The Dinosaur Games by Christopher Gordon

1 out of 5 stars

In the first few chapters of The Dinosaur Games

by Christopher Gordon, Jack Reaper’s world comes into sharp focus when his parents are killed by what appears to be a rogue dinosaur. (Dear reader, suspend your disbelief: Dinosaurs have been cloned out of extinction, a la Jurassic Park, and foregoing any lessons from that world, of course there are many many T-Rexes and similar-sized carnivores in outdoor enclosures.). FYI, the timeline in the book description is not at all accurate. However, in a strange confluence of events (This doesn’t seem to be exactly a Hunger Games ripoff, but there are definite similarities …) Jack, his brother, and the girl he kinda likes are suddenly participants in a corporation-run dinosaur-gladiator area match. Will Jack, his brother Egg, and Mississippi all make it out alive?

I did finish the book, but I attribute this more to my inability to leave things unfinished than the book’s interest level. I didn’t believe a word of it or care about the characters. The villains, the hero, and the supporting cast are all stiff and one-dimensional. There is a slight attempt to make one of the villains conflicted, but it fizzles out quickly. The whole premise is ridiculous, and the reasoning for having a bunch of kids ride around on dinosaurs and kill each other doesn’t make any sense outside of a world where all corporations are evil and run by dictatorial, homicidal maniacs with absolute power.

I rate this science fiction book for 16 and older on the Aardvark scale (assuming they can tolerate the nonsense) for multiple, very gory deaths by dinosaur, several involving minors.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

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