Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara was published 19 years ago today!

[u/wandering_soles]

Anyone have any favorite illustrations or parts of the book? I really liked getting to see more of the Forbidden Mountains and their people and architecture since that was one of my favorite parts of the original book, as well as the village of Bilgewater and it's upended ship buildings.

[u/CAS966]

God I wish we get another book or some new Dinotopia novel for its 20th anniversary of this book.

[u/DJfunkyPuddle → u/CAS966]

Please just give me one more book. I want to find out why the island can't be found on modern maps. Where did it go?

[u/wandering_soles → u/DJfunkyPuddle]

My wild theory is that the sunstones emit some kind of frequency or energy that scrambles/skews electronics, so it doesn't show up on satellites and makes it impossible for planes or helicopters to get near (plus, it's too far from other land for helicopters, and there's nowhere for a plane to land) and ships can't get close due to all the reefs. Plus, the sunstones could be a part of why such a small island has so many biomes - sunstone veins running underneath the surface of the island could impact climate. 

[u/Ill_Examination8136 → u/DJfunkyPuddle]

That would be awesome! I personally think the sunstones must be causing some kind of dimensional warping. Like maybe the island doesn’t show up on satellite imagery because it’s in its own little bubble of reality, just slightly apart from our own. That would help explain why dinosaurs and other creatures that were extinct or extant when the asteroid hit (like triceratops) were able to make it there.

[u/vorropohaiah]

I love the city plan on the inside of the dust jacket and the cutaway of the mountaintop castle

[u/wandering_soles → u/vorropohaiah]

I love the cutaways in all the books, but that's a particular favorite! I remember as a kid just poring over the cutaway of the Hatchery in the first book. 

[u/vorropohaiah → u/wandering_soles]

yes same here, only i never got the books when i was a kid. i remember seeing the first edition dinotopia in a newsagents when i was a kid but never got them. I finally got all 4 as a set a few years ago and am always taking them off the shelves to have a look through

[u/ThickNeedleworker182 → u/vorropohaiah]

I hadnt realized the dust jacket for Chandara had art inside it untill this comment!  Did any of the books besides Chandara have art inside their dust covers? Mine don't seem to but idk if mine are "premium"

[u/vorropohaiah → u/ThickNeedleworker182]

thats' the only one that has something substantial. the others are just edwardian type floral patterns if I remember correctly.

[u/wildWindrunner]

I’m thinking seeing the feathered dinosaurs, the trek through the swamp and seeing the emperor of Chandara.

[u/Swisst]

Dinotopia 1992

World Beneath 1995 (+3 yrs)

First Flight 1999 (+4 yrs)

Chandara 2007 (+8 years)

2026 (+19 yrs)

Really wish we'd get at least one last adventure with Arthur. Has Gurney hinted at anything, or has he closed the book on Dinotopia?

[u/wandering_soles → u/Swisst]

He's been pretty quiet about it. I'm not sure publishers think it will work anymore. I also seem to recall that he said he really doesn't want to do another unless he truly feels like he has the right inspiration. If anything, if like to see Alan Dean Foster crank one last novel out set in Dinotopia, but that's unlikely. I can't imagine who would greenlight it. 

[u/DJfunkyPuddle]

I always get a kick out of that infinite stairway the philosophers use

[u/YellNoSnow]

It's hard to choose, but I really like that portrait of the bandits, Sacul the Styracosaurus and his human friend. The trees and the mountains in the background are absolutely fantastic, and something about the way they're posed (and the guy is dressed) kinda gives me Frank Frazetta vibes.

The scene with Hugo Khan gliding over Chandara at night is really neat too.

[u/dyoung961]

Does anyone know where I can get this book in hardcover? Amazon has one but it paper jacket hardcover which I hate.

[u/wandering_soles → u/dyoung961]

I don't think ever seen a hardcover that wasn't paper jacket after they published The World Beneath. 

[u/Geo_Silvers]

Are the other books worth reading? This was the only book I've ever read of the Dinotopia series; it got me interested in dinosaurs at an incredibly early age.

Nowadays, I play ARK: Survival and try to create my own version of the book 😅 I need to look around my room and see if I can find the book, its been AGES since I've read it. Only thing is younger me was NOT responsible and the dust cover is lost somewhere in some boxes I've never opened after my family moved a few years ago. I regret not taking better care of it now....

[u/wandering_soles → u/Geo_Silvers]

The other books are absolutely worth reading. For as good as JTC is, it's not even close to how good A Land Apart From Time or The World Beneath is, or Alan Dean Foster's Dinotopia Lost or Hand of Dinotopia. They're all pretty easily accessible by library or ebay. As a general rule of thumb, read in publication order.