Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall

Dinosaurs come alive in this novel in amazing detail. I was astonished by the ease with which Hopp, a new author on the science fiction scene, brought the big animals to life. The scenes of tyrannosaurus attacks on a ranch in Montana were among the most vivid and truly frightening I have ever read in a novel of this type.In addition to huge monsters of the Cretaceous Era, Dinosaur Wars includes a hypothetical intelligent species of dinosaur, and it impressed me as one of the best of such imaginary creations I have encountered. The Kra, as they call themselves, are about the size of humans, but have the features of carnivorous dinosaurs somewhat like the velociraptors of Jurassic Park fame. However, these animals were covered in feathers, not scales. Most impressively, in terms of imagination, the Kra are returning from outer space after a delay of 65 million years to find their lost civilization, destroyed when the fateful asteroid crashed down upon them at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. Beneath a geological stratum of rock lies an entire buried city, right under the ranch!It is a given that the US Military will not let the former owners reclaim their place on earth without a fight, so war is inevitable. Tanks fight laser-armed enemy walking machines in battles that recall the best of HG Wells' War of the Worlds. Hence the appropriate title, Dinosaur Wars. This book is loaded with action and danger, a page turner from start to finish.None of the above should take away from the fact that this book has a very interesting take on dinosaurs, with wonderful detail about the creatures. Only the Kra are intelligent so a comparison to Dinotopia, with its many intelligent dinosaurs, is not warranted. Instead, Hopp glimpses the fascinating lives of realistic dinosaurs. Some are charming, like tiny, chirping pterodactyls, which fly into one scene. Some are awe inspiring, like the giant, flapping flyer, quetzalcoatlus, the largest pterodactyl. The human heroes of the story get up-close with a huge pair of duckbilled dinosaurs, parasaurolophus. They have a disastrous run-in with a horned dinosaur, pachyrhinosaurus, which destroys their pickup truck and nearly kills them with its long, rhinoceros-like nose horn.Human characters come in an unusually rich variety as well. I can't imagine where some reviewers got the notion that the characters are a weakness of this book. This is emphatically not true! There are ranchers, soldiers, scientists, a university student and a wildlife biologist, all of whom have been created with wonderfully full and interesting detail. My favorite among them was old Professor Ogilvey, the paleontologist, who reads as a wise old mentor who guides the young heroes on their quest for survival in a world run amok with thundering beasts and dangerous invaders of the dinosaur kind.Horray for Hopp! ..., being from a small publishing house, but it was worth the price. It will not disappoint, if you like action stories, good fiction based on

Ripping edge is a better choice of words. Feathered dinosaurs! Now, that's original, as is much of the science behind this book. Hopp has done his homework. In fact, as the jacket notes said, he is a contributing scientist in the field of paleontology. Maybe that's why his dinosaurs seem so real. The image of a T-rex breaking open the kitchen of a house to get at the people inside stays with me. There are other scientific tidbits. Light particles that have been stopped, in time and space, to become a white powder. Could it be possible? A sixty-five million year old civilization. Did it exist? Dr. Ogilvey, the book's wise old professor, constantly offered up such astute observations, piquing my curiosity. After I got into it, I couldn't put Dinosaur Wars down. On his web site, Hopp acknowledges this is his first novel. There are a few rough edges, but for a first work, I say BRAVO!

This was a great read. Lots of terrific action coupled with a very creative and intelligent plot makes this a must read. I highly recommend it to all, especially sci fi lovers!

This is one of the best adventure stories I have read in a long time. The dinosaurs are realistic and very scary. The heroes are a male/female pair who could be played by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Love Hewett -- easy! They are real heroes too, not the dark and evil types so often portrayed these days. He's a wildlife biologist (a noble profession) and she's studying paleontology at Montana State -- what a perfect couple to get involved with dinosaurs, and each other! The romance is light and suitable for all ages.This book is well written. You never know which way the plot will turn. My favorite scene: Kit Daniels fends off a T-rex with a pitchfork while Chase Armstrong loads his rifle.In my opinion, this is one of the better dinosaur adventures published in recent years, and that includes the Jurassic Park novels. With strong male and female lead characters, it outdoes many other adventures of this type. I am a fan of dinosaurs in literature, so I enjoyed the up-to-date science. Dinosaurs with feathers, raptors bigger than velociraptors, charming tiny pterodactyls, it's got it all.