When I was little, I remember spending hours pouring over the Dinotopia books we owned. If you are unfamiliar with these books, they are filled with breathtaking illustrations depicting a fictional utopia where dinosaurs avoided extinction and live side by side with humans. The stories are equal parts Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson with a healthy portion of Edgar Rice Burroughs on the side.
A Brief History of James Gurney’s Dinotopia
Dinotopia sprung out of the imagination of James Gurney. Before writing his first Dinotopia book, Gurney worked as a freelance illustrator for archaeologists and publications such as National Geographic. His commissions often involved recreating ancient cities and civilizations based on current archaeological research and a good imagination. Several other assignments asked Gurney to recreate dinosaurs based on fossil evidence. His experience recreating past civilizations spurred him to create his own lost civilizations in the form of two art prints: Waterfall City and Dinosaur Parade. Later, Gurney decided to expand these paintings into a full story; Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time.
Gurney’s first book was a resounding success. It won a Hugo Award for best original artwork and led to a series of other publications. James Gurney wrote and illustrated three more Dinotiopia books, while various other authors have expanded the world with additional novels, television shows, an animated movie, and video games. (none of which I have actually seen)
Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time
The first book follows Arthur Denison, a scientist, and his son Will. The story opens with a dramatic storm that leaves Arthur and Will shipwrecked on Dinotopia. Finding themselves stranded, the pair begin an expedition across the continent in order to try and find a way back to their home. Bix the protoceritops dinosaur agrees to join them as a guide on their journey. Along the way they learn more about the culture and customs of the human/dinosaur society inhabiting the island. Each stop presents a wonderful vignette of what life might be like in a peaceful world filled with dinosaurs.
Through their journey, Arthur is learns of the “World Beneath”, a series of caverns beneath the island that provided shelter for the dinosaurs during the cataclysms that wiped out all other members of their species. While revered by the dinosaurs as a place that saved them, the caverns are also full of mystery. It has been hundreds of years since anyone stepped foot in the world beneath, leaving its true nature unknown. Determined to unravel the mystery, Arthur and Bix set out to explore the world beneath.
Will’s path takes him above the earth rather than beneath it. He is determined to become a “skybax rider”, an aerial messenger who rides on the back of a giant quetzalcoatlus pterosaur. Through his training he becomes very close with Sylvia and they agree to marry when they are old enough. Eventually Will and Sylvia pass their training and become skybax riders.
The book concludes when Arthur and Bix re-emerge from the world beneath. Arthur and Will are reunited and share their experiences with each other. Arthur reveals that while they found several artifacts, the most significant discovery was a giant locked door leading to yet more unknown caverns.
Dinotopia: The World Beneath
The second book in the series picks up shortly after the first, and is my personal favorite. On his first expedition to the world beneath, Arthur found his way blocked by a massive locked door. Nearby, only half of a key hinted at access. Encouraged by his initial discoveries, Arthur organizes a second expedition. Bix joins Arthur again, as well as Oriana Nascava, a musician who owned the other half of the key, and Lee Crabb, a shady character who nevertheless has experience in tough situations.
Will and Sylvia remain on the surface and accompany an overland caravan into the jungle in search of a rare medicine. Their mission is to help protect the convoy from Tyrannosaurs.
Unable to return the way they came, Arthur and his exploration party must find a new way out of the caverns. They end up in the middle of the same jungle as Will. I probably shouldn’t spoil everything, but the climax is quite good and Arthur and Will are reunited once more in the end.
Thoughts
I love Dinotopia: the World Beneath. James Gurney’s illustrations of underground caverns and lost civilizations are fantastic. There are so many wonderful elements; Victorian-style submersibles, crystals that store and release the energy of the sun (sunstones), ancient dinosaur shaped vehicles that run off the sunstones, forests of ancient ferns, majestic caverns of flowstone and other cave formations, the list goes on!
Gurney’s background in archeology and illustration really shine. His broad experience allows him to breath life into the worlds he creates. While incredibly fantastic, his locations and characters always feel grounded, as if they really do exist in some long-lost place. I especially like how Gurney works from life whenever possible. He often works en plein air, or “in open air”, meaning completing a painting outside instead of in a studio. Other techniques he employs include using models, maquettes, and even having people dressing in costume to model for a painting! I appreciate how these techniques are grounded in the physical world. That really translates into his paintings, giving them a plausibility.
For Duathfel, I am trying to apply some of the same ideas by grounding the locations I create in the realm of possibility. So often dungeons in Skyrim are a long series of hallways that, while fun for crawling through, don’t really feel like any one would actually live there. Hopefully I can make a space that flows well game-wise, as well as making some sense as an actual settlement.
READ THEM NOW!
If you haven’t already, I strongly suggest you read The Dinotopia Books. (The ones by James Gurney, I’ve never read or watched any of the other media, so I can’t help you there.) Your local library might have a copy, although depending on their collection, they might just have the first book. Barring that there’s always amazon.com… but why buy anything when the library has it for free!
Duathfel 