Today’s book is Dinosaur Planet, another brilliant story from Anne McCaffrey. It takes place far in the future where mankind is part of a federation of sentient beings. The story revolves around a group of people who are working as explorers for the federation to explore new planets. This particular group of people was one of three groups sent to different planets in the same system. It is led by Kai and Varian who each have a different specialty in regards to their preferred field of science. They are on the planet Ireta in order to conduct a geological survey to determine what kind of metals and ores may be present on the planet as well as a basic xenobiological survey to determine what kind of lifeforms may be present on the planet. However, they quickly discover that this trip may not be what they are expecting when they lose contact with their ship and are only able to contact their fellow expeditions on two other planets in the system. At the same time they have to deal with growing discord amongst the other expedition members as many of them start to believe they may have been purposely left behind by the ship. There is also the growing uneasiness about the expedition members known as heavyworlders who are physically stronger and believed to be more aggressive than the human norm. All of these elements taken together seem to be setting up the expedition and its leaders for something rather disastrous.
This book was interesting in that it focuses on a small group of explorers on a semi-remote planet and who seem to have no contact or next-to-no contact with anybody else. Typically when the characters are cut off and remote it is really just asking for something to happen and this book really lives up to the stereotype. At the same time it does so in some rather interesting and unique ways. The book is a great example of a science fiction novel but it also feels like it is a mystery at times as well. I say that because the characters have to deal with a lot of unusual and mysterious things happening that seem to make no sense. Varian is a xenobiologist who studies alien lifeforms for a living but as she starts studying the various lifeforms on Ireta she continually encounters things that make no sense. Creatures that should not have been able to evolve on the same planet due to the drastic differences in their basic makeup. Oddities in how some of these creatures interact with each other and with the environment as well. Then there are the oddities in regards to how some of the expedition members are behaving, specifically the group known as the heavyworlders, which adds to the layer of mystery. Not only do the characters not know what is happening or why but we as the readers don’t know either. This adds some interesting layers to the story. Then there is the added difficulty the characters have in potentially calling for help as the other expeditions in the system seem to indicate that they have little regard for this expedition and that if help was needed it may not show up right away. Watching all of these small details add up you can really see how it works to gradually heighten the tension for the characters, both in regards to the planet Ireta and its mysteries but also in regards to the weird and disturbing behavior of the heavyworlders. These elements blend together to create an amazing story that paints an interesting picture about the potential future of mankind as we travel the stars. I would give this a four out of five stars.
Overall, this book was great though I was a little disappointed by how short it seemed for the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite that as it was a great storyline. If you happen to be a fan of the science-fiction genre or of Anne McCaffrey than I definitely suggest that you try this one. I know that the book was primarily aimed at an adult audience. However, there is nothing in terms of the content that would potentially make it unsuitable for young adults or older teens so I don’t see why it couldn’t also appeal to younger sci-fi fans. I am not sure how well this book would appeal to people who do not enjoy science-fiction though as there is little about it that would fall into other genres. If you do decide to try this book feel free to let me know and share your thoughts in the comments.