Reviews

Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker

jkkb332's review against another edition

5.0

I really loved this. I rooted for Raptor Red every step of the way. The way some parts of the story were told from the perspective of the other animals really helped me create a well-rounded picture of her world. I learned so much from this book. There were some parts that seemed a little like a Dino lecture but the topic was so fascinating, and presented in such a relatable way, that I didn't mind at all. If there are more books like this out there, I must find them.

pericyte's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

anomieus's review against another edition

3.0

3⭐/5

A little jarring in spots where common, current vernacular is used to describe eons old, prehistoric dinosaur behaviour, but otherwise an engaging novel.

greentea13's review against another edition

4.0

"…the daughter species exterminating the parent species like Darwinian Lizzie Boardens."

This has got to be my new favorite quote from any book I’ve read. Can’t stop laughing at it, lol.

sparky_lurkdragon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was a deeply formative book for me. The reconstructions of the animals are very outdated now, but the way the story was grounded in what was at the time cutting edge science makes it timeless. A xenofiction classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Excrement

thebustadotjpg's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Nearly thirty years after its publication, Raptor Red holds up. There hasn’t really been a book like this before or since, mostly because only a man like Robert Bakker, a once-in-a-generation paleontologist, could write this. 

While some of the dinosaur depictions haven’t aged well (no fault of the author), the depictions of their environment, speculative behavior, and story have all aged gracefully. Bakker is as good of a writer as he is a scientist, a very rare combination of talents. Despite this being fiction, Bakker finds ways to inject paleontological knowledge into the plot without bogging down the narrative. The animals all behave in realistic ways for the most part, and the environment is depicted as realistically as possible, giving the narrative a nature-documentary feel. The most fantastical elements are when Bakker anthropomorphizes the animals, giving them fleshed out thoughts and opinions in complete sentences. It sometimes got a little too fantastical for my taste, but general audiences might appreciate that a bit more. Appreciators of paleontology will still find plenty to love, though.

 It’s very impressive how much Bakker manages to connect me with a dinosaur that’s been dead for 120 million years, a non-human protagonist that doesn’t talk, but he manages it. It helps that the story is timeless, too. Lots of plot elements are lifted from a certain classic Jane Austen novel. It’s brilliantly done. More authors should retell classics with dinosaur characters. Give me Crime and Punishment with raptors next, please.

Dinosaurs are so cool :)

courtsport3000's review against another edition

This was such a unique experience to listen to. It’s like if an episode of Planet Earth were made into a full length fiction narrative.

I was surprisingly emotionally invested in this. Definitely recommend for anyone who loves dinosaurs like I do.

eritheis's review against another edition

4.0

It was a little slow at first, but I'm glad I kept reading it

diannaphantomfiction's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

kylearnzen's review against another edition

2.0

Interesting enough to finish once I started it, but never very engaging.