Rating: 
Summary: A book you'll start proselytizing to your friends
Review: Good lord that was funny.
Rating: 
Summary: If you must read it, borrow it from your library
Review: I bought this book because the premise seemed clever. However, the concept that develops as I read this book, that of dinosaurs deciding to live disguised as men after mammals first appeared on the planet, is just too ludicrous for me to suspend my belief. As for the description of the human disguises, with all the clamps and harnesses that are needed to pull off the masquerade...it just doesn't work, especially the part about the tails. The story itself was an okay mystery, but this is one of those books that you should check out from the library if you feel you must read it.
Rating:
Summary: Cliche with a twist.
Review: I found Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia an amusing, but not terribly original book. Mind you it is different! The premise is that dinosaurs did not die off 65 million years ago but went underground. They now live among us disguised as humans.As would be expected with something like this the hero is a detective or more to the point a private eye. With all the attendant cliche of that genre. The idea is that all this is being played for laughs, the problem is I for did not really find it all that funny. There were a few moments that I chucked at but I did not find it any more amusing than a dozen forgettable paperback P.I. novels.The book is not even set up in an altered universe type setting. It's our world as it is, only one person out of every person you pass in the street is really a dinosaur in a rubber suit. Yep that big fellow over there is really a thirty foot long twenty ton brontosaurus, just pretending to be a big fellow.To say the least a lot could be done on the comedy front with a set up like that. But no, basically we are just lead to believe that they fit right in, and have from the start.In the end I found this a pedestrian P.I. story with an interesting, but poorly thought out & absurd overlay.A willing suspension of disbelief is one thing, but this abuses the privilege.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, fun, fun!
Review: I had six friends who read this book. Five loved it, one hated it, and I'm the sixth that thought it was tremendous. My friend who hated it ain't much in the fun department, so I'm guessing that's where the split comes. Look, if you can't get past the basic concept of dinosaurs shrinking down and fitting into human constumes, understanding that its supposed to be a comedy, then there's no way you'll like it. But if you want some major laughs and a good story then you'll dig this book. Vincent Rubio (the main character) is one swinging dinosaur and I can't wait to read more about him.
Rating: 
Summary: This was one of the more interesting new ideas
Review: I have always liked mystery and detective stories and dinosaurs, so when I saw the cover and read the jacket, I could hardly believe it. I really liked Mr Garcia's sense of humor. There was a clever reworking of the natural order of things that is so easily done that it really is almost believable. Wait.. did I just smell something? --- Never mind. These characters are given a personality that fits like a custom guise. I know there has to be more in the evolved brain of this guy and I for one can't wait for the next case of Vincent Rubio. Mr. Garcia is onto something, but, I think he has been eating too much Basil.
Rating: 
Summary: A literal waste of time.
Review: I have never enjoyed myself less reading a book than "Anoyomous Rex". Yes the premise is very different, dinosaurs living among us in disguise, but that is the major problem, it is so totally ridiculous, that it becomes very annoying. Beside the premise, the story just is not that interesting and the characters for the most part are bland. The most amazing thing about this book is that it actually was published.
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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: I loved the concept of the story, uniquely different with likable characters. My only complaint is that I do not have alot of knowledge about the different spieces of dinosaur and wish there had been an index with pictures to refer back to when new charachters of different breeds were introduced. Other than that I loved the book and look forward to the sequel and movie!
Rating:
Summary: Good airplane reading.
Review: I loved this book! There is a new detective on the horizon, Vincent Rubio, a character with as many distinct habits as Phillip Marlowe and Chief Inspector Magret. They are all tough guys, they just didn't have to wear latex to work. Rubio smells like cuban cigars, has a serious habit of eating basil and always gets too close to the case. Great reading, looking forward to the next book. It was taken on a flight to Texas and in the round trip, I enjoyed the jokes and the dark side of the story. A great first work.
Rating:
Summary: A great read.
Review: I LOVED this book. The idea is absurd, the premise is preposterous and guess what? It works and it works well. It could have just as easily been aliens or any racial mix and the story would have been just as good. It is a wonderful, tightly written detective story with a good plot and characters you really like and some you really hate. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys detective stories.
|
