been the perfect time to just kill him off.
4. The plot twists feel like they're just making fun of us at this point. There was also a device where Person calls Vince up with some Important Information, but instead of relaying it over the phone, they decide to meet up. But before they do, Something Happens. I think the author was aware of it though so he has Vince say at one point "You can just tell me over the phone you know."
All in all, if you obediently suspend your disbelief, and weather through some of the genre's tropes, you might end up still enjoying this, as I did.
1. The main character is a likable one. I like Vince Rubio more than Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files). At the start of the book Vince is a mess. He's addicted to basil*, he just got kicked out of the Council, he's wrecked his reputation as a PI and therefore his career is suffering, so he's broke and hungry.
* In this world, the intoxicants for dinosaurs are herbs. And not like MJ "herbs", but legit cooking herbs, such as oregano, rosemary and thyme. Alcohol doesn't affect them at all.
But then you learn that he's still grieving over his recently deceased friend and business partner, Ernie, which was what drove him to go to extremes to investigate the supposed accident that killed Ernie. So that kind of fierce loyalty and desire for the truth has to count for something, right?
He's also got some good fighting skills, , demonstrates he is a gentleman without needing to state it repeatedly , and did I mention yet that he's a velociraptor?
2. The side characters aren't just meat shields. They're fleshed out enough such that when things happen to them, you feel for them.
3. I like the idea that each dinosaur has their individual natural scent, which is apparently very strong for other dinosaurs, but undetectable to humans. Remember this part because it's one of the things that trips up the antagonist.
4. There's a chance to view the issues of inter-racial and inter-species relationships, and the advances of biotechnology (genetic manipulation), in light of our current social climate. When is it a breakthrough of love, and when is it an abomination? It could also be a trans issue, maybe? Like is it bad for humans to want to be dinosaurs? And how a dinosaur who starts to think he's human is considered suffering from a disease.
5. It was fun learning about the stereotypes of each dinosaur in this universe. Like how the Brontosaurus is the quarterback type, the Ankies (Ankylosaurs) the used-car-salemen, and the Compys (Procompsognathus) are the small but aggressive simpletons. T-rex's seem like the demon bosses, and Triceratops are kind of the heavyset but common folk. You also have the sharp-featured Carnotaurs (Ernie and McBride), suave and wily Raptors (Donovan and Vince) and no-nonsense Hadrosaurs (Glenda). And so on. I used to watch the TV show Grimm, and this reminded me a bit of that.
What I didn't like about the book:
1. Forget about rational thought from the very start. The basic premise is that dinosaurs faked their extinction and have been disguising themselves as humans all this time. Signing up for this book means you agree to let the laws of nature bend around. How does a creature the size of a bus squish itself into a stretchy suit to look like, say, being generous, a six-foot-tall man? Where do the snouts go? How do the claws turn into hands? More importantly, how do they go to the bathroom in case of an emergency?
This book cajoles you into not looking too closely at it. Just be a bro and let these things slide. Don't let your pretty little head be caught up in petty details involving the Law of Conservation of Mass.
2. All that dinosaur sex. Ech. A few pages of detailed, though enthusiastic, reptile copulation does nothing for me. Also, re-read my point #1 above. Just thinking about dino-human sex is like trying to mentally draw an Escher diagram of Peg A fitting into Slot λ.
3. The climax suffers from Talkative Villain (Those Meddling Kids!) syndrome. As a detective, Vince has a few hunches, but these are all just confirmed when he conveniently catches most of the baddies in a single room and they explain their entire nefarious plot to him. In that same scene, Vince talks for an awful long time, in a dramatic fashion, and I can't help think that if I were a more impatient villain that would have been the perfect time to just kill him off.
4. The plot twists feel like they're just making fun of us at this point. There was also a device where Person calls Vince up with some Important Information, but instead of relaying it over the phone, they decide to meet up. But before they do, Something Happens. I think the author was aware of it though so he has Vince say at one point "You can just tell me over the phone you know."
All in all, if you obediently suspend your disbelief, and weather through some of the genre's tropes, you might end up still enjoying this, as I did.
