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Summary: Raptor Red
Review: Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker is a compelling story about a Utahraptor and family. This is a companion book to Bakker's "The Dinosaur Heresies" and should be read in conjunction to each. This book elaborates on some of the theories that Bakker has proposed and works in educated conjecture as to how dinosaurs lived.I say educated conjecture, this is not to be condescending, but how else can we invision life past with only the fossil record to tell a compelling tale. It takes vision, imagination and close observation of existing animals to draw conclusions about how life was in those times. Bakker has all of these traits and works his theory into this book and it seems to fit. Imagine a dinosaur with intelligence approaching that of man, hard to believe, but it is very possible... yes, I know some will be offended by that statement, but as Bakker writes, it certainly could be possible. Taking Bakker's observations into account from the fossil record, it is most certainly plausible. Raptor Red is a book about a Utahrapor and family close knit and keen hunters. The book goes on to tell about all of the other "Dramatis Personae" that were part of the fauna of that time and how each played a part in life, successful or unsuccessful, but a part they played, nevertheless. The zest for life is apparent in this book... the survival of the fittest. Interrelationships between the family members as they either defended or hunted all interplay in this book, giving the reader a picture of how life could have been. Jurassic Park, the movie, would not have been possible without the keen observation of fossil remains by dedicated palentologists and their imagination. As we read on in the book, Bakker paints a realistic colorful picture of the prehistoric world weaving in revolutionary theory with a fierce struggle for survival. This book will grab you and will not let go till the end, as the combination of fact and fiction work through your mind, leaving you with a magnificent well told tale of life with a Utahraptor's point of view.
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Summary: Can't stop reading it.
Review: I enjoyed this book very much, mostly because I am interested in prehistoric life, and I believe this added a nice insight into what the possibilities were for a dinosaur to see, feel, and think. This book also seemed to parallel modern society, because there is that constant want to improve their own situation and dominate in whatever you endeavor. In addition to this, this book also shows how, when faced with change, people, or in the book's case, dinosaurs, freeze because of the uncertaintly of what to do, as was seen with the flowers. What I really like about this book is that it never gets old to me, because every time I reread it, a new detail seems to appear that I overlooked, which enhances my reading experience.
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Summary: A toothy tale
Review: A toothy tale
Raptor Red By Robert T. Bakker is drama with a little bit of romance about the life of a female Utahraptor who lived 120,000,000 years ago named Raptor Red. The book starts out when Red's soon to be mate is killed in a fatal hunting accident. Now Raptor Red must fight for survival in pre historic Utah. She quickly joins up with her sister's new family, and together they try to find a safe home. At the same time, Red must obey natures command to pass on her genes by finding another mate. When she is approached by an attractive (meaning by raptor standards) young male she is torn in between two loyalties, one to her sister and her chicks, and the other to produce chicks of her own. This book portrays raptors as incredibly smart and effective creatures, a little smarter than a chimpanzees. I think that they are portrayed a little too smart because in several scenes Red thinks things more comlplex than most humans do. For example, when red is being chased by an Astrosaur, one of her sister's chicks is wading in the water watching the two. When Red notices a see monster about to attack the chick, she runs by the chick, knocks her out of the way, and instead the Astrosaur is grabbed and killed by the sea creature
The book is extremely well written, The writer has a well informed view on the topic since he himself is a archeologist. One of it's main faults though, is that many things go unexplained, or it will suddenly jump 2 months into the future. This is a book that would be enjoyed by all types of readers, and even non-readers.
By RJ McGirr
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Summary: Raptor Red - True Story
Review: Raptor Red is not fiction. This is something I feel many readers miss. R. T. Bakker is probably the best known modern paleontologist; he pioneered much of the views we have about dinosaurs today. Raptor Red is the medium he chose to illustrate his ideas on dinosaur, especially raptor, behavior: an engaging, well-written, enlightening, and fun novel. The particular saga told in the book may not have actually taken place, but there is no fiction regarding time, place, or behavior which could label it fiction. This is actually a companion piece to Bakker's reknown groundbreaker: The Dinosaur Heresies. Raptor Red is so accurate, in fact, that it ought to be required reading in paleontology courses. If "The Dinosaur Heresies" daunts you, read this book and get a more vivid picture of the ideas. For those of you who wish to know more about raptors, this is ideal; however, other characters abound with just as real "personas" as the raptors, including a pterosaur, ostrich dinosaurs, large and small (Astrodon) sauropods, a bounty of sea creatures (jellyfish, Kronosaur), and Acrocanthosaurs (similar to Allosaurus and Tyranosaurids - altough these two are unrelated), one of the drama's personal antagonists. Being more of a scientific drama than a literary one, it is more in the style of modern popular fiction (absent are symbols, allegories, hidden meanings); but even the literature critic should enjoy its down-to-earth narrative style. Also, it is not often one finds such a well-done adult realistic fiction drama where there are no human beings in it.
