Have you ever read a short story, and wished that there was more to it? Maybe even a whole book? That is how I felt while reading Dinosaurs on Other Planets. I used to avoid short story collections, but have recently come to really enjoy them. If you have a penchant for a great collection of fiction, then you might want to check this book out.

The copy of this book that I read wasn’t that attractive. It just had a plain blue and white cover, nothing to get excited over. Reading the title and description had me a bit more intrigued though. Diane McLaughlin has done a great job of dipping her toes into the vast expanse that is short story writing. Honestly, she had me at “dinosaurs”. I’ll admit I was just a bit disappointed at the fact that dinosaurs weren’t very prevalent in this book, but I won’t complain, because the abundance of interesting characters and storylines kept me satisfied.

I loved the exquisite language that McLaughlin used, and the way she carefully described scenes. I really can’t pick a story out of this collection that I liked better than the others; they were all equally good. I don’t think I have ever read such a compelling and fantastic collection of stories.

Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Random House

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  3 religious exclamations; 4 mild obscenities; 7 derogatory names; 1 scatological word; 1 anatomical term; 9 F-Word derivatives.  Note: Use of “bloody” as a profanity not tallied.

Violence/Gore:  A parent slaps their daughter in anger, and the mothers ring catches on the daughters skin, drawing blood; a young girl binds her feet for what she says is a school project, different passages are shared from ancient culture about the binding of feet and its purpose; a parent is reported to have died; cuts on a woman’s arms are mentioned; a character is mentioned to be terminally ill; a wrecked ship is reported with passengers having drowned; a dead sea; with an injury is seen by a character and briefly mentioned.

Sex/Nudity:  A mature sexual discussion is had; a minor-aged character is mentioned to be sexually active with their teacher; adults kiss; a brief non-descriptive sexual scene occurs, it is implied that two adults had intercourse, and nudity is mentioned with no detail.

Mature Subject Matter:

Cancer, death, personal crises, terminal illness, student-teacher sexual relationship.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Adults drink wine; cigarettes are mentioned to be smoked; vodka is offered to an adult; beer is served to adults; whiskey is drunk.