Review: The Dinosaur Hunters

Patrick Samphire is the husband of Stephanie Burgis, who is one of my very favourite authors. I saw her tweeting about this series – Regency! on Mars! with dinosaurs! – and knew I had to give it a go – safe to say, this is a very talented couple…

Book: The Dinosaur Hunters by Patrick Samphire

Read before: No

Ownership: Ebook from Kindle Store

This novella is even more fun than it sounds, which is pretty difficult! We follow Harriet George, an intrepid young woman, as she attempts to help her (slightly useless) brother-in-law find the identity of the notorious thief The Glass Phantom. Oh, and she has to do this while on a dinosaur-hunting expedition with an array of eccentric characters. On Mars. To tell you any more would be full of spoilers, as the fun is in watching the mystery unfold, but rest assured, it’s the very definition of a perfect romp.

Harriet is an amazingly fun character, and one that I think would appeal from middle grade to adult. She’s a teenager, with a lot of pluck and determination – and she’s so very clever! I loved watching her be miles more competent than her much older brother-in-law (and I was also pleased that she was anti-hunting!). I think she’d appeal to younger readers as well as adults, and the content of the book isn’t at all gory, so should be fine for kids who are okay with the concept of murder and a bit of mild peril. Everyone else is drawn very nicely, and the fact that the hunting party is a closed group gives this something of a country-house-mystery feel – it could only be one of these people, so close examination is necessary on both Harriet and the reader’s part.

If you love The Mummy and its campy, fun adventure as much as I do, this is definitely a book for you! Honestly, I think you probably just have to read it – you’ll know straight away from the description if this is your cup of tea or not. And it absolutely, whole-heartedly is mine! It’s bucketloads of fun, and I can’t wait to read the next one! Five out of five cats for sure.