Dinotopia: Windchaser
Grade 5-7?Set in the 1860s, this novel is an unsuccessful sequel to James Gurney's Dinotopia (Turner, 1992). Raymond, 13, and Hugh, a young street thief, are shipwrecked on Dinotopia Island, where humans and dinosaurs live in idyllic harmony. Raymond adjusts quickly, but Hugh's hard life has not prepared him for this peaceful communal existence. His feelings of inadequacy are echoed in Windchaser, a reclusive dinosaur, and he resolves to communicate with the outcast creature. The story is episodic and choppy. Characters are introduced and disappear, sometimes within a single page, distracting attention from the main story line. Dialogue is equally inconsistent. Hugh's London street dialect comes and goes at random and Raymond often slips into unnaturally formal speech. The cliche-filled writing and intrusive philosophizing also contribute to the lack of continuity. Dinotopia lacks the logical foundation necessary for a fully realized imagined world. Brian Jacques's "Redwall" series (Philomel) provides readers with more believable, better defined animal fantasy.?Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, ILCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.