Rating: 
Summary: A fully realized alternate world
Review: The hero of "Anonymous Rex," the novel by Eric Garcia, is a private investigator named Vincent Rubio. But there's a twist to this detective story. Vincent is a dinosaur--a raptor, to be specific. He lives in a world in which dinosaurs never went extinct--instead, they evolved into human-sized intelligent beings. The dinos live intermingled in the human population, wearing ingenious prosthetic disguises that allow them to masquerade as humans.Vincent is contracted to investigate a suspicious fire, and this leads him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, sex, and weird science. Garcia has taken a great concept and used it to create a fun, exciting story. "Anonymous" has something in common with narratives like the Harry Potter saga, which similarly postulates a "hidden" world which coexists with our mundane human world. Despite this common theme, however, Garcia's book is fresh and unique. Garcia creates compelling characters and throws in some intriguing twists. His writing is clever and witty, and he fleshes out this bizarre concept in a rich and satisfying way. Along the way he tackles some "real world" issues such as drug abuse, forbidden sex, social control, and personal identity. This is a wild and wondrous story that leaves me eager for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Exhilaratingly different!
Review: I'll never look at herbs the same way again. When I first picked up ANONYMOUS REX, it sounded a bit daffy to me - dinosaurs weren't extinct and lived among us. Granted, you have to get used to the idea that the main character in the book, Vincent Rubio, is a Velociraptor in disguise - a human "guise" as dinos call it. It seems that over decades, dinosaurs became smaller and decided to get along with humans, instead of wiping us out. How nice of them. Along the way, they figured out how to make guises so a human couldn't tell the difference. But dinosaurs can; each one has a distinct odor that identifies them - this is how dinos tell who's human and who's not. They even faked dinosaur fossils to fool humans into thinking they'd indeed become extinct a long time ago. Back to Vincent - he's a private detective who's dealing with his partner's "accidental" death. This happened while they were working on a big case involving the murder of a dino who'd committed a big no-no: sexual relations with a human. Because of Vincent's insistence it wasn't an accident, he blew it big-time, lost his contract with the PI firm he worked for, got kicked off the Council (the dinosaur consortium that keeps everyone in line) and lost himself in a daze of herbs, especially basil - herbs make dinosaurs high and each dino has their favorite "drug." Vincent suddenly gets a freelance job to investigate a Los Angeles nightclub fire. The job comes from the same PI firm that blacklisted him. He needs the dough, so he takes the job and soon finds there's a connection between the fire and the case he and his partner worked on. Vincent hops a plane to New York to continue the investigation, much to the chagrin of many dinos, including the wife of the murdered dino from his old case, the girlfriend, the coroner and an encounter with a particularly nasty dino sans a human guise. If I say anymore, it'll give the plot away. Eric Garcia is a master at getting the reader involved to the point of distraction. I know - my spouse was about ready to leave me because I couldn't put the book down. You get used to the contraptions that hold the human guise in place and you wonder how a Brontosaur could get so small to look like a human. ANONYMOUS REX is rollicking good fun and a fantastic detective story. I can't wait for the next book, CASUAL REX. But I have just one question for the author: Why is it called ANONYMOUS REX when the main character is a raptor?
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: If you're going to read Anonymous Rex then be prepared to not only suspend your disbelief, but to tie it to a chair,carry it to the basement. gag it and stab it to death with some kind of garden tool. Dinosaurs disguised as people? Give me a break. This isn't genre bending. It's absurd. The characters are not believeable and the plot routine at best. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: A Dino-noir classic...