May 9, 2017
It's interesting to me how ratings work. I've had a number of perfectly fine, interesting literary works only hit me as about 3 stars, while Anonymous Rex, which never really seemed to flow right, which was fluff of the highest order, has me giving a 4 star review and considering the sequels. Let's try to analyze what happened:
1) Internal logic does not always make any sense, but it is consistent. It is impossible in my mind how a triceratops could disguise himself as a human, but it is clearly happening here, so there it goes. Garcia never seems to be concerned with how. It just is. To echo Rubio, Don't Ask, Don't Ask.
2) While the mystery in play here isn't particularly funny, the reality "under the surface" does make the book inherently absurd. It lightens the forced seriousness of the classic detective story naturally. It also makes the mystery more mysterious. Cobbling together the realities of the dinosaur world means the chapters are not just successions of interviews and clues. Even something as simple as Rubio's identity is better with dinosaurs... there's nothing very special about a down on his luck private eye with a drug habit attempting to avenge his dead partner while the force is against him, but adding the world of dinos means there's something else to work with.
3) All of this means that as circuitous as the clues become, as weirdly and suddenly as certain things fall into place, as crammed with information as the final chapters feel, the concept is already suspension of disbelief. There is definitely some degree of intrigue and tension and excitement being built. This is a mystery not held together by an airtight deduction path and difficult to ascertain facts, but by plotting out a story. I couldn't rightly tell how I felt about the actual plot here, but I kept wanting to follow it, which is to the author's credit.
It's not remotely a perfect book, but it entertained me well. Sometimes that's all that it takes to really like something.
1) Internal logic does not always make any sense, but it is consistent. It is impossible in my mind how a triceratops could disguise himself as a human, but it is clearly happening here, so there it goes. Garcia never seems to be concerned with how. It just is. To echo Rubio, Don't Ask, Don't Ask.
2) While the mystery in play here isn't particularly funny, the reality "under the surface" does make the book inherently absurd. It lightens the forced seriousness of the classic detective story naturally. It also makes the mystery more mysterious. Cobbling together the realities of the dinosaur world means the chapters are not just successions of interviews and clues. Even something as simple as Rubio's identity is better with dinosaurs... there's nothing very special about a down on his luck private eye with a drug habit attempting to avenge his dead partner while the force is against him, but adding the world of dinos means there's something else to work with.
3) All of this means that as circuitous as the clues become, as weirdly and suddenly as certain things fall into place, as crammed with information as the final chapters feel, the concept is already suspension of disbelief. There is definitely some degree of intrigue and tension and excitement being built. This is a mystery not held together by an airtight deduction path and difficult to ascertain facts, but by plotting out a story. I couldn't rightly tell how I felt about the actual plot here, but I kept wanting to follow it, which is to the author's credit.
It's not remotely a perfect book, but it entertained me well. Sometimes that's all that it takes to really like something.
October 12, 2019
This one gets all the friggin stars. All of them this is my second favorite book of the year. It's a mixture of The Super Mario movie from the 90's, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and has a Finkle and Einhorn moment just for good measure. This book hit every awesome funny bone in my body.
It opens as every book should, with meaty dino sex. Then leads into human on dino sex, dino on dino sex, and dino on human sex. You follow all that? This is about a dino private investigator who's down on his luck and trying to make a comeback in the world after his partner died. The humor is top notch if you love Ace Ventura, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and The Super Mario bros like I do then you'll love the shit out of this book... plus I don't know what it is if it's revulsion or fascination but it's hard to look away from a dinosaur love fest.
There it is and there you have it.
It opens as every book should, with meaty dino sex. Then leads into human on dino sex, dino on dino sex, and dino on human sex. You follow all that? This is about a dino private investigator who's down on his luck and trying to make a comeback in the world after his partner died. The humor is top notch if you love Ace Ventura, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and The Super Mario bros like I do then you'll love the shit out of this book... plus I don't know what it is if it's revulsion or fascination but it's hard to look away from a dinosaur love fest.
There it is and there you have it.
