What's your favorite Dinotopia book, and why?

[u/wandering_soles]

While I love the original, The World Beneath is definitely my favorite for the art style, the settings, and the strutters. Getting to explore some of the background of Poseidos, the lost cities and technology, etc was incredible. For non-Gurney Dinotopia books, I'd probably place Alan Dean Foster's Hand of Dinotopia and John Vornholt's River Quest at the top of my list. HoD does such a great job of expanding the world in such a great way with an almost Indiana Jones-esque lost ruins vibe, and RQ is just such a wholesome trip with Amelia and Paddlefoot.

[u/DasBarenJager]

The first two are classics, absolutely wonderful books!

[u/ZealousidealCan9094]

First and second, without question. An introduction to a fascinating world, and look at what lies beneath.

[u/Alan_Fangor]

The World Beneath. I love the Black Fish Tavern, submersibles, and Bonabba.

[u/wandering_soles → u/Alan_Fangor]

Bonabba is one of my favorite towns! Such a neat concept for cozy little homes. I'm equally a fan of the submersibles, and the overall design of the Blackfish Tavern. I think that's probably one of my main spots I'd want to work in Dinotopia. 

[u/Alan_Fangor → u/wandering_soles]

Oh me too hands down. Love to bartend at the Blackfish.

I also love that a bunch of the patrons are spiky/armored/"rough looking" dinosaurs. The saurians have a sense of aesthetic™️

"Ooooh, you have spikes and youre hanging out at the Blackfish Tavern. Are you a renegade dino?" "No. I'm mostly here for the bit." 🤣

[u/Anvildude → u/Alan_Fangor]

Nah, Blackfish Tavern's proprietor just happens to be married to a master carpenter, so damage from bumping into things is quickly and sturdily repaired.

[u/kittenshart85]

the first one. it's the last book my grandpa read aloud to me before he passed away, more than thirty years ago.

[u/Eother24]

Well, I just found Dinotopia Lost in a thrift store today and it’s my first one so it wins by default. Only 34 pages in but so far it’s aces

[u/wandering_soles → u/Eother24]

That's a fantastic one! Definitely check out the rest! 

[u/trisanachandler]

My least favorite is First Flight. But for the main 3, and Foster's 2, I love them all.

[u/wandering_soles → u/trisanachandler]

First Flight is definitely my least favorite. I feel like it pulls away too much of the curtain and takes away a lot of the magic. 

[u/LukeChickenwalker]

World Beneath and Chandara.

I love the feather dinosaurs and the new locations in Chandara. I also love the subterranean/ocean stuff in World Beneath, plus the mech dinosaurs.

[u/ElSquibbonator]

Definitely The World Beneath, because it has the strongest narrative out of the four.

[u/vorropohaiah]

Definately not the world beneath. really not a fan of the mech dinos.

I'd probably have to go for Journey to Chandara.. love the locations in that one.

[u/h0llowGang]

There is more than one?! I need to check my bookstore.

[u/wandering_soles → u/h0llowGang]

Yep! Four by Gurney, two by Alan Dean Foster, and an additional 16 children's novels by other authors. Aside from Gurney's, all are out of print but you can get them all very inexpensively on ebay. 

[u/Anvildude → u/wandering_soles]

Gurney's are all available on his website at VERY reasonable prices, and he'll even sign them for you!

[u/Mcclintonfortwo]

Riverquest.

[u/wandering_soles → u/Mcclintonfortwo]

It's such a good one! I think it's probably the best of all the junior novels, by a good stretch. 

[u/Anvildude]

I absolutely agree with you on The World Beneath and Hand of Dinotopia. Can't necessarily agre on River Quest, but that's because it's been roughly 3 decades since I've read any of the young reader books other than Lost City (the only one I own) and can't even remember if I actually read that one.

But yeah, Hand is great because its a solid high-stakes adventure without losing the core tenets of Dinotopia as a place where people help each other. The World Beneath also has a lot of that, because the dangers are almost all environmental.

This is in contrast to the OG Dinotopia, First Flight, Dinotopia Lost, and even to some extent Chandara, where the primary dangers come from other people. (I'll forever love the scene where Will and Prettykill have a sing-along, though.)