Bones of the Earth (Mass Market Paperback)

First, the concept of time travel is a tough premise to work with, for any writer. And, for a newbie, Swanwick pulls this portion of the book off quite well. He intrigues the reader by showing possible paradoxes, causality infractions and plain and simple "fun" with temporal mechanics. The science behind this marvel is for the most part unexplained throughout the book - which is something most hard core sci-fi fans will continusouly thirst for.

Second, although I'm not a dino-guy when it comes to my fiction (unless you're talking about Jules Verne), Swanwick does a great job of tapping into the reader's inner-child (you know, the one who was fascinated by dinos as a kid). This makes the story more fun, and provides a few genuinely entertaining moments throughout the book.

Now for the negative.

What is with this author's fascination over the "F" word? I will never understand why writers feel the need to use this modern "uber-cool" gutter-mouth vernacular. It doesn't make the story seem any more "real" to me. I mean, we're dealing with live dinosaurs and time travel, it's not like the gratuitous use of this word will make me relate to the characters in a more meaningful way.

Then there are unnecessary sex scenes. Swanwick, on more than one occasion, goes from technobabble to cheesy romance novel in the space of a few, poorly written paragraphs. C'mon. We don't want this kind of junk messing up good sci-fi. If I want to read about group orgies, I'll buy an adult magazine. Please keep my sci-fi clean.

Overall, this book has a lot of wasted potential. This book could have been a great force to get kids interested in modern paleontology, but instead goes for cheap ratings among the sexually frustrated crowd. It's a good concept gone bad with inadequate writing experience and horrible language. I will not refer this book to any of my friends.

The time-travel method itself never receives close attention; Swanwick presents it, and then lets the story go along its bizarre, non-chronological way. In the mid-21st century, the government suddenly makes known its mastery of time-travel, and lets scientists from all times travel to stations placed throughout the Mesozoic to study dinosaurs. But where did time-travel come from, and why is it being used only for research purposes? These questions bother some of the scientists, and one in particular wants to shake up the time-travel scene in ways that could be dangerous. Meanwhile, fundamentalist groups plan terror strikes to stop the time-traveling project, and a large group of scientists finds itself possibly stranded forever in a rough part of the Cretaceous. Where is the way out of this confusing tangle of time streams...and who ultimately pulls the strings?

"Bones of the Earth" reads quickly, even with its cornucopia of overlapping stories and time periods. Swanwick holds it together with his fine eye for character, detail, and excitement. Each chapter offers tantalizing encounters with ancient creatures, new mysteries of the past, or weird experiences with the paradoxes of time travel. It's a romp, no doubt about it, and you'll have as much fun as Swanwick does with the possibilities.

Dinosaur fans (adult ones at least, due to some sexual content) will love this, and the hard-science reader will also find much to embrace. But there are enough energy and excellent characterizations to appeal to wide spectrum of readers. Think of as "Jurassic Park" with half the calories, twice the brains.

Do yourself a favor, and read something, anything, else.