The Hand of Dinotopia

Dinotopia: Complete #12

by Alan Dean Foster, James Gurney (Illustrator)

A long-lost legend is found...Will is a skybax rider, one of the elite couriers of Dinotopia, a land apart from time where humans and dinosaurs coexist in harmony. Protected for centuries by raging currents that wreck any ship that comes too close to its shores, this strange land is cut off from the outside world. When headstrong Sylvia disappears in search of the legendary Hand of Dinotopia, a landmark that points toward clear sea passage to and from the island, Will follows her, accompanied by his four-footed "Protoceratops companion, Chaz. Their quest for the Hand takes them to a startling destination where they're met with a choice as unexpected as the journey.

See Dinotopia on TV!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dinosaurs, Adventure, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens

416 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1999

About the author

Bestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.

Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.

Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.

Reviews

[Mika Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was like National Treasure but with dinosaurs! It was a very interesting story that sort of made me wish I was up to date on all of the novels in this universe. The travel was very well described and visceral, making me want to go to these places as well.

Some problems: The long boring parts were glossed over in a way that made things seem to go much faster and be much easier than they were. And there wasn't too much suspense because you always knew that if someone just touched the right thing, everything including the next clue would be revealed. Also, the editing in this book is appalling. Many grammatical mistakes, incorrect word choices, etc.

But still. This story contained everything I love about Dinotopia except for the beautiful illustrations. I can overlook the predictability, editing, and disjointed pace because the book immerses you in another world, a better world with intelligent, organized dinosaurs and countless places to explore (with no need for money or a steady job).

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and wholesome adventure with some of the characters from Dinotopia. I enjoyed this adventure tale even if everything works out for out characters and the danger is very mild. 4.5 stars.

[Megan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good adventure, but the only reason they aren't dead many times over is pure luck, not good sense.

[Linda Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes you on an unbelievable journey back to the past to discover what really happened. There are dinosaurs, fantasy, imagination, action and suspense. How can so completely different species...humans and dinosaurs live together in cooperation and harmony? This is book to share with my granddaughter.

[Evergreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was filled with some crazy mini adventures all in order to find out if there really is a "Hand of Dinotopia." Will and Sylvia are definitely made for each other. Again, Chaz is a good comedian, when he disagrees or feels irritated about something. That Protoceratops is the king of sarcasm. Although, he does mean well, he can become a little bit annoying.

The short lived TV show of Dinotopia made the way off of the island easier, but also far fetched. Using magic to open a portal to a place that the person is thinking, will take them there. Once they place pyramid stones in a circle and recite a spell. Inorder to get back to Dinotopia, the person has to remember where they're at and I believe there's a time limit for them to in the Outside World. Plus, people born and raised on Dinotopia wouldn't be able to survive in The Outside World, because of the air pollution, while a person who was shipwreck on Dinotopia wouldn't have a problem coming back into the place they were born in as long as they didn't spend several years on the island. That was the last episode of the TV series, but the show was canceled due to lack of ratings and viewers.

The book, told a way more logical way to get to and from Dinotopia. However, I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who might want to read the series. So I let future reads find out what that entails...

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice adventure and I do love that this book does add to the world of the book by introducing more to the legends and even having some groups within the book challenging the philosophy of Dinotopia. Also kind of like the pulp adventure feel this story has just wish their was an actual villain in the story but still a pretty good adventure.

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very very fine adventure novel that manages to build on and expand Dinotopia, one of my favorite fantastic worlds. Exploration and adventure are superb, new locales are exotic and alluring, new peoples are compelling.

The most entertaining book I've read in 2022, and 599th book read on Goodreads.

[Damian · Rating 1 out of 5]

its a book about dinosaurs wow

[Nicole Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved these as a child. Beautifully imagined world, swashbuckling adventure. Multiple authors for refreshing different writing styles.

[Katrina Clohessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classified as juvenile fiction in my library system, but does equally well as YA or adult fiction, in my opinion. Language seems rather complex for kids. The story will appeal to all ages.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but I preferred Dinotopia Lost. Sylvia annoys me a bit in this book.