Review: Vincent Rubio is a down on his luck Los Angeles detetctive. Creditors are knocking on his door, he's mourning the death of his beloved partner and fighting an addiction to basil...Vincent Rubio is a velociraptor disguised as a human. I have to admit when I saw this book in my local bookstore I was both intrigued and skeptical. A secret society of dinosaurs living among humans?!? C'mon. But Eric Garcia pulls this unique concept off convincingly with wit, charm and sly humor, at the same time giving us a highly original, geniune detective story that you won't be able to put down!!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully Weird
Review: I picked this book up feeling unsure about how to approach the whole concept (a dinosaur detective?) but since it came to me highly recommended I brought it home and decided to give it a try. From the very first sentence I was immediately pulled in, and I ended up devouring it in 2 days. Garcia's writing is quirky, delightful, and strange; an odd mix of satire and seriousness. Here you will find all the elements reminicent of the 1940's film noir genre: the wise-cracking detective, disillusioned and down on his luck, the sultry singer who is both a suspect and a romantic interest, and an underground world of secrets and intrigue. Garcia pulls out all the old cliches and gives them a clever twist: this is LA cofidential meets the X-files. It is a joy to tag along with velociraptor Vincent Rubio, to feel both the suspense and humor in moments such as when he gets his tail hopelessly caught in his human disguise and fears discovery, or when he calmly attempts to talk his way out of death and danger. Garcia's language is never boring, never too frilly, and always keeps readers on their toes. Vincent talks to his invisible "audience" in the manner of a friend relaying a strange-but-true tale, and Garcia fills his writing with interesting metaphors that paint a vibrant and funny world. I especially enjoyed the way each dinosaur was able to recognize another of their (disguised) kind through their sense of smell. Every dino has a scent, some like "children's cough syrup" and others like "a pleasant mixture of carnations and old baseball gloves." This is an unusual and enjoyable book for mystery fans, sci-fi fans, or anyone who is willing to appoach it with an open mind. We may be seeing more of Vincent Rubio soon, and not just in a sequel. Eric Garcia's official website,... mentions that movie rights have been sold. I'm looking forward to seeing how they manage to portray a t-rex in a "human suit", especially with those little arms Garcia describes so well.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Premise, Good PI Mystery
Review: The premise is simple. Dinosaurs did not die out 65-million years ago. They continued to evolve and become more intelligent (as well as smaller). About 1 in 20 people is actually a dinosaur in disguise. Vincent Rubio, a private investigator almost at the end of his rope is a velociraptor. Just as everything is at its worst for Vincent, a large PI firm offers him a simple insurance case; check if a nightclub fire was natural or planned. But Vincent doesn't like taking the easy way out. So when some clues point towards similar ground to the case that caused him all of his trouble, Vincent has to plunge forward. The case is an interesting one involving the death of a very rich dinosaur, the death of Vincent's partner, and more infidelities than you can wag a tale at. This is all told in a classic hard-boiled detective tale. Fans of Marlowe or Spillane will love the mystery. Garcia does a very good job of creating a plausible world but does not hit the reader over the head with the details. The details leak out in small amounts as they are necessary. But these details are not held as a sudden revelation to solve the mystery. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to the further, and previous, adventures of velociraptor PI Vincent Rubio.
Rating:
Summary: A fully realized alternate world
Review: The hero of "Anonymous Rex," the novel by Eric Garcia, is a private investigator named Vincent Rubio. But there's a twist to this detective story. Vincent is a dinosaur--a raptor, to be specific. He lives in a world in which dinosaurs never went extinct--instead, they evolved into human-sized intelligent beings. The dinos live intermingled in the human population, wearing ingenious prosthetic disguises that allow them to masquerade as humans. Vincent is contracted to investigate a suspicious fire, and this leads him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, sex, and weird science. Garcia has taken a great concept and used it to create a fun, exciting story. "Anonymous" has something in common with narratives like the Harry Potter saga, which similarly postulates a "hidden" world which coexists with our mundane human world. Despite this common theme, however, Garcia's book is fresh and unique. Garcia creates compelling characters and throws in some intriguing twists. His writing is clever and witty, and he fleshes out this bizarre concept in a rich and satisfying way. Along the way he tackles some "real world" issues such as drug abuse, forbidden sex, social control, and personal identity. This is a wild and wondrous story that leaves me eager for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: big t's awesome review
Review: This was a superb book. It is about a world where dinosaurs have to hide from humans by dressing like them in costumes. It is about a dinosaur detective who is trying to do a normal case and find out who killed his partner at the same time. This is a fast paced witty book with an ending that you will not believe in your entire lifetime. I thouroughly enjoyed this book and I implore you to read this awesome novel.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly entertaining
Review: Saw this book at the bookstore, and once I read the inside of the jacket, I knew I had to buy it!! Here I am, a mere 5 hours after starting the book, completely finished. I had to know how it ended. At times, you almost forgot that it was anything other than an engaging murder mystery. The twists and turns of the plot are wonderful to behold, and the character development was phenomenal. If I have any complaints, it's that the concept of famous humans actually being something other than human is so, well, Men in Black. However, Garcia does not dwell on these revelations, so they are no more than a distraction. I am buying the follow up novel ASAP! If you are in the market for a fun read, and just happen to love the Discovery Channels build a dinosaur section, then this is the book for you!!
Rating:
Summary: Outrageous and funny
Review: I just wanted to make a few comments on this book. I read a lot of humorous books in this vein from Hiaasen, Chris Moore, Bill Fitzhugh, Tim Dorsey, and so on, but it would be hard to imagine a wilder premise than the one in Garcia's book. Dinosaurs didn't die at the end of the Cretaceous, as we thought, instead, they evolved into down-sized versions of their former selves and are now running around disgused in human drag, unbeknownst to us humans. The private eye main character himself is a dino, a raptor, if I recall, but anyway, a number of species have survived and are living among us. There are other quirky aspects to the story as well. In every detective story there is usually some gorgeous bombshell the hard-bitten detective falls for. But in Garcia's book he falls for a human female, and some hot sheet music (between the sheets, that is) ensues. Inter-species affairs are strictly forbidden, since it could blow their cover, but he can't help himself. There are more wild hijinks in this book I could tell you about, but as I just wanted to make a few comments, I'll let you discover them for yourself. Garcia has pulled off a little coup here by writing a very funny novel based on a wildly outrageous premise, and which he manages to pull off in style.
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