Tyrannosaur Canyon (Review)
Tyrannosaur Canyon (Review)
am such a book addict. Again, this one from Maya’s up in beautiful Sanford (I can’t go into that place in under $20). This one is a bit of a ride-the-free-publicity-coattails of Jurassic Park, at least for cover art. Bony tyrannosaur skull deal; you summer movie goers know the drill. Happily, the idea stops there.
This is a book about a prospector of sorts who, after the thrill of a lifetime of finding “something big”, gets shot before he can spill the beans. In No Country for Old Men fashion, Tom Broadbent, quiet millionaire and horse-farm naturalist, comes across the body before it can be searched (the killer is trying to find a way down from his ambush blind) and gains a mysterious notebook chock full of cryptic numbers. Taking it (under the ideals of seeing to the wishes of a dead man) puts him right onto the crosshairs.
And what the hell does this have to do with a moon rock brought back by the Apollo 17 Moon mission?
Okay, so now I was curious.
The book hints all about dinosaurs, from the name to the imagery to the hot-n-dry-as-hell canyon which the action dances about in. It’s not bad writing, cut and dried and easy to digest on the beach (I read it in SunRail stations and at lunch), all self-literary-references (there is at least one) aside. But its fun, with dynamic characters and interesting twists. And I’ll say this – it’s got a dash of nightmare fuel in it – the bad guy is one scary fellow, not in a hulk-rage sense, but in the total-mercenary manner. There is a bit where the villain is working out his plans for how to kidnap Broadbent’s wife, a thing of hidden caves with chained shackles, handcuffs, chloroform, all that scary-panic-room shit. Actually, I could feel dread pulling at me. Had the writing been lousy or the story silly, I’d have probably dropped it simply because of the creepiness factor. But it’s worth hanging in for; it’s fast and fun and interesting, and everything comes together with a nice little bow in the end (I wasn’t sure how they’d pull it off but it worked).
So, yes, if you are looking for action spycraft beach reading, I can recommend Tyrannosaur Canyon. Especially if, like me, you come across it cheap in a used book store. Good fun!