August 9, 2012
I wanted to like this book, I honestly did. I envisioned it as Jurassic Park meets Raymond Chandler.
While it was better than the buddy cop movie Theodore Rex with Whoopi Goldberg, it was kind of a let down. It started out interestingly enough but then just dragged (way to early in the story I might add) and I got bored.
Dinosaurs faked their extinction and are now dressed up as humans to hide in our world. How that that be a crappy story? It is so campy it would be hard to screw up. *sigh*
While it was better than the buddy cop movie Theodore Rex with Whoopi Goldberg, it was kind of a let down. It started out interestingly enough but then just dragged (way to early in the story I might add) and I got bored.
Dinosaurs faked their extinction and are now dressed up as humans to hide in our world. How that that be a crappy story? It is so campy it would be hard to screw up. *sigh*
August 14, 2007
I realize the premise is difficult to picture: the dinosaurs didn’t die out, they simply learned how to disguise themselves as human and they walk among us yet. It sounds odd, and even worse, silly. But here’s the kicker: if you overlook the reptile conceit, this is a classic hard-boiled mystery, and a pretty good one at that. Go ahead. Give it a try. I won’t tell anyone.
April 11, 2015
The nice thing about being in a book club means you read things you wouldn't usually pick up, like this. However, I did enjoy this purely for its entertaining story. And dinosaurs. Of course.
May 26, 2015
I read this long ago, but still recall it fondly with some frequency. Because: sleuths. and dinosaurs dressed up as as people. I wish.
May 26, 2017
What did I just read?
That was.. well.. something else.
IT had all the work of a good crime mystery.
Just with the added flavour of dinosaur. A fun entertaining read.
That was.. well.. something else.
IT had all the work of a good crime mystery.
Just with the added flavour of dinosaur. A fun entertaining read.
November 13, 2019
A genre mix. It's a detective story with noir elements - and speculative fiction in which a number of dinosaur speciess evolved into intelligent, human-sized beings which disguise themselves as humans to secretly blend into human society.
The detective story may not fully satisfy readers looking for noir. The mystery is complicated enough with a twist at the end, but not necessarily of classic standing. The dinosaur theme is active throughout the book in various ways. The main character is a dinosaur who is the detective, who has been struggling with substance abuse (dinos use herbs) since the death of his partner. There are aspects of the dinosaurs-disguised-as-humans-and-humans-don't-know which I found implausible. I found some humor in some of it, but not so much that I would list "humor" as one of the genres. Other readers may find it more amusing - perhaps, treating the whole disguise theme that way.
It's original in some ways. To the extent that a noir-ish detective story can be "light reading," I'd suggest it more for those reading times.
The detective story may not fully satisfy readers looking for noir. The mystery is complicated enough with a twist at the end, but not necessarily of classic standing. The dinosaur theme is active throughout the book in various ways. The main character is a dinosaur who is the detective, who has been struggling with substance abuse (dinos use herbs) since the death of his partner. There are aspects of the dinosaurs-disguised-as-humans-and-humans-don't-know which I found implausible. I found some humor in some of it, but not so much that I would list "humor" as one of the genres. Other readers may find it more amusing - perhaps, treating the whole disguise theme that way.
It's original in some ways. To the extent that a noir-ish detective story can be "light reading," I'd suggest it more for those reading times.
October 7, 2017
Welllllllllll. That was a total slog. And it shouldn't have been. It's really well written and has a very clever plot, engaging characters, fun dialog .... but I just can't get over the idea of how dinosaurs can disguise themselves as humans. I just cannot see it. I'd say this is great for YA but maybe not because of some of the sex and language - older YA, okay. Great mystery story/detective story, keeps you guessing all of the way through. But I just couldn't get past (or into) the main premise. Dinosaurs survived extinction and are surviving by disguising themselves as humans. And I admit, it's a clever premise. I just can't.
October 22, 2018
Background: So, a couple friends wrote a round of trivia where they provided descriptions of movies and you had to guess if they were real or bullshit. When they described this one I literally laughed out loud and declared bullshit. Nope, this is real, and not only is it a movie, it's a series of books. It was too weird not to check out.
