#BookReview: Metalsaurus (Dinosaur Warfare Book 2)

Back to Jurassic warfare.

In Death Planet, Ambrose Weaver and his refugees have tamed elements of a Jurassic hellscape, wiped out a tribe of human sacrificing monsters, and saved an alien princess. What could they possibly do now?

Time to do it again, only with more on the line, with even greater odds.

Again, this is something that only NR LaPoint can pull off.

The Story

A week after our plucky band of survivors took on human sacrificing cultists, and saved the warrior princess Xenia, she’s settling in nicely.

Unfortunately, the alien Vidarians have also landed on the planet. And they have their own allies—a collection of mad scientist barbarians.

A lot of Metalsaurus is the follow-up for Death Planet. Ambrose Weaver and his crew delve into the origins of the monsters they wiped out in book one, as well as putting together the pieces of how this planet had evolved as an attempted utopia, and how it devolved.

LaPoint’s writing is efficient and quick, letting readers catch up to the events of the previous novel while also trotting along this one at high speed. Seriously, Metalsaurus opens with gunshots and doesn’t slow down. LaPoint is shooting for John Ringo-level action, pacing two fight scenes at once. In fact, as I read it, I had flashbacks to the March Upcountry series by Ringo and Weber. And like that series, every shootout feels like the end of Gunga Din.

The Characters

No one here is entirely what they seem, surprisingly enough. There’s the heavy metal Russian, Raum Borg. We have Leonidas Makris, father of two, who will go all Taken on anyone messing with his children. Yui is the cute redhead comm officer who adopted a pack of velociraptors.

The crew is quirky and odd, and they know it. (“Your job will be to make the rest of us seem sane.” “I am not sure I’m up to the difficulty level of this particular assignment, Captain Weaver.)

And then we get more of the story from the POV of the dinosaurs themselves.

The World

LaPoint continues his world building here. Not only does he elaborate on the evolution of the bugmen of Death Planet, he expands on the Vidarian threat, as well as the history and background of two other local tribes.

Imagine Mickey Spillane or Max Allen Collins writing space opera, and you get the idea of how fast this all goes … and LaPoint still has enough time for all the world building.

Politics

There are no politics here.

Content Warning

As I said in the last review

Thinking back, I think the entire book could be given to twelve year olds.

Keep in mind, I read The Once and Future King and Jurassic Park when I was in sixth grade, so my perception of what’s appropriate will vary.

The closest anyone comes to inappropriate thoughts is how our captain and his communications officer are aggressively planning to get married as soon as they can arrange something.

Who is it for?

Take Jurassic Park, mix it together with March Upcountry, and stir thoroughly.

Take the alien exploration genre, add combine the high action of H. Rider Haggard or Robert Howard, the world building of a Timothy Zahn, the fun of Raiders of the Lost Ark, then add dinosaurs. If you like any or all of the above, you should buy this series.

Why buy it

Metalsaurus has superb world-building, entertaining characters, a little romance, and enough action for a Baen novel.

Why wouldn’t you buy it?

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