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JURASSIC PARK
“Welcome…to Jurassic Park!”
Author: Michael Crichton
First published: 1990
Jurassic Park, the first book in the series, was a New York Times Bestseller and gained immense popularity. It’s as riveting as the namesake blockbuster film Jurassic Park (1993).
A group of scientists discovers a technique to recover and clone dinosaurs. Once they bring these ancient beasts back to life on a remote island in a park and let humans visit them, chaos and misadventure ensue. All beings are driven by their nature, and dinosaurs aren’t any exception.
Through this book, we’re compelled to ponder on issues like whether it’s wise to play with nature and where exactly to draw the line?
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
“And in it all, where did the truth end and error begin?”
Author: Jules Verne
First published: 1864 in French and 1871 in English
Written by Jules Verne and first published in French in 1864 and 1871 in English, Journey to the Center of the Earth is an adventure sci-fi novel.
Journey to the Center of the Earth takes you on a quest by a geology professor to find the existence of volcanic tubes leading to the earth’s core. He believes there’s a prehistoric realm still in existence. He takes his nephew and a native guide on an adventurous expedition leading to the earth’s center.
This famous work by Verne has several movies, video games, and TV series adaptations.
DINOTOPIA SERIES
“Breathe Deep, Seek Peace.”
Author: James Gurney
First published: 1992
Dinotopia is a popular fantasy series on dinosaurs and humans. Consisting of six books, it has garnered Hugo awards for the books Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and Dinotopia: The World Beneath.
Dinotopia, a dinosaur utopia, is a remote island and home to shipwrecked humans and dinosaurs peacefully co-existing as a society. The breathtaking island is unique in many ways as it’s made of an imaginary “Waterfall City” and “Dinosaur Parade.” This series is about the adventures of a father and his son on the island.
It began as a children’s series but later progressed to appeal to adults too. Several video games, TV series, and a film were based on it, like the 2002 Dinotopia miniseries and a 2006 animated movie Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone.
THE LOST WORLD
“The individual must not monopolize what is meant for the world.”
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
First published: 1912
Written by the creator of Sherlock Holmes, The Lost World is about an adventurous expedition by a journalist to an Amazonian plateau in South America in search of prehistoric life. Along with the prehistoric creatures like dinosaurs, this fantasy book also brings you other bizarre beings like the ape-men.
Among many adaptations of this book include the two Lost World films, TV series, documentaries, etc.
THUNDER SERIES
“Its head and jaws were huge. It walked on two well-muscled back legs, but its forelegs looked smaller and useless. A long thick tail dragged behind.”
Author: James F. David
First published: 1995
If you love reading about apocalyptic scenarios, you’ll enjoy reading this three-part Thunder series, starting from the first book, “Footprints of Thunder.”
Chaos ensues when a natural event blurs the line between yesterday and today, unleashing new dangers. You get to see a world that’s a patchwork of past and present, where ancient beings roam the present-day streets, primeval forests have replaced the cities, and humans are fighting for their survival.
QUINTAGLIO ASCENSION TRILOGY
“No God meant no meaning to it all, no higher standards by which everything was measured.”
Author: Robert J. Sawyer
First published: 1992
This trilogy takes you on a mind-bending adventure to an earth-like moon, where there are sentient and evolved prehistoric beings transplanted 65 million years ago by the aliens. You’ll see the Tyrannosaurus, notably a highly-evolved T-rex, and other beings from the Cretaceous period.
This mind-bending adventure trilogy consists of three books: Far-Seer, Fossil Hunter, and Foreigner.
DINOSAUR TALES
“What if I Said the Dinosaur’s Not Dead?”
Author: Ray Bradbury
First published: 1983
If you’re in the mood for a quick read, go for this fantastic collection of famous short stories, Dinosaur Tales. Beautiful illustrations by artists like Gahan Wilson, Moebius, and William Stout, among many others, make it an exciting read for adults and kids alike.
Some famous stories in the collection are “The Fog Horn” and “A Sound of Thunder.”
WEST OF EDEN
“The first and most obvious difference would be the absence of Iceland…”
Author: Harry Harrison
First published: 1984
This book addresses the classic “What If” scenario related to the ancient beasts – What if the dinosaurs survived?
This saga is set in a parallel universe where they aren’t extinct and have evolved into an intelligent reptiloid species, along with the evolved human-like species called the humanoids. In this tale of bravery and survival, you see both humanoids and the cold-blooded reptiloids battling supremacy.
RAPTOR RED
“Bones and rocks are eloquent storytellers, if you know how to listen to them.”
Author: Robert T. Bakker
First published: 1995
In this sci-fi novel, the paleontologist author Robert T. Bakker gives you a glimpse of life in the Cretaceous period through the eyes of a female raptor.
See the prehistoric world, its lush landscapes, and animals like Iguanodon, diplodocid, and Aegialodon from Raptor Red’s perspective. Following Red’s tale of survival, you can’t help but feel for one of the most formidable predators in history.
THE MIDAS FLESH (COMICS)
“What if everything you touched turned into gold?”
Author: Ryan North
First published: 2014
Midas Flesh is an Eisner Award-winning comic limited series based on the famous legend of King Midas with a sci-fi twist.
Thousands of years ago, King Midas accidentally transformed the entire earth into gold, eventually killing all life. A space crew is now arriving on the abandoned earth with a dinosaur to obtain the most powerful weapon, the King’s dead body.
This funny intergalactic adventure is brought to life with illustrations by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb.
