Dinosaur Nation: The Utopia of Man and Dragon :() by James Gurney / Translated by Yao Xianghui / Beijing United Publishing Company / 2022-5
Wen 丨 Sea of Clouds
What would it be like when people lived with dinosaurs?
Perhaps the real scenario will be as Jurassic Park shows, in the face of carnivorous dinosaurs, humans are just a species at the bottom of the food chain.
So, is it possible for humans and dinosaurs to coexist peacefully?
When we enter the kingdom of imagination, the answer will be, yes!
In his science fiction picture book Dinosaur Country, artist and writer James Gurney constructed an ideal country where humans lived in peace with dinosaurs. In this utopian world, the relationship between two species is neither predatory nor predatory, nor tamed and tamed, but a mutually beneficial partnership. Humans contribute intelligence and dexterity, and dinosaurs contribute their skills.
Dinosaur Country: The Utopia of Man and Dragon, the first book, tells the story of a father and son who survived a shipwreck and accidentally arrive in Dinosaur Country. Following the footsteps of the two protagonists, we go from the coast, to the pasture, to the town, to the waterfall city, to the temple, to the tree town, and then to the capital, step by step into the dinosaur country, like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, visiting this wonderful world.
During this journey, with the help of people's directness and sincerity, the two protagonists learn the culture and language of the dinosaur country (such as learning at the Waterfall City Library), skills (such as participating in pterosaur knight flying training), dinosaur habits, etc., while participating in various local activities, such as participating in the annual habitat partner seminar, dinosaur Olympic Games, etc.
In the process of integrating into the dinosaur country, the two protagonists have undergone tremendous changes, although the changes are different, but there is a common transformation, that is, from the beginning of the way to leave, to the final reluctance to leave the dinosaur country. They are already immersed in such a utopian world.
I think that the reason why the dinosaur country is fascinating is that this harmonious partnership between species has made it attractive. This charm is reflected in the "Dinosaur Nation" code: "Everyone must survive, otherwise no one can survive." A drop of rain breeds an ocean, and weapons are enemies even to their owners. Give more and take less, and put others before yourself. Observe, listen and learn. Do only one thing at a time. Sing every day. Practice imagination. Eat for survival, don't live for eating..."
What a declaration of reason and wisdom. That's why it's called utopia.
Of course, during the journey to various parts of the dinosaur country, there will be all kinds of interludes, even accidents and dangers, just like a real wild adventure.
For example, on the way to the Habitat Workshop, a fierce Tyrannosaurus rex was encountered; On the way to the capital by airship, he was destroyed by a strong wind; The explorer's father went alone to the depths of the canyon, the forbidden place of the dinosaur world, which is also full of mystery of exploring the unknown world, and this mystery is also the suspense left by the book, waiting for the second part to unveil the mystery.
Although the author depicts us an impossible utopian world, apart from this harmonious interspecies relationship, most of the other imaginative imaginations in the book are based on the rules of the operation of the physical world. The aircraft is the use of the principle of gliding; The prototype of Waterfall City is the water city of Venice; Most dinosaurs did not speak human language; The author even created a set of dinosaur footprint alphabets...
So, the book is science fiction, not fantasy, which determines that it is suitable for readers of all ages. Of course, this is due to the author's long-term love and research of machinery.
In addition, it has to be said that the book is both a science fiction story and a stunning work of art. To make the story look more realistic, the author not only tells the story in the form of an adventure diary, but also draws a large number of exquisite color illustrations. Each color painting takes a lot of the author's time and is a realistic painting full of detail. Therefore, they can become independent works, and when they are strung together, they can support the whole story.
It is this dedication of the author to realism that gives us such an immersive journey to the utopian world.
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