A time-warp machine offering the ultimate travel experience is ready to take off to the Cretaceous Period when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Now paleontologist Rick Clements and a select group of tourists have arrived-unfortunately, just in time to witness the meteor that once laid waste to earth 65,000,000 years ago.
Yes, it's classified as science fiction, but the real story here is ...well, the story. Yes, it's about time travel, but that only sets up the real tale, which is about a trio struggling to stay alive when everything is stacked against them. This is not Michael Crichton - the technical aspects are concerned more with paleontology than time machines. The main plot in this book could have just as easily taken place in the desert, instead of a meteor-impact-induced wasteland, with lions chasing the heroes instead of starving dinosaurs. Each time you think that the characters are about to win out, they are dealt a devastating setback. That might not be so special in itself, but the characters are so likeable that you just have to keep rooting for them, all the while believing that there's really just no chance that they will survive. The only times the time travel aspect really comes into play is at the end when it's used to give the story a couple of great twists. Need more proof that this is just a great story? I gave the book (along with Sea of Time) to my mother, who hates science fiction. She just laughed at me. But I convinced her to give them a try, and she called me in a couple of days to thank me for giving them to her. She couldn't stop talking about them. If you're a big reader - especially and ecclectic one - I think you'll love them.
Amazing book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This is one of the greatest books I've ever read. I love time travel stories, and also there aren't a whole lot of dinosaur novels for people over the age of ten. So this was really great. And you really came to care about the characters, and truly wish for them to have a happy ending. After I read this book, I went looking for more books by this author, and was disappointed not to find any. So, I was completely delighted, when I was at the bookstore the other day, and saw that he has published a sequel. I can't wait to read it, and I hope he writes more!
Well written and great fun!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Time travel and dinosaurs, plus the utter destruction of the world - what more could you ask for in a science fiction novel? Well, how about good, straightforward writing and well-defined characters? This first novel by Mr. Hubbell shows that not all sc ience fiction has to be mind-numbingly dense or poorly written. The author has acheived a nice balance of just enough scientific background to keep the reader interested without being bored and some fascinating conjectural science about the nature of tim e travel. All this is woven into a tight, well-paced story with some nice plot twists, great action, believable dialogue and memorable characters. There is also the brilliant touch of getting inside a predatory dinosaur's instictual thought processes.Al l in all, a very fine first outing. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended for any "classic" sci-fi buff, dino lover or time travel enthusiast. I look forward to more work by this author - and soon, I hope!P.S. This book is appropriate for young (middle-school aged) readers, as it contains very mild violence and sexual situations, nothing graphically explicit.s
I never saw that ending coming
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Most time travel novels seem to get bogged down in either cause and effect trivialities, or long winded explanations of how the time travel works. Mr. Hubbell does neither. He gets into a little (very little) about paradoxes and also about how the time machine works, but just enough to set the stage.I must say that all the way through the book I thought I had the ending pegged. I didn't mind, as this is one of those books you keep reading even though you know the ending. Good characters, good plot settings and fine action.Then you get to the end. All I will say is, you're not going to believe it. Either that or you are more cognizant of what was going on. Regardless, it took me by surprise, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.Go ahead, spend your money on this one, you won't be sorry.
For fans of Jurassic Park
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Con Greighton's father John is one of the wealthiest men in the year 2059, but to his daughter he's just an absentee father more interested in business and women than he is in her. When John invites Con on a mysterious journey with his fiancée and the trip's sponsor, the enigmatic Mr. Green, she accepts because it's a chance to do something never done before, journey back in time to the Upper Cretaceous period when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.When they arrive in prehistoric Montana Isle, paleontology student Rick Clements is elated to see in real life what he has only seen in fossils. Rick's job is to keep Con occupied while her father and Mr. Green discuss business, but when Rick realizes that they are on ground zero of the K-T meteor strike, a dream vacation turns into a nightmare.Fans of Jurassic Park are going to love CRETACEOUS SEA as they glimpse into an era that has inspired many novels and movies. There are many surprises in this work so readers will never become bored or put the book down until they have all their questions answered. Will Hubbell has written a science fiction novel that will appeal to the action-adventure crowd.Harriet Klausner
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