Dougal Dixon's “The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative
Evolution” is built around the same concept as the author's classical “After
Man: A Zoology of the Future”. Both books were published during the 1980's and
are probably only available in used condition today. Yet, the fantasy animal
genre still thrives. A recent example is the immensely popular TV series “The
Future is Wild”.
Dixon's dangerous idea is that the dinosaurs and their allies never went extinct. How would the world have looked like today, if clever reptiles rather than mammals had been the dominant group of animals? Brace yourself for furry dinosaurs in the North American hills, a small European dino forming ant-like colonies, ground-dwelling pterosaurs in Africa that look like giraffes, and another pterosaur that evolved a penguin-like body. The fantasy creatures “described” by the author have peculiar names, such as Gestalt, Whulk, Dingum, Flurrit and Gimp. One of the few mammals around, a small aquatic insectivore, is called Zwim. Curiously, this parallel universe also spouts perfectly regular sea gulls!
If you like fanciful fictitious beasts with somewhat flippant vernacular names, then this is the book for you. If dinosaur-lovers will relish it, is less clear. The neo-dinosaurs imagined by Dixon have evolved, after all! :D
For your science fiction book shelf.
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