[Brad]

Dinotopia Universe

[Persis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light repeat read just for fun after more than 10 years. Now I need to re-read the 1st book in the series.

[Eskana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book follows up on Foster's first Dinotopia novel, "Dinotopia Lost," and shares most of the qualities of that book. I've always had in interesting relationship with Dinotopia. I love the James Gurney artwork and all the stories and novels, even the novel series. On the other hand, I know that if it existed in real life, I would find that Dinotopians were very boring goody-goodies to the point of disbelief (what, there's absolutely NO conflict or arguments between Dinotopians? Is there some kind of sedative in the tea??) but I enjoy reading it all the same. Mostly.

This story is no exception, and must have gotten Guerney's approval since it has cover illustrations made specifically for this book. In "Dinotopia Lost," we focused on human Will Denison, his fiancé Sylvia, and the protoceratops Chaz, a smaller dinosaur who serves as a translator (similar to Bix in the original James Guerney books.) Here, we continue with the same characters. The plot starts when Sylvia goes missing... or rather, she went off on a one-person expedition, and fails to report in. Will freaks out and heads out to find her, involving Chaz in the process. Once they meet up, they engage themselves in a quest for a secret of Dinotopia, namely, the "Hand of Dinotopia" which should point the way to a safe passage through the reefs surrounding the island.

The story is fine, if basic, and like in previous books, the characters are pretty much one-note and flat. Will is "devoted boyfriend," and honestly, not much of a main character. Sylvia is "capable and headstrong girl." Chaz is "sarcastic and wordy side character mainly there for comedic effect." The author has a tendency to also overexplain things or use overly verbose expressions for simple things in narration, and often tells us what characters are thinking or feeling rather than showing it. For example:
- "Sylvia was feeding as decorously as possible, considering her own hunger"
- "Unaware of the barge captain's intentions and believing himself abandoned, Chaz accelerated in the direction of the withdrawn boarding ramp."
- "Despite thousands of years of civilizing influence, ancient fears still animated their tenuous grip on the herbivorian psyche."
Add into this a penchant for using the full names of dinosaurs with little desciption of what they look like as well as scientific terms, and you get a readable but tiring narrative.

The plot is also okay, but not very exciting. Dinotopia being peaceful as usual, there are few risks throughout this whole story, other than nature itself (like flash floods and big waves.) Even the puzzle of the ancient mystery is easily solved. Ruins are where the characters except them to be, or, if they aren't sure, they accidentally run in to exact people who know where to find them. Not once, but TWICE, the secret is revealed by an accidental button push. Despite this, I always find lost cities and ancient secrets interesting, so I enjoyed that bit all the same. Maybe it was because the narration was so flat, but I found the dialogue interesting enough, if nothing special.

So, overall, it's a serviceable (if overlong and unexciting) trip back to Dinotopia. But since Dinotopia is almost always unexciting, it's okay enough. Just don't expect anything you haven't seen before.

[PatrickCS · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a chore to read, unlike its predecessor (Dinotopia Lost). The plot is of the classic "perilous adventure to follow ancient clues to a lost artifact" variety, but it fails to really capitalize on the satisfying 'finding clues' aspect, and the 'perilous adventure' element is more frustrating than anything else.

Anyone familiar with the world of Dinotopia knows that it's filled with rich cultures and exotic places. With that in mind, I'm perplexed by the decision to set nearly half of this novel in a largely barren desert. Reading about our protagonists and their companions trudging past one dune or outcropping after another rarely ceases to be boring, and after the third or fourth instance of "Are we going the right way?" or "Oh no, we're almost out of food/water!"(always quickly resolved by an eye-rollingly convenient solution), the book itself feels like almost like an attempt to simulate for the reader the feeling of tedium and desperation that the characters themselves are experiencing on their long journey.

The chunks of the story that bookend the monotonous desert portion are much more entertaining and lively, but by the time the characters had left the desert behind (nearly two-thirds of the way through the book), I found it hard to maintain interest in the long and plodding journey they were on. The characters suffer one boring setback after another for the entirety of the story - for example, spending two days weaving a massive net to help a tribe of raptors catch fish, as payment for being shown to a hidden ruin - and each time they do stumble upon a new clue or piece of the puzzle, it's sure to be preceded immediately by what seems like an insurmountable obstacle (physical or logistical), followed by at least one character suddenly piping up that after weeks of traveling and hundreds of miles, they should probably pack it in, and finally some desperate act or lucky break that provides them the solution to whatever problem they're facing.

