Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Eos (New York, 2002). Book club edition. 352 pages.
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML: Modern technology is pitted against ancient dinosaurs in this scientific thriller James Rollins calls "Jurassic Park set amid the paradox of time travel." Paleontologist Richard Leyster is perfectly content in his position with the Smithsonian excavating dinosaur fossil sites and publishing his findings . . . until the mysterious Harry Griffin appears in his office with a cooler containing the head of a freshly killed Stegosaurus. The enigmatic stranger offers Leyster the opportunity to travel back in time to study living dinosaurs in their original habitats�??but with strings attached. Soon, the paleontologist finds himself, along with a select team of colleagues�??including his chief rival, the ambitious and often ruthless Dr. Gertrude Salley�??making discoveries that would prove impossible working from fossils alone. But when Leyster and his team are stranded in the Cretaceous, they must learn to survive while still keeping alive the joy of scientific discovery. This shocking novel spans hundreds of millions of years and deals with the ultimate fate not only of the dinosaurs but also of all humankind. Nominated for the Locus Award, the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Bones of the Earth cements author Michael Swanwick as an author who "proves that sci-fi has plenty of room for wonder and literary values" (San Francisco Chronicle… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member iftyzaidi
The premise of Bones of the Earth is an interesting one. Inhabitants of Earth’s distant future have established a system of time travel and have made it available for use to palaeontologists of the 21st century to study the Mesozoic era. In return, they are expected to use the system responsibly
In terms of characterisation and quality of prose, Swanwick displays once again his inventiveness and literary ability. The structure of this tale of time travel is also interesting, with plot twists and surprising developments unfolding swiftly one after the other. Michael Swanwick juggles the complexities of cause and effect and time-travel paradoxes gracefully and intelligently, building an intriguing mystery and making for a compelling storyline. With different narrative threads featuring different characters at different times to follow, one might think that there is a danger of the author getting tangled in a cat’s cradle of narratives, but this never happens.
The book does however, seem to lose focus towards the end, with the author choosing one narrative thread to follow which, while having its high points, doesn’t quiet satisfy in terms of providing explanations in the most satisfying manner. Indeed it feels as if what should be the main climax of the story is brushed over quickly in order to move to the denouement.
That said, Bones of the Earth is a compelling and well written novel. Any fears that a book that features dinosaurs so prominently on the cover will be “sci-fi lite” are unfounded. This is first and foremost a work of speculative fiction, rooted firmly in the great science fiction themes of time travel and evolution, with dinosaurs being a secondary (though also provocatively handled) feature. More generally, the book is also an impassioned defence of scientific endeavour, and on this level is succeeds most admirably.
Show More
and avoid the creation of paradoxes that may tamper with time. It seems like a godsend to the scientific community, but this gift threatens to become a dangerous tool in the hands of mavericks looking to bolster their own reputations, and to fanatical ideologues looking to strike out at ‘Darwinian heresy’. And amidst all this, few think to ask just why their ‘benefactors’ from the future have established this system in the first place.In terms of characterisation and quality of prose, Swanwick displays once again his inventiveness and literary ability. The structure of this tale of time travel is also interesting, with plot twists and surprising developments unfolding swiftly one after the other. Michael Swanwick juggles the complexities of cause and effect and time-travel paradoxes gracefully and intelligently, building an intriguing mystery and making for a compelling storyline. With different narrative threads featuring different characters at different times to follow, one might think that there is a danger of the author getting tangled in a cat’s cradle of narratives, but this never happens.
The book does however, seem to lose focus towards the end, with the author choosing one narrative thread to follow which, while having its high points, doesn’t quiet satisfy in terms of providing explanations in the most satisfying manner. Indeed it feels as if what should be the main climax of the story is brushed over quickly in order to move to the denouement.
That said, Bones of the Earth is a compelling and well written novel. Any fears that a book that features dinosaurs so prominently on the cover will be “sci-fi lite” are unfounded. This is first and foremost a work of speculative fiction, rooted firmly in the great science fiction themes of time travel and evolution, with dinosaurs being a secondary (though also provocatively handled) feature. More generally, the book is also an impassioned defence of scientific endeavour, and on this level is succeeds most admirably.
Show Less
LibraryThing member angharad
his is on my list of favourites because of its sneakily poignant ending, which touches on one of my pet topics: "deep time".
LibraryThing member Mendoza
iftyzaidi actually did a review that I would have done - only more articulately and sooner.
The only think I will reiterate is that I did indeed feel the book lost some focus towards the end - and lost me in the process.
Still a very well executed novel.
The only think I will reiterate is that I did indeed feel the book lost some focus towards the end - and lost me in the process.
Still a very well executed novel.
LibraryThing member Quinesti
Giving a cold slap in the face to the time-travel theories of 'Back to the Future' and 'The Sound of Thunder', Swanwick ably shows off the horrific and wondrous abilities of time-travel, albeit very limited time travel gifted to a select group in this day and age by a race of future beings who
As always with his writing, Swanwick draws the reader to think and ponder on some of the ideas he presents, whether of his own devising or gleaned from some journal or other he might have read a sentence or two in passing over the years. The humour of watching people intereact with several different times of one person is nearly laugh-out-loud in hindsight while still creating a carefully crafted aura of foreboding and foreshadowing.
At this point in his career a master of both the long and short forms of story-telling, Swanwick brings out the dinosaur-loving child in his readers, giving them, for a brief time, the dream of seeing these great beasts in life, while as always slamming home the inevitable horror of what our decisions will cause us to see.
Show More
prefer to remain anonymous. As always with his writing, Swanwick draws the reader to think and ponder on some of the ideas he presents, whether of his own devising or gleaned from some journal or other he might have read a sentence or two in passing over the years. The humour of watching people intereact with several different times of one person is nearly laugh-out-loud in hindsight while still creating a carefully crafted aura of foreboding and foreshadowing.
At this point in his career a master of both the long and short forms of story-telling, Swanwick brings out the dinosaur-loving child in his readers, giving them, for a brief time, the dream of seeing these great beasts in life, while as always slamming home the inevitable horror of what our decisions will cause us to see.
Show Less
LibraryThing member selfnoise
A somewhat heroic effort to make a time travel story that makes sense, except... that it makes no sense, and the effort just makes my head hurt more. That said, because it's Swanwick it's an enjoyable read.
LibraryThing member PLReader
I found this novel to be disjointed, confusing and little more than a cliche. An interesting premise throughly ruined by a lack of storytelling ability. An incoherent story to begin with makes for just awful reading!
LibraryThing member Guide2
I usually like time travel stories, but the first half of this book was very confusing. Fortunately, the second half made up for it in part.
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Paleontologists Gertrude Salley, Richard Leyster and the mysterious Griffin stumble through time, trying to piece together everything they can about dinosaurs without causing a time paradox. But how did the government get time-travel? And why do Salley and Leyster hate each other so much?
LibraryThing member nwhyte
I liked this book a lot, but felt it had a slightly shaky structure - the plot seemed to only get going halfway through, though the setting of course was very well done and the time-travelling palaeontologist characters memorable. It's an expansion of the same setting as his excellent short story
Show More
"Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" which won the 2000 Hugo Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 2003)
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 2002)
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (Finalist — 2003)
Locus Recommended Reading (2002)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002-02
Physical description
352 p.; 6.13 inches
ISBN
0380978369 / 9780380978366