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Monday 1 February 2021

Dr. Dinosaur’s Time Travel Through the Back Door. Brian Clevinger (Writer), Eric Trautmann/Fedora Monkey Studio (Art& Design). Tesladyne LLc (2019)

Laugh out loud, perfectly balanced explanation of the perils and possibilities if time travel from Dr Dinosaur, villain from the Atomic Robo books.

This is the About the Author page as it does the work perfectly, “ Doctor H’sssk Dinosaur is a handsome brain genius from the K-T extinction event that was caused when you jerks activated your Large Hadron Collider and unwittingly sent stupid energies 65,000,003 years backwards through time thus perturbing the orbit of an otherwise perfectly stable and harmless asteroid not that he’s bitter about it.

He is the author of the autobiography I’VE BEEN EVERYWHEN ,MAN, and numerous doomsday plots”

The mix of the wonderfully ridiculous, science and supervillain threats that are indicated in the above are wonderfully expanded upon in the book.

Dr. Dinosaur has a grudge against humanity and is determined to deliver on it via a mas extension event of his own, failing that capturing and killing anyone he can, will have to suffice in the meantime. He is also fantastically vain and wants his human audience to recognise and appreciate as much as our stupid monkey brains can. The book is trying to serve this agenda and it does so with flair, humour and a sharp balance between stupid villainy and genuine threat.

The book is dictated by Dr Dinosaur to a terrified hostage Gary whose frantic message throughout the text, inserted when he can, are funny and horrifying in exactly the correct proportions.

The discussions Dr Dinosaur makes about time travel include the clearest explanation of why time travel does not change the future that I have ever read. Time Travel stories are sometimes confusing as there is an need to balance current and future events in a coherent whole, having neatly solved the problem Dr. Dinosaur is free to deliver his thoughts of time travel tourism and the problems encountered by the only groups of humans to successfully develop time travel.

No knowledge of Atomic Robo continuity is needed to enjoy this book, it is happily self-contained and inviting to all. Funny science fiction is very hard to do successfully, Brian Clevinger makes it appear natural, unforced, and easy.


 

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