Fossil Hunter

The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 2

By: Robert. J. Sawyer

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Fossil Hunter is hard SF in the tradition of Larry Niven about a world inhabited by the Quintaglios, a dinosaurian species that has evolved a human level of intelligence and culture.

Toroca, a Quintaglio geologist, is under attack for his controversial new theory of evolution. But the origins of his people turn out to be more complex than even he imagined, for he soon discovers the wreckage of an ancient starship - a relic of the aliens who transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to this solar system. Now, Toroca must convince Emperor Dybo that evolution is true; otherwise, the territorial violence the Quintaglios inherited from their tyrannosaur ancestors will destroy the last survivors of Earth's prehistoric past.

©1993 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Another fantastic entry

My only complaint is that some of the plotlines crowd out eachother, but that's minor. Fossil Hunter is a fantastic 2nd entry for this series. A must read

A fantastic book with a great narrator. Top notch!

Where does Fossil Hunter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Easily in the top 5.

What did you like best about this story?

Sawyer does a great job at creating a believable alien culture that is described well enough to still resonate with the reader. His protagonists are engaging, and his knowledge of paleontology adds additional levels of appreciation for a biologist such as myself. The little nods to parallel development of Quintaglio scientific development was quite amusing without being overly blunt.

Which scene was your favorite?

It's all pretty good. Toroca's methodical scientific inquiry and unusual mindset makes him a compelling and sympathetic character in pretty much every scene. I read this book first of the three back in the day, and I found it impossible to not get quite invested in Toroca's journey and personal problems. Dybo's arena fight is pretty epic.

Any additional comments?

Just that it's a great book. I look forward to listening to this performance again many times in the future.

Astounding!!!

This book has a uniqueness. It does a great job explaining itself and even has some good humor in it. A truly great sequel to a very Robert Sawyer book! And it even keeps great continuity from the first book. And I also really love the development and growth of Kee-Toroca as a character. It's a shame this series doesn't have more fans....

Great

A great story. Gotta get the next one immediately so I can see how this ends

My Head Hurts!

I turn to Sawyer because I want a mind-bending experience, well – this is certainly that!

I liked Book 1 better, I was not interested in half the story lines in Book 2, but I’m still in for Book 3.

Not much of a review, but I’d have to untangled my pretzeled brain in order to write something coherent and I’m still trying to picture what a sentient dinosaur’s apartment looks like! Ha!