I’ll start this review by telling a little story of my own.  Michael Crichton and H.G. Wells are sitting around in (insert afterlife of choice here).  They are sipping brandy and talking about their collective creative works.

“I was always a really big fan of time travel, the Time Machine was a book I read numerous times as a child.”  Michael gushed while twirling his finger along the edge of his snifter.

“Why thank you.”  Wells remarked between puffs on his pipe.  ”Oh, and I finally got around to reading that little dinosaur thing you wrote.  Good show old chap.”

“I have come to realize that the world is sorely lacking in good time travel stories, and decent dinosaur ones too.”  Lamented a half drunk Crichton.

“Perhaps it is time for someone new to take up the torch?”  Suggested Wells.

Perhaps, but what first, dinosaurs or time travel, how do we…..”  Crichton began before he was cut off by a gruff voice from a shadowy corner.

“Why not both?”  A stout, balding man stood and approached.

“Ah, General Patton, didn’t see you back there.”  Wells looked up at the old war hero, then mused, “Both, hmmm, now that sounds like a good idea.”

“Now to use our ghostly powers (all dead people have ghostly powers) and get some mortal to do our bidding.”

“Just make sure to add some Nazis, you always need some Nazis.”  Patton added.

Enter Bryan Young and Operation Montauk.  This is a book that pulls you instantly.  Young wastes no time in throwing one of his characters into mortal danger, and the book never lets up.  I’ll allow the author to fill you in a bit more than just dinosaurs, time travel, and Nazis (as if you need more reason to pick this book up and read it).

Operation: Montauk is a time-traveling science fiction novel patterned after the pulp-adventure stories of the 1920s and 1930s. Lost in time after a failed attempt to kill Hitler before his rise to power, World War II soldier Cpl. Jack Mallory finds himself stranded, his whole team killed, nearly 100 Million years off course. Together with a group of other wayward time travelers, Mallory has to fight to survive in a hostile environment swarming with dinosaurs. Desperate to find a way home, the community of lost travelers searches for any solution that might send them all home and unlock the secret that shipwrecked them on the shores of time… But the jungle holds a secret from Mallory’s future-past…   …and it’s out to kill them all!

Now, the only reason you wouldn’t be reading this book right now is because it isn’t available yet.  Don’t worry, you can preorder here.

If you still need more reasons to check this one out I’ll give them to you.  Young does an incredible job of building a compelling narrative that sucks you in.  The action is fast paced and thrilling, and there is also dashes of humor, drama, and even a sprinkling of romance.  Every chapter leaves you yearning for what happens next, though the bastard of an author often makes you wait as he cleverly breaks up the story, telling it from the viewpoint of multiple characters.  Will the hero survive this current danger, well, read this other chapter first and I’ll tell you later.  You aren’t given a chance to breathe because even when things cool down for one character there is a raging inferno of danger engulfing someone else.

I think the most refreshing thing about this book though is that it tells a great story with interesting characters without the need for twenty seven encyclopedic volumes of epic insanity.  I could hardly put my copy down, and if it had been longer I would have probably lost my job.  Read it as soon as you can, if you are not pleased with the results, then you simply have no soul or appreciation for the awesomeness that is DINOAURS, TIME TRAVEL, and MOTHER FREAKIN’ NAZIS!!!!

Image courtesy of TOR

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have tag teamed so many novels of the years that they have become a household name to fantasy readers.  Rage of the Dragon is the third installment in their latest series, the Dragonships of Vindras.  Here is a blurb from the inside flap of the cover.

Skylan Ivorson is the gods-chosen Chief of all Vindras clans. But the gods from whom the Vindrasi draw their earthdwelling power are besieged by a new generation of gods who are challenging them for the powers of creation. The only way to stop these brash interlopers lies within the Five Bones of the Vektia Dragon—the primal dragon forged during the creation of the world—which have been lost for generations.

With the Gods of the New Dawn amassing a vast army, Skylan finds allies in former enemies. Calling upon the ogres to fight their common foes, the Vindrasi soon find themselves in the middle of an even larger war. Skylan and his Vindrasi clan must sail the Sea of Tears into the heart of the Forbidden Empire of the Cyclops, to implement a cunning yet delicate plan that risks his life and leadership at every corner. But a new enemy lies deep in the sea, one who draws upon powers never harnessed by land dwellers.

For me just seeing the names Weis and Hickman on the cover is enough for me to want to read it.  When you add in gods going to war and dragons I can’t turn the pages fast enough.

It is becoming quite typical of series written by this duo to start off rather slow, almost ponderously trudging along.    What really makes Weis and Hickman good at what they do though is that there is always payoff for your patience.  They take their time building the story, introducing you to the characters.  Perhaps we have become a cultural too inundated with technology and instant gratification that we cannot wait for the action to start.  Well, you have to wait with a good book.  I will tell you this much, when the action starts, it gets your heart beating. It is in conflict that Weis and Hickman truly shine. The battle scenes in this book are thrilling and so well conceived and written that it is easy to visualize yourself standing there at Skylan’s side.

I enjoyed this book, though it does meander a bit.  This is good, fun, fantasy.  If you haven’t started this series yet, do so, and know that you need to have a little patience, let the story grow and you will be rewarded.  I’ll be honest though, this isn’t the pair’s best work.  They have yet to repeat what they achieved with the Death Gate Cycle, though for me and nostalgia’s sake their best work will always be the Dragonlance Chronicles.  However, that being said, this is still a great story that is well written and most assuredly worthy of a read.