Dinosaur Lake

By: Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Narrated by: Johnnie C. Hayes

Ex-cop Henry Shore has been Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake National Park for eight years and he likes his park and his life the way it's been. Safe. Tranquil. Predictable. But he's about to be tested in so many ways. First the earthquakes begin, people begin to go missing, then there's some mysterious water creature that's taken up residence in the caves below Crater Lake and it's not only growing in size, it's aggressive and cunning and very hungry.

And it's decided it likes human beings. To eat.

And it can come up onto land.

So Henry, with the help of his wife, Ann; a young paleontologist named Justin; and a band of brave men, must not only protect his park and his people from the monster but somehow find where it lives and destroy it before it can kill again.

Now DINOSAUR LAKE by Kathryn Meyer Griffith is a 2014 EPICS EBOOK AWARDS *FINALIST* in their suspense/Thriller category.

©2013 Kathryn Meyer Griffith (P)2013 Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Ugh, all formula

If you are a National Park ranger and you see an 8 ft long - repeat: 8 FOOT Long - footprint what would you do?

How you answer that question will determine whether you can find this book entertaining. In this book he acts puzzled, goes home, and goes to sleep.

Of course for old-fashioned 'b' grade movie tropes, it is necessary to act clueless and stand around. What would be the fun of them being careful, withdrawing a safe distance, and calling in help?

I draw the line at scientists and Park personnel acting braindead, as in this book. It could have been bearable if the author had done some actual research into paleontology. But it is obvious that the only reference material she used is old 'big book of dinosaurs' children's books.

So read on if you can suppress that little voice that keeps saying 'gee, that's dumb'.

A entertaining book

DINOSAUR LAKE

Author: Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Type of Book: Audiobook - Unabridged

Narrator: Johnnie C. Hayes

Production Date: July 2013

Length: 10 hours & 45 minutes

Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Horror

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. This audiobook was downloaded from www.audible.com

REVIEW:

Henry loves his job. He is the Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake Park in Oregon. He has spent the last eight years as a Park Ranger after leaving his life as a New York City police officer after being shot while on duty.

The park's central attraction is the deep blue lake that was created by a volcanic eruption millions of years in the past. While leading a tour group Henry is on hand when an earthquake strikes the park. The tourists were shaken up but unharmed and Henry led them back towards the Lodge. This was the second earthquake they had in the last two years and it concerned Henry.

On the path back to the Lodge, Henry makes a stunning discovery. The earthquake had shaken loose a section of the ground and revealed a large and obviously ancient bone pile. The bones were too large to be those of a bear or mountain lion. In fact what they looked to be was dinosaur bones, but Henry knew that dinosaur bones had never been discovered in that region. He decides to contact a paleontologist to come and examine the bones to find out if his suspicions are valid.

Meanwhile one of the park visitors mentions that a year earlier her friend had seen a monster in the lake. Of course, noone believes it. Why would they? It's ridiculous and preposterous.

People start to disappear and something attacks the homeless camp in the park.

Obviously since this book is called "Dinosaur Lake" the mysterious monster turns out to be a dinosaur. The author has done a good job of making this unrealistic situation come across as possible.

This book is a combination of "Lake Placid", "Jurassic Park" and "Volcano". It is a light and entertaining book.

The narrator has a good voice for coming across as a simple, good ol' boy type of Park Ranger. He is able to convey the reluctance of a regular guy to believe in the unbelievable.

I rate this audiobook as 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathryn Meyer Griffith is the author of twenty-two published novels as well as novellas and short stories.

I enjoyed this book

The story kept me coming back for more with this book. As always I want there to be more, but i get that all books have to end. I will definitely look for more by this author!

This Dinosaur is Vicious

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this story of Crater Lake, Rangers and a Dinosaur. It was fun unraveling the mystery of a Dinosaur in our modern world. I really like the main character Ranger Henry and his relationships with those around him. I feel that the scene was set well and definitely added to the book, occasional 1st person from the Dinosaur also made things more interesting. Despite the fast pace of the book and the research which I enjoy I feel like the slow pace of the actor was a little incongruent. He has this nice slow moving and soft voice that would be great for a romance but a little slow for an action book. This is still a fun listen and I look forward to listening to the sequel

A dinosaur thriller with a 1950's B movie flavor!!

If you could sum up Dinosaur Lake in three words, what would they be?

