Dinotopia: The World Beneath

The World Beneath, sequel to the first beloved Dinotopia, has many of the things that made the first book so spectacular--namely amazing art, and and interesting world. This time around it even has a plot, unlike the first one which was essentially plot-less, although I would argue that it was to the book's benefit and that the plot here is to this book's detriment. More on that later.

It's a simple adventure story that steals heavily from the Atlantis myth. There's a labyrinth of caves underneath Dinotopia, where the dinosaurs sheltered themselves from the meteor that killed the rest of their kind billions of years ago. Nobody has really been down there since, as much cultural and religious mystery surrounds the place. That is, until show more Arthur Denison came along. Arthur went into the caves alone near the end of the first book, and was later joined by his dinosaur friend Bix who went in after him. They made some interesting discoveries during their very brief time in the world beneath, including a power source called sunstones, and wish to go back on a longer and better financed expedition.

So, why two fewer stars than the first book? The first Dinotopia was written in first-person in the style of journal entries, first from Arthur and then, while Arthur was in the world beneath, by his son. This worked very well, especially for a book where so much more space is taken up by pictures than by words. You could have a character tell us exactly how they were feeling without it seeming too forced, because that's what people do in journals, and you save a lot of space by doing so. It also added a feeling of authenticity to a story where the world-building, and your faith in it, was so important to its success. It made sense for Arthur to be writing down and drawing all the things he was seeing, because of who he is. It felt natural. Not only was every word imparting character by being through Arthur's viewpoint, but so was every picture, because they were also drawn by him. This is what's called good writing. Having your words do more than one thing--impart narrative, character, and world-building all at the same time.

This book is written in third-person, which has no such advantages or shortcuts. It only does one of the above things at a time, and 90% of the time it's just the narrative aspect. There's very little character, and very little world-building, and what world-building there is is terrible.

The narrative is not coming from any particular character's viewpoint, since it's written in omniscient, and there's so little mention of anyone's internal thoughts or feelings that it's a hair's breath away from being third-person objective. What I'm trying to say, ultimately, is that the chosen viewpoint and how it's utilized is a problem that undermines my suspension of disbelief. It all just feels a lot more fake, and more forced. It feels more like I'm just reading a kid's book with a clear agenda for its story (which is none too impressive) rather than organically stepping into a world without any agenda, which is the feeling the first book went for and absolutely nailed. Again, having a narrative as opposed to not having one is not always the right decision. Plot-less stories can be great, just like the first Dinotopia was. It's a good fit for the series, so it's a shame it was abandoned in favor of something more traditional.

Another huge suspension of disbelief problem is that the book jumps the shark on the technology and world-building front. Arthur and friends discover dinosaur mechs in the world beneath. I'll say that once more in case you missed it. They discover dinosaur mechs.

Giant steel contraptions, modeled after dinosaurs and other real creatures, that walk and move like the real thing, and are powered by sunstones. Now, even if you accept that sunstones are essentially a limitless power source, it's silly to think that these things could have been created without similar advancements anywhere else. They would require things like steel smelting using molds, differential gears, extremely complex hydraulics, and, apparently, computers complex enough not only to control their fine motor movements (the driver only has levers to choose which direction to go, and all the complexity of actually getting there is done by the robot's programming) but also to impart personality and to fulfill basic needs on its own, such as drinking water for internal cooling when it needs to.

Why are these component technologies not evident anywhere else? The only similarly advanced technology we see is a camera from, I assume, the same time period, since the pictures show the same robots in them. But the pictures look like they are from the 1840s when photography first started being a thing, and there are gas lamps in the same photo. Considering we, in modern times, still don't have complex walking tanks it's a bit silly that these two technologies are so far removed from each other in complexity, and that there's a distinct lack of any other technology from that time. There's no consistency whatsoever.

It would make far more sense to find those pictures on an ancient computer in high definition. I mean, they had computers. There's computers in the dino robots. Why aren't they using them to store their pictures? It's obviously playing into the Atlantis myth of ancient but advanced technology that barely makes sense, but a book that succeeded so much on solid world-building is an odd place for it, and feels like a total misstep to me. The narrative it adds is fine but it's also cliche and does nothing to impress. More importantly though, it's taking away from what was good about the first book in the process, and totally undermining the history of the very world Gurney crafted in such loving detail, which impacts the believability and logic of said world in the present.

How did a man with a degree in anthropology and such attention to detail the first time around mess this up so badly? I hate to think that he was simply doing it to appeal to a wider audience. Maybe he just wanted to draw some cool scifi imagery and to hell with logic. There's no way to know, but the book definitely suffers from these poor decisions no matter the original intent. Such a shame. show less

I am always amazed at anyone who can illustrate their visions, which is one reason I purchased this book. Children are not the only ones who will enjoy this as the artwork is lavish and incredibly logical. Sure, why couldn't dinosaurs and humans work and live together in one harmonious community? I certainly bought it. The writing doesn't match the art, but that's okay, as the pictures tell the story. The page showing 'Stinktooth', a Giganotosaurus, with its stinky mouth wide open is alone worth the look. I swear I could smell the dino breath.

Book Season = Year Round

Picking up almost where Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time left off, Dinotopia: The World Beneath is the second over-sized illustrated novel about a lost island where dinosaurs survive and live in peace with those humans who have washed up on their shores. In this second installment of the saga, which sparked a series of fantasy novels for young readers, as well as two television programs, Arthur Denison heads back to the cavernous world underneath the island of Dinotopia, taking Bix the Protoceratops with him. His voyage of discovery reveals the truth about the ancient Dinotopian civilization of Poseidos - the inspiration for the legend of Atlantis - and sees him reemerging into the world above in the dangerous Rainy Basin. Here his show more narrative joins up with that of his son Will, a Skybax rider who has been accompanying a convoy through the territory of the deadly Tyrannosaurus Rex...

Although not really the equal of the first - it lacked that wonderful feeling of discovering a new and wholly magical world - this second volume devoted to the Denisons and their adventures in Dinotopia was still quite entertaining. I enjoyed following both Arthur and Will's stories, although I do feel that author/artist Gurney stumbled a bit, in bringing his two narrative strands together. It almost felt as if the story-line involving Will disappeared, once Arthur reemerged into the world above. Their paths crossed, and Will just seemed to disappear. Leaving that issue aside, I found the story here engaging, and the artwork - the real star of the show! - absolutely gorgeous. Dinosaur and fantasy-lovers alike will enjoy poring over the paintings and diagrams here, deriving hours of pleasure imagining themselves exploring the vistas opening before them, or riding the various prehistoric creatures and/or vehicles. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first Dinotopia book. show less

Wonderful, imaginative illustrations with a tedious accompanying story. I quickly stopped reading the story and just admired the illustrations. The gold cup showing an acrobat about to grasp the horns of a triceratops and vault over its back is a great adaptation of existing Minoan art. The bust of the queen wearing a crown like Nefertiti's is also good.

Read this to recapture some childhood nostalgia and it did not disappoint. The whimsical world that James has designed and illustrated is still incredibly charming and engrossing.

The artwork is breathtaking and the story is very immersive and complex. Just as in the first book I enjoyed learning more about the secrets of Dinotopia and all the inhabitants (human and dinosaurs.) I'm looking forward to continuing this series unsure of what will happen next or where it will take me. This story is for all ages to enjoy and learn from as it has themes of friendship, perseverance, and standing up to bias to name a few. A great read in one sitting.

Beautiful story, but it isn't the story so much as the images and the idea BEHIND the story that make this great. I love this entire series.