"They hurried back to camp...and then in the fading twilight paced out
the dimensions of the Brontosaurus—a creature as long as three
horse-drawn carriages, and as tall as a four-story building.
It made the imagination run wild."
the dimensions of the Brontosaurus—a creature as long as three
horse-drawn carriages, and as tall as a four-story building.
It made the imagination run wild."
Before he created Westworld, Jurassic Park, and ER, Michael Crichton wrote Dragon Teeth. It's set in in 1876 during the golden age of fossil hunting, where two rival paleontologists fight to score the largest (and most scientifically prestigious) haul from the wild and unsearched American West.
Spies and sabotage, Indian war parties, seductive libertines, and black-hat cowboys stand in their way of the glory — along with a gutsy Yale undergrad named William Johnson who tags along for a summer of adventure.
Originally completed in 1971 but only just now published posthumously, Dragon Teeth was a welcome surprise for this die-hard Crichton fan.
Spies and sabotage, Indian war parties, seductive libertines, and black-hat cowboys stand in their way of the glory — along with a gutsy Yale undergrad named William Johnson who tags along for a summer of adventure.
Originally completed in 1971 but only just now published posthumously, Dragon Teeth was a welcome surprise for this die-hard Crichton fan.
WHY I LOVE IT
I've always loved Crichton's novels for their strong situations: hunting for 'dragon teeth,' discovering an alien ship, inventing artificial intelligence — and then using that situation to spotlight humanity. For example, in my favorite Crichton novel, Prey, a self-sustaining swarm of nanorobots has escaped from the lab.
Really though, the novel is about the scientists trapped, forced to work together as a team to survive the monster they've created. And deeper still, the most interesting journey is an emotional one taken by a spouse of one of the scientists, locked down in the lab with them — a stay-at-home-dad feeling emasculated by his wife's affair with one of the scientists.
Dragon Teeth is a classic coming of age tale. William's maturation over the course of the summer is honed by his awareness of the corruptive power of envy. The rivalries he encounters via the competing paleontologists, himself and the Yale bully, and the cowboy gang running Deadwood instructs him on how all-consuming hatred ruins people. [JG]
Really though, the novel is about the scientists trapped, forced to work together as a team to survive the monster they've created. And deeper still, the most interesting journey is an emotional one taken by a spouse of one of the scientists, locked down in the lab with them — a stay-at-home-dad feeling emasculated by his wife's affair with one of the scientists.
Dragon Teeth is a classic coming of age tale. William's maturation over the course of the summer is honed by his awareness of the corruptive power of envy. The rivalries he encounters via the competing paleontologists, himself and the Yale bully, and the cowboy gang running Deadwood instructs him on how all-consuming hatred ruins people. [JG]
| "You and I are the first men in recorded history to glimpse these..." — Cope to Johnson, Dragon Teeth |
FAVORITE QUOTES
5. “Photographs provided a tangible reality to men who were far from home, fearful and tired; they were posed proofs of success, souvenirs to send to sweethearts and loved ones, or simply ways of remembering, of grasping a moment in a swift changing and uncertain world.”
4. "“You would think that people who had experienced injustice would be loath to inflict it on others, and yet they do so with alacrity. The victims become victimizers with a chilling righteousness."
3. "Cope measured the teeth with his stell calipers, scratched some calculations on his sketch pad, and shook his head. "It doesn't seem possible," he said, and measured again. And then he stood looking across the expanses of rock, as if expecting to see the giant dinosaur appear before him, shaking the ground with every step. "If we are making discoveries such as this one...it means that we have barely scrathced what is possible to learn. You and I are the first men in recorded history to glimpse these..."."
2. "Hunting for bones has a peculiar fascination, not unlike hunting for gold. One never know what one will find, and the possibilities, the potential discoveries lying in wait, fuels the quest." — William Johnson
1. "The descriptions of the Indian Wars are accurate, sadly so, and from a vantage of some hundred-plus years later it seems safe to say that the American West described in these pages, like the world of the dinosaurs long before, was soon to be forever lost." — Crichton, Author's Note
4. "“You would think that people who had experienced injustice would be loath to inflict it on others, and yet they do so with alacrity. The victims become victimizers with a chilling righteousness."
3. "Cope measured the teeth with his stell calipers, scratched some calculations on his sketch pad, and shook his head. "It doesn't seem possible," he said, and measured again. And then he stood looking across the expanses of rock, as if expecting to see the giant dinosaur appear before him, shaking the ground with every step. "If we are making discoveries such as this one...it means that we have barely scrathced what is possible to learn. You and I are the first men in recorded history to glimpse these..."."
2. "Hunting for bones has a peculiar fascination, not unlike hunting for gold. One never know what one will find, and the possibilities, the potential discoveries lying in wait, fuels the quest." — William Johnson
1. "The descriptions of the Indian Wars are accurate, sadly so, and from a vantage of some hundred-plus years later it seems safe to say that the American West described in these pages, like the world of the dinosaurs long before, was soon to be forever lost." — Crichton, Author's Note
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
| Michael Crichton (1942-2008) remains the only writer to have a number one book, movie, and TV show in the same year. His novels include Jurassic Park, The Lost World, The Andromeda Strain, Next, and Sphere among others. Collectively his works have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, been translated into thirty-eight languages, and provided the basis for fifteen films. He was also the director of Westworld, The Great Train Robbery, and Looker. |
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