Reviews

Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith

gudzilla's review against another edition

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I was so excited to read a monster book but 2nd paragraph of the book -

The ranger was tall and wore a flat-brimmed Smokey the bear hat which often hid his intense blue eyes and shaded a handsome face. It was a movie star's face, his wife, Ann, always said, set off by long dark hair that curled down around his strong neck; hair longer than park regulations allowed, and his one eccentricity. He'd worn it that way since he'd left then New York Police force.



I checked the book again whether I'm reading correct book, yep, Monster book confirmed. Rechecked, it is written by a lady - o oh, that might be the problem.
I don't want to be lusted over the hero, I want to be lusted over the monster...wait, is that the correct thing to say? Well, I don't care - I need Big, terrifying monster dinos not romance saga....total lady-bone killer...bah...

arritala's review against another edition

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4.0

The title lured me in and once I started reading, I was hooked. While the plot was predictable at times, this is a very enjoyable book. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

demon_queen13's review against another edition

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5.0

A great story that kept my interest most of the time. There are a few slow scenes, but those aside I really liked the story. I'm glad there are sequels, & they are definitely on my wishlist!

barnsey's review against another edition

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3.0

An enjoyable read with well-developed and (some) likeable characters. However, I really do think this book should have been 100 pages shorter due to its repetitive nature. There's only so many times the reader needs to hear 'I think we should kill the dinosaur due to the danger it poses to humanity' before it becomes a bit of a drag. Every thought, decision and action was churned over so many times! Not sure if I'll read the other two books in the series due to this.

capellan's review against another edition

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2.0

More like DinoSNORE Lake.

"Jaws, but with a giant amphibious dinosaur" ought to be right up my alley, but not in the case of this book. It's not the paper-thin characters and implausible plot that are the problem. I could (and have, e.g. in James Hervert's "The Rats") overlook both of those if the book had solid writing and a decent sense of pace and menace. Alas, "Dinosaur Lake" has clumsy dialogue, tedious (and sometimes contradictory) info-dumps about characters, Chekov's guns that never get fired (seriously, if you mention something four times, and it doesn't ultimately matter to your story, you are writing wrong), and worst of all, it commits the one most heinous flaw that cannot be forgiven: it's dull.

yanina_daniele's review against another edition

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4.0

Primero un descargo: Ptm! Me gusta un personaje, se lo come el dinosaurio.. me gusta otro personaje y ... ¿Adivinan qué le pasó?... Si, también se lo comió el dinosaurio, joder que había personajes para matar pero los autores siempre matan a los que me gustan.

Habiendo desahogado mis penas, voy a comentar un poco que me pareció esta historia, en primer lugar, hay que reconocer la originalidad de la trama, del dinosaurio y de cómo logró la autora explicar y justificar que haya podido aparecer en el presente un ser prehistórico. Aunque en cierta parte ya se intuía cual podía ser la explicación se agradece el poder ver todo el panorama.

En cuanto a los personajes, algunos me irritaron por lo incrédulos que eran, vamos tenían todas las pruebas pero hasta que el bicho no estuvo a punto de morfarlos se negaban a creerlo. Hay un progreso en la evolución de los personajes, al menos de la mayoría (y de los que quedaron vivos) aunque una de las historias personales termina Too Happy y es algo que no me agradó.

El ritmo es lento en algunas partes, siempre está la sensación de que algo va a pasar pero solo es la tensión del momento. Hacia el final es todo acción y adrenalina, lo cual compensa bastante el resto del libro.

Si bien hay un "final" definido las cosas quedan abiertas para permitir la continuación de la saga y seguramente la seguiré leyendo, aunque no de corrido.

En definitiva si les gustan los dinosaurios, la lucha del hombre por sobrevivir y una travesía de descubrimientos, este libro es una buena opción.

lfgabel's review

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

carols's review

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3.0

I'd give this book about 2 1/2 stars. Sometimes the grammar was wrong, and there was a lot of info-dumping in the dialogue. Other than that, it was an easy read, maybe something you'd take along to the beach.

lilyn_g's review

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4.0

Review excerpt: "...introduces you to wonderful characters in this book that are very-well developed. Each of them has their strengths and their faults, and the affection and respect between most of the characters just resonates within the story... When the action really starts, the tension is undeniable, and the author does a fantastic job of communicating it through the thoughts of Chief Ranger Henry Shore."

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Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.