If you are not convinced that raptors were really at least as intelligent as dipicted in Raptor Red, here are some additional facts: Individual beings (not just humans) all can have their IQ (intelligence quotient) measured, but the subject must be analysed in a live interview. There is also an EQ (encephalization quotient) which has been developed to measure the average intelligence of a species; only an EQ can be calculated for an extinct species. As a reference score, the EQ of humans is about 7.3. Some modern mammal scores are:
Dolphin: 5.4 Chimp: 2.5
Cat: 1.7 Rat: 0.40
Now see how dinosaurs score:
Stegosaurs: 0.6 Ceratopsians (tric, etc.) 0.8
Sauropods: 0.2 Allosaurids and Tyranosaurids 1.5
Troodontids: 5.8 Dromeosaurids (raptors) 5.8!
So the Utahraptor is smarter than the smartest modern animal (other than man). Although a raptor may consider the very term "racist", this novel rightly gives Utahraptor a human face. Note: For readers looking for ideas illustrated regarding extinction, Raptor Red lives in the Early Cretaceous, 120 million years ago, about 60 million years before the end of the dinosaurs; for information on dinosaur extinction see "Dinosaur Extinction and the End of an Era: What the fossils say" by J. David Archibald, or Bakker's "The Dinosaur Heresies". Happy reading!
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Summary: a grate book
Review: this is one of the best books I have read, it is lttle sad and a little(deep down)romantic but it also is vary interesting look at what may have gone on in the prehistoric minds of the dinosors.
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Summary: My Opinion...
Review: One day, I was checking in my room. I saw a thick book called, Raptor Red. It looked like a fun, exciting book so I started to read it. While I was reading, I found out that it was my brother's book. Once I started reading, it became thrilling me. I really enjoyed this book.
Raptor Red, the utahraptor, is an exciting character, I felt sorry for her when her mate died, but then she met with her sister. I like the way she attacks her prey. Also I delight in how two utahraptors work together to be more efficient hunters. Also the way she actually survives through the Deinonych attack was surprising.
I really like the way the author describes and tells about the moment and time. Also how he channels all of the information through how Raptor Red's thinks is amazing. Although I am not a fan of evolution because of my religion, I enjoy read Raptor Red. When I saw the illustrations at the back of the book, I finally realized how an acrocanthosaurus looked like. First I thought that it was a slow four-legged dinosaur. This is a great book.
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Summary: Animal Channel, 100 Million BC
Review: This book was a lot of fun. It reads like a TV show with the narrator telling you about animals' behavior and life histories as you "watch" them take down prey, court a mate, raise babies, and do other things you see in animal documentaries. That's great, because nobody can go to modern day Utah and film the beasts that lived there long ago. The book does show its age, however, by having no feathers on its dinosaurs. More recent dino-fiction, like Hopp's Dinosaur Wars, describes fully feathered raptors. So even dino-fiction evolves. All and all though, Raptor Red was an enlightening read.
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Summary: THIS BOOK IS INTOXICATING
Review: I WOULD LIKE TO STATE THAT I AM NOT THE TYPE TO GET OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT A BOOK. IN FACT, ACTUALLY, I DON'T EVEN LIKE TO READ. SAYING THAT, THIS BOOK IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER READ. I HAVE READ A FEW IN ORDER TO COMPLETE SOME SCHOOL BOOK REPORTS BUT I PICKED THIS BECAUSE IT LOOKED INTERESTING. AS SOON AS I FINISHED IT, I BEGAN TO READ IT AGAIN. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT ABOUT READING THIS BOOK, YOU SHOULD RELINQUISH IT AND ENJOY.
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Summary: Raptor Red
Review: Great book! Bakker vividly illustrates the mesozoic world. The story is as follows:a female utahraptor loses her lifelong mate and sets out to find another.She faces giant "acros",or acrocanthosaurs, floods and other obstacles. This story has a little of every thing, including comedy and action. I highly recomend this book!!!
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Summary: blase dinosaur book
Review: not a great read. not horrible rather repetitive.
no comparison to jurassaic park
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