Book Review: Dinocalypse Now by Chuck Wendig

Genre: Pulp, Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of Dinocalypse Trilogy

Publisher: Evil Hat

Date of Publication: May 2012

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars – “Pure escapist pulp fiction, very entertaining and fun!”

This book went straight onto my to-read pile earlier this year, for two main reasons: first, because I love Chuck Wendig, and second because…well, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with any book with a title like Dinocalypse Now!

It wasn’t until I was halfway through reading this book that I started to do some research and found out a little more about its background. Crowd-funded through Kickstarter in 2012, Dinocalypse now is based on Evil Hat Productions’ Spirit of the Century role-playing game, which is set in a 1920s/30s-era pulp adventure world. With this information in mind, dare I say, this wild ride featuring jetpacks, talking gorillas, psychic dinosaurs, and ancient Atlanteans finally all came together for me!

It begins when a group of heroes calling themselves the Century Club are brought in to prevent the assassination of FDR, only to find that the president isn’t the target — they are! Though, what comes next is actually a threat to the entire planet as King Khan the ape conqueror storms this world through a dimensional portal, leading his vast army of primates and dinosaurs. Now it’s up to the Centurions to stop him and save the world!

I won’t lie, I was very much entertained by this book. It is escapist fiction that captures the pure, unadulterated spirit of pulp. Given how characteristics like bigger-than-life heroes, beautiful women, high adventure/action in exotic places, and evil diabolical villains are the hallmarks of this genre, it wouldn’t be wrong to say Dinocalypse Now is all about sensationalism over substance, but I still can’t deny I had a lot of fun.

Picture a kid with an overactive imagination in a toy store, and the stories he can come up with in his head if he played an elaborate game of make-believe while surrounded by miniature buildings, animal plushies, plastic dinosaurs, action figures and toy weapons. You’ll probably get something like this book. Chuck Wendig probably had a blast writing this.

In a sense, it’s likely that the sheer absurdity of this book will also be its greatest appeal. I am completely aghast but also delighted by this its craziness and eccentricity. There is a place in my heart for books that are just completely out there and don’t take themselves seriously, and while I didn’t enjoy this one as much as Chuck Wendig’s other novels, this was still a good one to pick up to pass the time.