'Dinosaur on a Bicycle' – Tim Sullivan


The plan was to pop the 'Dinosaurs!' anthology back on the shelf and come back to it when I was in the middle of 'Reader's Block' or otherwise stuck for something to read. It certainly wasn't to dive straight back in after the solid but ever so slightly disappointing 'Poor Little Warrior' (yes, it's right below this post but I'm linking to it anyway...) But you know what...? When you're looking through the contents pages and see a story called 'Dinosaur on a Bicycle'... Well, I defy you not to go straight to it and start reading. I did and here we are, with a story of dinosaurs and time travelling that I'm pretty certain you will never have read the likes of. Unless you have a copy of 'Dinosaurs!' of course then in which case... 'Dinosaur on a Bicycle' was great, wasn't it?

It's the nineteenth century and Harry Quince-Pierpoint Fotheringay is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, a trip back in time to the Age of Dinosaurs. So far so normal but not quite. This is no ordinary trip, Harry is going to see how his ancestors lived as he is a dinosaur himself...

You see a title like 'Dinosaur on a Bicycle' and you'd be forgiven for wondering if all the inspiration went on that and not the story itself. You see where I'm coming from, don't you?

Well, you'll be pleased to know that Sullivan saved a huge chunk of inspiration for the story itself and it was a lot of fun. It weighs in at just twenty four pages long but Sullivan makes good use of these, giving us a look at a nineteenth century where dinosaurs not only rule the world but do it with good manners and decorum. It's so matter of factly done that you're into the story before you even realise that you've started reading and I loved the idea of these massive dinosaurs gently sipping their tea while Harry goes back in time to learn about his ancestors. There's a nice little twist here that I'm not going to spoil but I will say that it really opens the story up and gets you asking a few questions about time travel and just what the hell is happening in general in a story where Sullivan throws everything he can at the plot and it all sticks. It shouldn't but the fact that this story doesn't really take itself seriously helps you have fun with it in the meantime (and there's a nice little cameo appearance from... no, not telling you)

It's hard to find anything wrong with 'Dinosaur on a Bicycle' and to be honest, I kind of feel like a spoil sport for even trying. It's just good old fashioned fun with a trope that's spun round a few times and left to bounce off everything and generally cause a little chaos. Just what this Graeme needed after his first couple of days back at work.

Now, lets see if I can put the 'Dinosaurs!' book down, for a bit, and read something different. (I've had a look on Amazon and lets just say that I was very lucky to grab a paperback for 50p... The Kindle Edition is a lot more affordable).

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