Play Audiobook Sample
Raptor Red (Abridged) Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.01) - 2,885 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
A stunning debut in the blockbuster tradition of Jurassic Park -- enhanced with dramatic sound effects.
A pair of fierce but beautiful eyes look out from the undergrowth of conifers. The eyes follow every movement in the great herd of plant-eating dinosaurs that mills around the open meadows, moving back and forth with the rapid scanning of a hunter who is thinking about everything she sees. She is an intelligent killer...
The time -- 120 million years ago. The place -- the plains of prehistoric Utah. The eyes belong to one of the most unforgettable heroines you will ever meet. Her name -- Raptor Red.
Raptor Red is a female raptor dinosaur, struggling to survive on her own after losing her mate. Painting a rich and colorful picture of a lush prehistoric world, leading paleontologist Robert T. Bakker tells the story from within Raptor Red's extraordinary mind, dramatizing his groundbreaking theories in an exciting, one-of-a-kind tale. With keen insight and stunning authenticity, he tracks the raptor on her yearlong odyssey of survival as she braves a devastating storm, migrates toward the ocean to escape powerful predators, and heads north in a desperate attempt to escape the threat of deadly acrocanthosaurs, all while carrying out her natural duty to search for a new mate.
From its tragic opening to its thrilling climax on a snowy mountaintop, Raptor Red is a unique and utterly compelling look at a year in the life of a dinosaur -- a revolutionary work of fiction.
Download and start listening now!
"Jurassic Park had been made, featuring nasty but intelligent raptors. Exciting new ideas about dinosaurs, their behavior, intelligence, appearance and environment had been pouring out of paleontologists. Robert Bakker gave us, in the mid-nineties, a lot of this new information in novel form through the life of Raptor Red. This wonderful adult female raptor lives in a harsh, very brutal world where food is scarce and around the next rock she may become food is she isn't careful. She's anthropomorphized to convey information and to capture us emotionally. That's just fine because she does a great job at both. Dinosaurs fascinate almost everyone, and the yearning for further glimpses into their alien world is assuaged somewhat by this book. Like many people,I like a lot of facts woven into novels. This book's purpose is to convey facts, with the story being just a way to do that. I listened to it twice. Not only did my exercises go faster but I also found myself thinking about Raptor Red at other times. Fifteen years later I can still recall many scenes and facts. A book has to be good to stick that long. I imagine raptor knowledge has changed in the ensuing years, but I think I'll read this book again, in print this time. Raptor Red is a great read if your interests lie in this direction."
— Maryanne (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Raptor Red is a masterpiece of dramatic writing…Many writers have imagined the Mesozoic world; Bakker lives and breathes it. He becomes a dinosaur, and allows us through his vivid prose to join him on the journey. After reading it, I feel I have stepped into another creature’s claws.”
— James Gurney, New York Times bestselling author of Dinotopia -
“A truly extraordinary book. I read it with complete fascination and feel like I’ve been on a 120-million-year virtual reality trip. That’s the way it must have been back there at the dawn of intelligence.”
— Arthur C. Clarke, New York Times bestselling author -
“No scientist has done more than Bakker to advance the view of dinosaurs as energetic, swift, bright-colored, cunning, persevering, supremely well adapted, socially complex—in sum, thrilling—animals.”
— New Yorker -
“Lush, lovingly detailed and really quite serious.”
— San Diego Union-Tribune -
“The winning quality of Raptor Red is the compassion –even sweetness—with which Bakker chronicles his predators.”
— San Jose Mercury News -
“Narrated from the point of view of a dinosaur, paleontologist Bakker’s novel is filled with facts and informed speculations regarding dinosaur life. What the real Jurassic Park must have been like...exciting, bold and fun!”
— Publishers Weekly -
“The dinosaur known as ‘rapto’ first became well known through Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. Revolutionary paleontologist Bakker, who consulted on the special effects for the film adaptation, has written a novel that might be subtitled A Year in the Life of a Dinosaur, as he tells the story of Raptor Red, a giant carnivore of the Early Cretaceous period…Bakker manages to mix scientific theories—some of which are definitely on the cutting edge—with a rip-roaring narrative. Perhaps even more miraculously, he has created a sympathetic nonhuman heroine without anthropomorphizing her into a Disney character. This astonishing and successful novel will appeal to a wide audience and belongs in all fiction collections.”