I can't. Theres dinosaurs, good ole boy park rangers, and 1950's Mayberry feels.
Maybe I'm interpreting this book a little different from others, but to me, this book had a definite Sheriff Andy saves the town from Dinosaurs! vibe to it. I'm not complaining at all, I enjoyed this book very much, as well as the narrators interpretation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Park Ranger Henry Shore. During the entire book I was feeling "Sheriff Andy and the Valley of the Dinosaurs" in a mix of 1950's B movies, which I happen to love, so this was a great book for me. I enjoyed all the side characters introduced. The world building was good, and the author definitely captured the essence of an old fashioned state park atmosphere.

What does Johnnie C. Hayes bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first I was a little put off by the deep slow drawl of the narrator, but as I got into the book, and got to know Henry and company, I found his voice and interpretation to be just right.

Who was the most memorable character of Dinosaur Lake and why?

Henry Shore

Any additional comments?

This is not a great book, but its a fun read and worth a credit. a PG rating suitable to younger listeners. Some gore and tense moments, and some characters do get "eaten" by the dinosaur.

Great plot horrible to listen to

So this is my first real negative review on Audible. The plot of this book is fantastic, however the narrator is painful to listen to especially during the action scenes

Make sure to listen to the sample.

I hate to insult the narrator - who reads aloud nicely - but I think this story would sound better read by someone who can add energy to an action novel. No disrespect intended, honestly, but this story's execution is fairly weak, and suffers so much more from the lackluster narration. IMHO the listening experience is exactly like hearing your grandpa read aloud to you. The rare action scenes are almost entirely softened and flattened by the friendly, folksy reading.

The naive, Mayberry-esque characters are also a distraction from what could be a solid story. The writing seems oriented to an audience who knows little of geology or dinosaurs. Give the characters some edge, remove the "character development" which feels like filler written by a 12-year-old, add more science, and you could have a fun short story. As it is, Dinosaur Lake is a long-lost episode of The Andy Griffith Show: the one where they find a big monster in the mud pond, a "woman reporter" gets eaten alive - and haha - it's no big deal. No need to involve anyone besides Andy and Barney Fife. They can handle it.

Dinosaur vs Humans @ Crater Lake

Dinosaur Lake
By: Kathryn Meyer Griffith
Narrated by: Johnnie C. Hayes
This is a book I could easily picture in my mind as it was reading to me. Well written, good characters, and a big meat eater out of nowhere! But this is what fantasy is for, to entertain and suspend beliefs for a bit. Forgot science and have fun! If it's got a dinosaur in it and it is eating someone, I want to read it!
The narrator has a slightly gruff voice but somehow that worked with this story. It might not with all stories but it worked great with this one!

amazing

I love this book. I have been glued to it, such great work and great narration. action packed thriller. the whole collection is amazing and wished there was more.

I didn't want it to end

I think in some ways its a bit harder to objectively review a book when you haven't read the hard copy, and have instead listened to the narrated version. This is because how you like the narrator can greatly affect how you view the story. Now, in this case, I think Dinosaur Lake was a solid story, regardless, but I can't deny that loving the narrator bought it an extra level of affection from me.

Let me just get the narration out of the way. There are some narrators that are just fantastic at what they do because they're able to pull off different voices very convincingly. Johnnie C. Hayes is not one of those narrators. However, he has a voice that I absolutely love. Within minutes of turning on Dinosaur Lake, I found myself smiling, and remembering my grandfather. It was like my "Papaw" was sitting across from me, spinning one of his yarns to keep me occupied. I think that's part of the reason it took me a while to get through this book. I didn't want it to end. I'd go back and re-listen to parts just to be doing it.
Okay, on to the story itself: Who doesn't love a good dinosaur tale? I mean, yes, you do have to suspend belief a bit, but if you can do it for Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, you can do it for Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith!

The author introduces you to wonderful characters in this book that are very-well developed. Each of them has their strengths and their faults, and the affection and respect between most of the characters just resonates within the story. Even minor characters that are only with the story for a brief bit of time are memorable. You find yourself quickly growing attached not only to the people, but the location. When the action really starts, the tension is undeniable, and the author does a fantastic job of communicating it through the thoughts of Chief Ranger Henry Shore.

Yes, this story has its faults. Almost no story is perfect. However, I think the 'pros' far outweigh the 'cons', and I would highly recommend this story (especially the audible version!) to anyone looking to spend a few hours with a good read from an author with a great imagination.

This book easily earns a 4 star rating.