Just Finished Reading: Raptor Red by Robert T Bakker (FP: 1995)

Utah, 120 Million Years Ago. Raptor Red and her new consort are hunting. Over the past few months as they increasingly pair bond they have become a well-oiled, efficient and co-ordinated killing machine. But suddenly something goes wrong and her consort is killed. Bereft Rad is forced to hunt on her own something which Utah raptors are not very good at. Eating carrion and whatever she can catch Red eventually smells something familiar. A scent close to that of her siblings – but not quite. Recognising her sister’s brood she joins with her hatch-mate to hunt as a pair again. But Red wants to mate and is on the lookout for a suitable father of her future offspring. So when a young male comes courting she is more than pleased to take up the offer if he can prove himself worthy and if her sister can refrain from killing him on sight. Meanwhile Utah is becoming increasingly crowded with other bigger predators, strange new diseases and weird coloured foliage called ‘flowers’ seen for the first time. If Red and her adopted family can survive in this new environment the possibilities seem also endless. But it’s a big ‘if’ with some much competition and so many new prey species to investigate.

I picked this up at a roadside book stall years ago probably not long after watching one of the Jurassic Park movies. Raptors (as the author points out) are regularly voted peoples second favourite dinosaur after T-Rex. Personally I prefer the Raptors myself. Oddly for an author of entertaining speculative fiction this one is actually a palaeontologist and is well known in his ‘community’ probably for his willingness to speculate where his colleagues fear to tread. This his does ‘in spades’ in this novel not only imagining dinosaur behaviour but their emotional state and even inner mental lives. But don’t worry too much – there’s no dialogue here (except for grunts and squealing) – so it’s definitely not Disney. I did find it a bit silly in places but was impressed by the speed I actually found myself caring about Red and her quest to stay alive long enough to mate. If you’re a fan of the dinosaur movies and can hold onto a sense of disbelief to get you over the (very) speculative bits then this is the book for you. Entertaining and educational this I found was a surprisingly good read. Recommended.  

[2015 Reading Challenge: A book with nonhuman characters – COMPLETE (23/50)]