The book tries to be a dead serious mystery/noir novel, with the exception of course that the protagonist is a dinosaur disguised as a human, as are many of the characters in the book. Why the dinosaurs faked their extinction and pretend to be humans isn't fully explained. But, the interspecies sex scene is graphic enough to let you know that Mr. Garcia put A LOT of thought into this, LOL.
It's just a fun premise for a detective novel. Don't take it too seriously. Don't focus on plot holes. Just roll with the ridiculosity of the story. Now to track down that movie...
The book tries to be a dead serious mystery/noir novel, with the exception of course that the protagonist is a dinosaur disguised as a human, as are many of the characters in the book. Why the dinosaurs faked their extinction and pretend to be humans isn't fully explained. But, the interspecies sex scene is graphic enough to let you know that Mr. Garcia put A LOT of thought into this, LOL.
It's just a fun premise for a detective novel. Don't take it too seriously. Don't focus on plot holes. Just roll with the ridiculosity of the story. Now to track down that movie...
September 3, 2018
Uno se envuelve rápidamente con el personaje principal, si eres de los que gusta de esas historias de detectives rebeldes. La trama en ciertas partes se vuelve muy predecible y justo para el final se mete un freno de mano en la acción para pasar a las explicaciones que nos darán luz sobre el caso.
Es bastante bueno, de hecho quiero leer los demás libros de esta serie, sin embargo es una básica historia de detectives, dónde la única rareza es el hecho de qué son dinosaurios disfrazados.
Es bastante bueno, de hecho quiero leer los demás libros de esta serie, sin embargo es una básica historia de detectives, dónde la única rareza es el hecho de qué son dinosaurios disfrazados.
June 11, 2024
Absolutely wonderful! It reads like a noire mystery except with dinosaurs! The dinosaurs make it extra special.
July 14, 2016
While browsing TV on a cold Friday night I left it on the film version of this book. It was a very lucky accident because I haven't laughed that hard at a film in a long time. And it was laughing at it, with its ridiculous premise (dinosaur PIs that wear fake human skins to blend in) and details (each dinosaur has a specific smell and they get high from herbs) and choice of actors (a dude from True Blood and a random Baldwin), not with it, for the film took itself quite seriously even though it was about sentient dinosaurs.
When I found out it was inspired by a book I naturally had to read it.
Our protagonist, Vincent Rubio, is a dinosaur PI from LA down on his luck. He takes a job, investigation of a night club arson, just to be able to pay some of his bills. However his investigation leads him back to the death of his partner in New York. Vincent, despite being warned against it, flies to New York to once and for all find out who was responsible for it, and in the process stumbles into something more than he bargained for.
In the beginning it was everything I expected and wanted it to be. I love noir fiction and this fit right in. We have the PI with substance abuse problems who mourns the death of his partner. We have the seemingly mundane crime our PI has to solve to get the much needed money that turns into a hunt for his partner's killer. We have the femme fatale that messes with our PI's head. Never mind that everybody is a dinosaur, the author makes that work. Without it this would be a noir book like any other, but with it the story became much more fun to read.
The exploration of the hidden dinosaur life is usually used as a buffer between some important plot points. Vincent, our protagonist, likes to explain the mundane day-to-day dino life to the readers, usually at least somehow connected to the story. There are many technical details of the human suits the dinosaurs wear, the way they are made and connected to the dinosaurs themselves, and I could pretend it all made sense because why not, you actually could hide a dinosaur tail into a leg, we will never know. However, I couldn't just ignore the illogical mechanics that preceded the ending. Up until then both the plot and the motivations of the characters made sense and I was very much enjoying reading the book, but the last ~30 pages managed to diminish my enjoyment immensely.
I loved Vincent as the protagonist and the narrator, however I'm sad to say that he was the one character with discernible personality. The rest of the characters fit their roles: the Femme Fatale, the Villain, the Crazy Genius, the Funny Sidekick. Themes of parenthood were explored but only with the female characters and honestly, haven't both male and female writers done that a million times before? In this case (as in most of the cases to be honest) it felt forced and was the main reason for the bad aftertaste this book left behind. On the other hand, by using character tropes the author had the chance to explore the setting in more depth, but he also used a lot of time to develop Vincent, he could have used a bit more time to develop the rest of the characters as well.
