Description: The master of microfiction returns with eighteen short-short stories on dinosaur themes. Steely bureaucrats, genetically engineered Christmas toys, and beloved killer pets clash with immoral scientists, neighborhood bullies, and society ladies, with dangerous, sometimes poignant, and often wickedly funny consequences. Michael Crichton's dinosaurs were never quite like this. As one canny old predator remarks, "Herbivores! You gotta love 'em. They fall for the old theropod-in-a-rubber-tenontosaur-suit trick every time."
In this companion volume to Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures, Swanwick continues to delight. It is certain to charm anyone who is or ever wanted to be a paleontologist--and to convince them that pursuing alternative careers is probably wise. This collection features the British Science Fiction Association Award-nominated "Five British Dinosaurs" as well as humorous original illustrations by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.Review Quotes: Praise for Michaels Swanwick's Field Guide to Mesozoic Megafauna
"Swanwick has written a short-short story for each of the 13 dinosaurs from the Mesozoic era.... The stories are very funny, often ironic, and well worth the very brief time they take to read. Highlights include 'The Thief of Time, ' which ironically plays with the different meanings of the egg-stealing Eoraptor; the hilarious 'A Matter of Size, ' which gives an unexpected look at how the Giantosaurus of South America may have regarded its North American cousins; 'Three Conversations, ' which gives a sting-in-the-tale ending to a short adventure in kite-flying; 'Pocket Brontosaurs, ' where Swanwick shows that Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg may have missed the real commercial appeal of bringing dinosaurs back to life; and the darkly funny 'Herbivores, ' which you should read for yourself. All are worth seeking out...."--Locus