Dinocoalypse Now

Dinocalypse Now by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After receiving a tip that FDR is going to be assassinated, the Century Club spring into action, only to find they've been led into a trap! Psychic dinosaurs invade the world from seven dimensional portals, led by Khan, the Conqueror Ape, and his simian horde! But who is pulling Khan's strings? And can his son, Professor Khan of the Century Club, help his friends defeat his father and avert the Dinocalypse?

Psychic dinosaurs, talking apes, yes, this book is that much fun. Set in the world of Evil Hat's Spirit of the Century RPG, the real kind, not the video game kind, Dinocaypse Now is a tribute to the pulp magazines of the 1930's, from it's relentless action to it's intentionally purple prose.

The characters are an interesting mix. There's Sally Slick, a smart inventor who resembles Rosie the Riveter, Mack Silver, the pilot/Doc Savage type, Jet Black, the stand-in for The Rocketeer, Benjamin Hu, mystic detective, Professor Khan, the talking gorilla who's also a teacher at Oxford, and Amelia Stone, lady Indiana Jones.

The plot is pretty simple. Super-villains, supposedly led by Khan the Conqueror, are capturing members of the Century Club and subjugating the world with psychic dinosaurs. However, there's someone lurking in the shadows with a much more sinister plan.

Like I said, it's a lot of fun and didn't have much chance of being otherwise with all the dinosaurs and talking apes in it. Wendig works some modern sensibilities in as well. Sally Slick is no shrinking violet, that's for sure. I was really glad the love triangle between her, Silver, and Jet Black didn't become the focal point of the story. Professor Khan wound up being my favorite characters, his jungle instincts conflicting with his academic nature.

If I had to complain about something, it would be that a lot of characters seemed like archetypes rather than characters. However, since this is a pulp homage, that's the nature of the beast. Speaking of beasts, I already have one of the subsequent books, Khan of Mars, heading my way.

Dincalypse Now is a non-stop fun read. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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