Review: The Paleontologist

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

An okay story with some interesting info about paleontology, but ultimately disappointing.

Simon has returned to his hometown to take a job at the Hawthorne Museum - the same place his little sister went missing from when they were kids. He's determined to figure out what happened to her, but he's also being haunted by the dinosaur ghosts of the museum.

I am always here for dinosaurs, but I think this one tried too hard to be for real. I mean, dino ghosts?? I'd have been fully on board if this had just embraced the supernatural but instead it introduces South African spiritual beliefs (among other strange excuses) to justify the bizarre occurrences. As such, the happenings and explanations were a massive stretch and I couldn't get involved as much as I wanted to.

Simon is a deplorable character who I never warmed up to. He's whiny and makes a lot of dumb decisions. I found myself constantly frustrated by his behaviour. He also jumps to conclusions constantly which is one of my pet hates. Just stop and THINK for a second!

This is set in peak Covid era, so there's plenty of talk of masks, social distancing, isolation, and of course the museum is closed as a consequence. That works for the eerie hauntings, but wasn't entirely necessary. That said, I kind of appreciated that it was part of the story. It's officially part of our world, now, so it makes sense that more recent stories set in our world should mention it.

Still, the hauntings were dismal. It was more jumping at shadows than any decent scares or horror.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I wish the dino-ghosts were given more time and respect, and I wish this book had just run full throttle with the idea.

I'd have a hard time recommending this for the horror, but there is still plenty of info on dinosaurs and paleontology. The story is kind of sad and pathetic, but it's still curious enough to hold the interest.

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