This book isn't a terrible way to spend a few hours if you consider yourself a Dinotopia fan, or even a fan of fantasy in general - it's possible that your mileage may vary - but I personally just didn't get much of a kick out of it.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

After watching and enjoying the Dinotopia miniseries (set in a later time period, by the way) I remembered that I had a Dinotopia book so I picked it up. In this scenario, Sylvia has gone off on a quest and her fiance, Will Denison follows her into the wilds of the Amu River Canyon. The officials of Canyon City refuse to help, but they insist on sending Chaz, a protoceratops to accompany him. After finding Sylvia, she reveals that she is searching for the legendary Hand of Dinotopia, an object said to show a safe sea route away from Dinotopia. (The island's isolation has been previously explained as being surrounded by impassable ocean currents) Though Will is convinced that this may be worth a try, Chaz thinks it's a wild goose chase.

I thought this was a fun and suspenseful adventure. Foster gives very rich descriptions of the natural world and Dinotopian culture(s). Obviously he (and/or James Gurney the creator) did a lot of research on prehistoric plants and animals. Many species of dinosaurs were mentioned that I'd never heard of, so it was neat to learn of them.
As for the characters, the most interesting ones were the dinosaurs- Chaz for one had a lot of personality. Sylvia is kind of cool, but Will is a somewhat bland protagonist. Dinotopia is also a little too perfect to be believable, though any Dinotopia fan is already capable of plenty of suspension of disbelief! There are still many natural dangers that the characters face, but no true villain. So if you prefer complex human politics & conflict, this probably won't be your cup of tea.


Note on reading order:
I definitely would recommend reading the original Dinotopia book before this one.
It is also set after the World Beneath and Dinotopia Lost, while there are slight spoilers for the latter I don't think the order matters as much.

[Liana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hand of Dinotopia is a relaxing book set on the fictional island first created by James Gurney. And while the original Dinotopia books were beatifully illustrated Children's books, the Hand of Dinotopia is a very straight-forward Young Adult novel.

For anyone who loved the original Dinotopia books, The Hand of Dinotopia is a pleasant read, as it expands upon the original setting wonderfully. However, for someone who has neve picked up a Dinotopia book and isn't interested in dinosaurs, I would suggest passing over this book in favor of Foster's other Dinotopia novel, Dinotopia Lost. The Hand of Dinotopia is a light and easy read, and the characters are for the most part a little too cheerful to be very believable ( I suppose that's what happens when you live in a utopia). Therefore, anyone picking up the series may be a bit put off by the overly froendly dinosaurs and overall sense of Disney-style-everybodys-happy feeling. Foster's earlier Dinotopian novel had a much darkr feel to it that this installment is lacking, and it makes the book feel a bit too cutesy. Of course, Dinotopia as a whole is a very child-friendly series, and it's nothing fans of the series won't appreciate.

[Susan]

Read aloud with my 3rd grade daughter, who has loved dinosaurs since Kindergarten.

[Kadi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, kind of disappointed. His other novel, Dinotopia Lost, was much more eloquently written and the plot was much better. This plot seemed to be a monotonous sequence of near death, sudden rescue, near death, sudden rescue. The deinonychus tribe at the end was pretty fun though.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This science fiction book actually goes backwards in technology and is about a utopia full of intelligent dinosaurs that coexist with men. The main character of the illustrated book stars in this novel that sees him and his lover chasing after a legend.

[Molly]

A wonderful, fantastic series. The authors do a good job to keep their writing and voice congruous throughout the various books.

[Beka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like this as well as Dintopia Lost, but it's a very interesting tale about a fabled way off the island.

[Aric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much at the same level as "Dinotopia Lost".... At least the digest novels have an excuse to be unimaginitive - they're meant for little kids.

We should expect more from Alan Dean Foster.

[Stormofthedragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started to drag on a bit, but it was an ok book.