''Dinosaur Planet'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by the American-Irish author

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

. McCaffrey has lived in the vicinity of

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

since September 1970, when she emigrated from greater

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at age 44.
•

Todd McCaffrey Todd J. McCaffrey (born 27 April 1956 as Todd Johnson) is an Irish American author of science fiction best known for continuing the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series in collaboration with his mother Anne McCaffrey. Life Todd Johnson was born 27 Apr ...

(1999). ''Dragonholder: The Life and Dreams (So Far) of Anne McCaffrey by her son''. New York: Ballantine. . Pages 54–55, 68–71, 74. It was a

paperback original A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...

published in 1978, by

Orbit Books Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It is a division of Lagardère Publishing. History It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company. In 1992, its parent ...

(UK) and then by

Del Rey Books Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...

(US), the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

& science fiction

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

s of

Futura Publications Futura may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Futura International Airways, a former airline based in Spain ** Futura Gael, a former Irish subsidiary airline of Futura International Airways * Tikal Futura, a shopping, business and hotel com ...

and

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

respectively. A sequel followed in 1984, titled ''The Survivors (Dinosaur Planet II)'', or ''Dinosaur Planet Survivors'' in the US. Jointly they are sometimes called the "Dinosaur Planet series" or sub-series. They are set on a

fictional planet Planets in science fiction are fictional planets that appear in various media of the science fiction genre as story-settings or depicted locations. Planet lists For planets from specific fictional milieux, use the following lists: Literature ...

named "Ireta" that some characters call the "dinosaur planet". They became the first two books of the "Ireta series" in 1990, when McCaffrey collaborated with

Elizabeth Moon Elizabeth Moon (born March 7, 1945) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Her other writing includes newspaper columns and opinion pieces. Her novel '' The Speed of Dark'' won the 2003 Nebula Award. Prior to her writing career, sh ...

and

Jody Lynn Nye Jody Lynn Nye (born 1957 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American science fiction writer. She is the author or co-author of approximately forty published novels and more than 100 short stories. She has specialized in science fiction or fantasy acti ...

to write three "Planet Pirates" novels with the same setting..

Origins

McCaffrey had emigrated to Ireland in 1970, with the second ''

Dragonriders of Pern ''Dragonriders of Pern'' is a science fantasy series written primarily by American author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. ...

'' book near completion and a contract for the third. That work stalled after she finished ''

Dragonquest ''Dragonquest'' is a science fantasy novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It is the sequel to ''Dragonflight'', set seven years later and the second book in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series. ''Dragonquest'' was first published ...

'' (the second) but the market for children and young adults eventually provided crucial opportunities. Futura Publications (London) signed her to write books about dinosaurs for children, published by its

. ''Dragonholder'', p. 101 and pp. 71–101 ''passim''.

Plot summary

A survey team visits fictional planet Ireta to survey its mineral wealth. Several anomalies are discovered, including some decidedly large animals that resemble prehistoric beings from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's history and legend. Before all can be explained, the Heavyworlder "muscle people" mutiny after gaining a taste for flesh and blood. ''

The Death of Sleep ''The Death of Sleep'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye, published by Baen Books in 1990. It is the second book in the Planet Pirates trilogy and continues the Ireta series that McCaffrey initiated ...

'' is a prequel to this book, and the fourth section delivers the characters to Ireta, intersecting some of the same plot points.

Ireta series

*''Dinosaur Planet'' (1978) *'' The Survivors (Dinosaur Planet II)'', or ''Dinosaur Planet Survivors'' (1984) *'' Sassinak'' (March 1990), Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon *''

'' (June 1990), Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye *'' Generation Warriors'' (1991), Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon There have been omnibus editions of the two Dinosaur Planet novels as early as 1985 and of three Planet Pirates novels as early as 1993.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinosaur Planet (Novel) 1978 American novels 1978 science fiction novels Novels by Anne McCaffrey Novels about dinosaurs Novels set on fictional planets Orbit Books books