Anonymous Rex was a brilliant, even if crazy idea that just wasn't executed as well as I hoped it would be. Most of the book was very enjoyable, with plot twists keeping me on the edge of my seat, and the setting was quite believable, but the end ruined the whole book for me. Not just the technical details but also the motivations of the characters made no sense, despite the fact that it was all sensible up to that point, but it's worth a read, at least for Garcia's worldbuilding.
When I found out it was inspired by a book I naturally had to read it.
Our protagonist, Vincent Rubio, is a dinosaur PI from LA down on his luck. He takes a job, investigation of a night club arson, just to be able to pay some of his bills. However his investigation leads him back to the death of his partner in New York. Vincent, despite being warned against it, flies to New York to once and for all find out who was responsible for it, and in the process stumbles into something more than he bargained for.
In the beginning it was everything I expected and wanted it to be. I love noir fiction and this fit right in. We have the PI with substance abuse problems who mourns the death of his partner. We have the seemingly mundane crime our PI has to solve to get the much needed money that turns into a hunt for his partner's killer. We have the femme fatale that messes with our PI's head. Never mind that everybody is a dinosaur, the author makes that work. Without it this would be a noir book like any other, but with it the story became much more fun to read.
The exploration of the hidden dinosaur life is usually used as a buffer between some important plot points. Vincent, our protagonist, likes to explain the mundane day-to-day dino life to the readers, usually at least somehow connected to the story. There are many technical details of the human suits the dinosaurs wear, the way they are made and connected to the dinosaurs themselves, and I could pretend it all made sense because why not, you actually could hide a dinosaur tail into a leg, we will never know. However, I couldn't just ignore the illogical mechanics that preceded the ending. Up until then both the plot and the motivations of the characters made sense and I was very much enjoying reading the book, but the last ~30 pages managed to diminish my enjoyment immensely.
I loved Vincent as the protagonist and the narrator, however I'm sad to say that he was the one character with discernible personality. The rest of the characters fit their roles: the Femme Fatale, the Villain, the Crazy Genius, the Funny Sidekick. Themes of parenthood were explored but only with the female characters and honestly, haven't both male and female writers done that a million times before? In this case (as in most of the cases to be honest) it felt forced and was the main reason for the bad aftertaste this book left behind. On the other hand, by using character tropes the author had the chance to explore the setting in more depth, but he also used a lot of time to develop Vincent, he could have used a bit more time to develop the rest of the characters as well.
Anonymous Rex was a brilliant, even if crazy idea that just wasn't executed as well as I hoped it would be. Most of the book was very enjoyable, with plot twists keeping me on the edge of my seat, and the setting was quite believable, but the end ruined the whole book for me. Not just the technical details but also the motivations of the characters made no sense, despite the fact that it was all sensible up to that point, but it's worth a read, at least for Garcia's worldbuilding.
March 29, 2016
My rating for this book is actually 3.5 stars, but I put only 3 stars since I can't put a half star down.
At first, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Dinosaurs didn't go extinct, but they actually walk around humans in a human skin to hide their existence. I actually really liked the concept. It's a funny and silly, but unique idea that I really liked. Of course, this book isn't meant to be taken really seriously, but I didn't have a problem with that.
So, is the book good? It was definitely entertaining, but I don't know that I would call it a great book.
For one, it's has all the cliches of a detective novel. You've got your washed up PI who's at odds with his supervisor with a dead partner. It just wraps up these cliches in the whole "but he's a dinosaur" situation. I'd rather that everything be more original instead of having it be just like 80% of the usual mystery/detective novels with a dinosaur thrown in.