— Library Journal -
“Introducing his superb animal biographical ‘novel,’ Bakker reveals that the "velociraptors" in the movie Jurassic Park were of just speculative provenance. No bones for raptors that big had been found. Then, during filming, they were. Bakker…imagines a year in the life of such a dinosaur, a young adult…Her year is action filled…that Bakker loads with biological and evolutionary information. Analogizing the raptors to modern wolves and eagles, Bakker attributes considerable cognition and emotion to them, which makes his book all the more exciting and provocative. Good reading for animal lovers from 10 to 100.”
— Booklist -
“Good writing, good story.”
— Booknews.com
Raptor Red Listener Reviews
-
" I loved this book. I read it when I was very into dinosaurs and loved the first person narratives, as though you really are the raptors. There's a lot of science thrown in there too, which may or may not be accurate, but it gives an interesting depiction of what life could have been like. "
— Annemarie, 2/15/2014 -
" Nice store, based loosly one early Utahraptor findings "
— Jason, 2/3/2014 -
" like one of the reviews said, definitely the other side of a Michael Crichton story. The use of details was well done. it allowed me to see the landscape and feel how it is to take down a meal, raptor-style. "
— N.Yasmin, 1/7/2014 -
" I've had this book for ages as I saw it right after I read Jurassic Park, and saw the blurb on the cover comparing the two. Never got around to reading it until now, and boy, was it a huge disappointment. The comparison to JP is ONLY because of raptors and dinosaurs, the books are not in the same category what so ever, Raptor Red bears a lot more of a resemblance to Call Of The Wild, but sadly nowhere near as well written. Bakker may be a fantastic paleontologist, but a writer he ain't. I found the book boring and repetitive, and while it was educational, it tried too hard by squeezing in as many different species and facts about them as possible. I was determined to finish this book today, on the last day of the year, so I could start fresh on page one of the next book tomorrow. If that wasn't the case I probably would have abandoned it after 50 pages or so, and told myself I'd read the rest later - something I probably never would have... "
— Andreas, 1/7/2014 -
" One of my favorite childhood reads. I mean really what kid doesn't love dinosaurs? Now give them a book written entirely from a dinosaur's perspective? Instant glory. "
— Caleb, 1/6/2014 -
" A surprisingly exciting and plausible fictional narrative detailing the life of one Utahraptor and her various companions. Quite enjoyed how the information/ speculation on different species of dinosaur and mammal was laid out and got very involved with these scaly protagonists. "
— Magnus, 1/5/2014 -
" There were some modern descriptions of things that I feel could've been written better, being that it's supposed to be set in the Cretaceous period, but overall a very interesting read. "
— Ryan, 1/3/2014 -
" Absolutely a must read for every dinosaur fan. A "silent movie" of a book, where you experience a world before words. "
— Friedrich, 12/21/2013 -
" on page 152 "
— Calebcastillo, 12/20/2013 -
" Only Bob Bakker would make a raptor the protagonist of a novel. This is a great story of that long forgotten time when raptors roamed the earth. Not as the biggest strongest dinosaurs, but simple as perhaps the brightest. "
— Bob, 11/26/2013 -
" Robert T has one detailed vision of the world of the Dino and I found it to be a good time. Thankyou for sharing your vision Mr Bakker. "
— Butterflykatana, 11/6/2013 -
" just as good as i NEEDED this to be "
— Lizzie, 11/5/2013 -
" Very educational about this era of dinosauers in a very readable way. "
— Lois, 5/24/2013 -
" Surprisingly better written than expected, espcially considering that Bakker is not a fiction writer by trade. However, it lost me whenever he switch perspectives to other dinosaurs. At those times my interest waned and the book dragged. "
— Sean, 9/11/2012 -
" Not much of a story here. More like a history lesson told like a novel. "
— Keith, 7/24/2012 -
" I remember this book during my 'dinosaur' phase. It very much is an interesting story in the life of a Utahraptor growing up in a tough environment. I still love this book. I wish to read it again someday. "
— Poia, 6/28/2012 -
" I read this when it came out and I liked it but still found it lacked a "wow" factor. I think it would have been better as bookend for a non-fiction book. "