Also, it would have been nice to have more emphasis on the dinosaur part of life that was described in the book. Sometimes, I forget that Vincent is a dinosaur. He just acts so...human. I know that's supposed to be how they act, but it's hard to believe sometimes that this is a book about dinosaurs. More about dinosaur society and history would be nice. Just more emphasis on the dinosaurs would be nice in general, since that's the what makes the book interesting. The mystery and parts of the plot could have been put into another detective novel without any mention of a dinosaur and it would still be nice. The novel's entire shtick is that it's a novel "but it's dinosaurs". So, I think making the plot more connected to dinosaurs would have been nice.
Another small complaint: It'd be nice to have Ernie and Vincent's past relationship fleshed out more. I have the feeling we were supposed to get emotional and care about Ernie, but he's barely mentioned throughout the book. Whenever his name popped up, I would just think "Huh, it's that dead guy that used to Vincent's partner" and nothing else. Some flashbacks here and there, more thoughts about him, things like that I think would have helped.
It is a funny book though, and was pretty entertaining to read. There wasn't a point where I felt like I was forcing myself to stay with it. It's just like any other detective novel but...with dinosaurs. Kind of. Still, I enjoyed reading it. I just wish it did something more with the dinosaur angle. I really like dinosaurs.
At first, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Dinosaurs didn't go extinct, but they actually walk around humans in a human skin to hide their existence. I actually really liked the concept. It's a funny and silly, but unique idea that I really liked. Of course, this book isn't meant to be taken really seriously, but I didn't have a problem with that.
So, is the book good? It was definitely entertaining, but I don't know that I would call it a great book.
For one, it's has all the cliches of a detective novel. You've got your washed up PI who's at odds with his supervisor with a dead partner. It just wraps up these cliches in the whole "but he's a dinosaur" situation. I'd rather that everything be more original instead of having it be just like 80% of the usual mystery/detective novels with a dinosaur thrown in.
Also, it would have been nice to have more emphasis on the dinosaur part of life that was described in the book. Sometimes, I forget that Vincent is a dinosaur. He just acts so...human. I know that's supposed to be how they act, but it's hard to believe sometimes that this is a book about dinosaurs. More about dinosaur society and history would be nice. Just more emphasis on the dinosaurs would be nice in general, since that's the what makes the book interesting. The mystery and parts of the plot could have been put into another detective novel without any mention of a dinosaur and it would still be nice. The novel's entire shtick is that it's a novel "but it's dinosaurs". So, I think making the plot more connected to dinosaurs would have been nice.
Another small complaint: It'd be nice to have Ernie and Vincent's past relationship fleshed out more. I have the feeling we were supposed to get emotional and care about Ernie, but he's barely mentioned throughout the book. Whenever his name popped up, I would just think "Huh, it's that dead guy that used to Vincent's partner" and nothing else. Some flashbacks here and there, more thoughts about him, things like that I think would have helped.
It is a funny book though, and was pretty entertaining to read. There wasn't a point where I felt like I was forcing myself to stay with it. It's just like any other detective novel but...with dinosaurs. Kind of. Still, I enjoyed reading it. I just wish it did something more with the dinosaur angle. I really like dinosaurs.
December 23, 2008
This one wasn't as good as Casual Rex was. There were several things that bothered me about this one. First, Ernie is dead... DEAD! As in, not in the story at all. He dies months before the story begins. Lame. I kept expecting him to come back to reveal that his death, months before, had been a necessary hoax of some sort. He was an enjoyable character in the first book and I can't imagine why the author decided to dump him.
Next, the author gets waaaaaay to in depth discussing the ins and outs of dino society. The basic premise of these book is hard to swallow, but if you don't delve too deep into it all is well. When you start to attempt to tie up all the loose ends, it starts to feel a little ridiculous instead of whimsical and fun.
Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I just felt a little disappointed when comparing it to Casual Rex. I have "Hot and Sweaty Rex" on the bookshelf and I'll probably read it at some point. Despite this one not being so good, I still enjoy the idea of Dinosaurs masquerading as people enough to give it another shot.
Next, the author gets waaaaaay to in depth discussing the ins and outs of dino society. The basic premise of these book is hard to swallow, but if you don't delve too deep into it all is well. When you start to attempt to tie up all the loose ends, it starts to feel a little ridiculous instead of whimsical and fun.
Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I just felt a little disappointed when comparing it to Casual Rex. I have "Hot and Sweaty Rex" on the bookshelf and I'll probably read it at some point. Despite this one not being so good, I still enjoy the idea of Dinosaurs masquerading as people enough to give it another shot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2014
This may be simultaneously the most cliched and the most original detective story I have ever read -- cliched in that its hero is a washed-up-but-not-out PI who bends the rules and falls for the bimbos, original in that he is a dinosaur, part of a dino society secretly living in disguise among humans. The exposition for how that society works is well woven into the story, forming a large part of the mystery plot; of course one needs to suspend disbelief, but it holds together as a fantasy setting. The book is a classic mystery, laying out all the clues needed for the reader to solve it but subtly enough so that the PI looks clever when he does so. The jacket blurbs tout the book's humor, but I rate it only so-so as a comedy. It's not a book to turn to for great writing or depth of ideas, but it's a pleasant enough read.
August 2, 2016
This book was... wild.
My sister picked this out for me as a blind book date - and I'm afraid I got the much better end of the stick (sorry sis! enjoy your book about a dead hamster!). We follow a PI with a drug addiction and some behavioral issues from LA to NY as he works on solving what turns out to be a bizarre, convoluted case. Oh yeah, and he's a dinosaur.
And I *loved* it. The pacing was a little slow at the start, it took me a little while to really get into the story line and get involved with it, but once I hit that sweet spot, the rest of the book swept me away.
It's charming, in it's own little bizarre way, well written, and the characters were entertaining and memorable. I'm not entirely sure I'll pick up the rest of the series, but if you want an interesting, psuedo-gritty dinosaur noir, this is definitely the book for you.
My sister picked this out for me as a blind book date - and I'm afraid I got the much better end of the stick (sorry sis! enjoy your book about a dead hamster!). We follow a PI with a drug addiction and some behavioral issues from LA to NY as he works on solving what turns out to be a bizarre, convoluted case. Oh yeah, and he's a dinosaur.
And I *loved* it. The pacing was a little slow at the start, it took me a little while to really get into the story line and get involved with it, but once I hit that sweet spot, the rest of the book swept me away.
It's charming, in it's own little bizarre way, well written, and the characters were entertaining and memorable. I'm not entirely sure I'll pick up the rest of the series, but if you want an interesting, psuedo-gritty dinosaur noir, this is definitely the book for you.
November 13, 2013
I loved this book for soapy reasons and on soapy levels. I know Eric personally. I costumed him in sonny high school plays. I enjoyed his many various characters on the stage but mostly it was his wit and personality that captured an English teacher's heart. Although I never had him in class, I spent hours in the theater and at conventions. Why do I mention this now? While reading this book I heard him telling the story. It was as though he was merely talking to me and I felt close to him. And what a story. Dinosaurs weren't my thing but film noir was and I made everyone I know read the book. They all loved it too. My signed copy along with the invitation to his book signing and the souvenir pen are among my many teacher memories.
March 16, 2010
it's a catchy little setup: take your hard-boiled detective mystery, a la Raymond Chandler. Your twist? The detective, along with a significant portion of the world population, is actually a dinosaur in a human suit.
sadly, i started getting annoyed with the premise (or rather, with all the attention paid to all the details being used to flesh out the "dinosaurs are everywhere" premise) about 10 pages into it. it wasn't til another 100 or so pages had been gotten thru that i started sorta enjoying it again.
i'd say try the first few pages, and if you start being as annoyed as i was, move on -- while the ending is fine, it's not really worth the effort if you're not having fun.
sadly, i started getting annoyed with the premise (or rather, with all the attention paid to all the details being used to flesh out the "dinosaurs are everywhere" premise) about 10 pages into it. it wasn't til another 100 or so pages had been gotten thru that i started sorta enjoying it again.
i'd say try the first few pages, and if you start being as annoyed as i was, move on -- while the ending is fine, it's not really worth the effort if you're not having fun.
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