— Jonathan, 5/1/2012 -
" A mix of dinosaur science and YA fast reading, I would recommend this book to anyone of any age. It's a great read. "
— Karen, 4/15/2012 -
" A nice yarn and a decent summary of selective pressures from the organism's point of view, never really sings tho. "
— Steve, 1/18/2012 -
" This was my brother's book growing up that I snagged once and gave a go. A very cool story from a dinosaur's point of view. One I'll definitely revisit. "
— Samara, 12/11/2011 -
" This novel takes place from the perspective of a Utahraptor. That's all you need to know to decide if you're going to enjoy this or not. "
— Andrew, 10/3/2011 -
" Awesome, recommended by the science column in the paper, written from the perspective of a raptor dinosaur. Awesome. I like 'alt perspective' books. Always interesting at least. If you liked Jurassic Park, you would surely like this. "
— Jessica, 9/2/2011 -
" Ok, so it contains some inconsistencies, but overall, this is a well written novel that teaches us the hardships of Cretaceous life, through fiction. If you enjoy the stories narrated on Walking With Dinosaurs and other shows in that tradition, you'll love this book. "
— Tina, 5/30/2011 -
" One of my favorite books of all time. This is an incredible work of prehistoric fiction. Following the life of a raptor who has not been anthropomorphized was rather clever and very well done. I only wish this were not Dr. Bakker's only adult fiction piece. "
— Molly, 4/18/2011 -
" A compelling read from beginning to end by one of the worlds foremost Dino Scholars. Dinofans, this is your book!<br/> "
— John, 3/18/2011 -
" If you're at all into dinosaurs, prehistoric times, or even just animals in general, you will love how this story puts you into the body and mind of a Utah Raptor, and you will be sorry to see it end. "
— Emily, 1/13/2011 -
" A very unique book. Worth checking out if for no other reason than you will never read another book quite like it. "
— Cody, 12/26/2010 -
" So amazing and cute! Good book for dinosaur lovers of all ages! "
— Audrey, 12/9/2010 -
" This prehistoric-set novel is a surprisingly enjoyable read. "
— Peacegal, 11/16/2010 -
" Guilty pleasure of a child that loves dinosaurs. "
— David, 10/26/2010 -
" This book gives such an amazing perspective to dinosaurs; it combines an emotional story from a the perspective of a utahraptor and sciencie descriptions. I recomend this book to all. "
— Porter, 10/9/2010 -
" The most unusual novel I have ever read, but very good!! A glimpse at the life of a velociraptor from the dinosaur's point of view is very intriguing. "
— Gale, 6/21/2010 -
" It's Jurassic Park from the anilmal perspective.... very good read "
— Camille, 6/10/2010 -
" Pretty neat book. At first I thought the portrayal of the dinosaurs' intelligence was too anthropormophic, but then I thought about how smart cats, dogs, magpies, dolphins, ravens etc. are. I believe Bakker's ideas have merit. And the raptors' adventures were pretty exciting, too. "
— Cheryl, 4/8/2010 -
" A perfect book for teenagers and young people who might be bored by human drama. This is a work from the perspective of the raptor. "
— Jason, 3/16/2010
About Robert T. Bakker
Robert T. Bakker, acknowledged as a rebel in his field and one of the world’s foremost paleontologists, acted as an unofficial consultant for the special effects artists who created the dinosaurs for the film Jurassic Park. He is the dinosaur curator of the Tate Museum in Wyoming, to which he is donating his audio royalty earnings from Raptor Red. He is also the author of the groundbreaking nonfiction book The Dinosaur Heresies, and his revolutionary theories have caused scientists to completely rethink their ideas about dinosaurs.
About Megan Gallagher
Megan Gallagher wanted to act from the time she was five years old. She later took drama lessons when she was in high school. She moved to New York to attend Juilliard and appeared in the Broadway cast of A Few Good Men where she won two theater awards (Theatre World and Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding debut) for her Broadway performance in A Few Good Men. After graduating from Juilliard with a bachelor’s degree, she began to work with John Houseman’s Acting Company and soon had screen roles in TV movies and miniseries, but was so discouraged trying to make it in LA that she nearly gave up to go to law school. Then she won the Hill Street Blues role, which developed from a guest star to a regular role.