Skies of Dinotopia
About the Books
From James Gurney's official homepage at Dinotopia.com,
Author and artist James Gurney encourages his fans, especially the youngest writers and artists, to play in and expand the island. The biggest gathering place for Dinotopian fans is probably the Original Message Board. Fans interested in interactive stories can usually find some action at Dinotopian Roleplay.
Dinotopia began as a series of art prints and illustrated books by James Gurney about a lost island shared by human and dinosaurs. Gurney has written and illustrated four volumes in the Dinotopia series - Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time, Dinotopia: The World Beneath, Dinotopia: First Flight and the newest volume Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara.Dinotopia is one of my childhood fandoms. An island in the Indian Ocean where intelligent dinosaurs and the descendents of shipwrecked humans live together, Dinotopia's also one of the smallest fandoms on the internet.
Author and artist James Gurney encourages his fans, especially the youngest writers and artists, to play in and expand the island. The biggest gathering place for Dinotopian fans is probably the Original Message Board. Fans interested in interactive stories can usually find some action at Dinotopian Roleplay.
About this Site
It's 1880. Dinotopia's split between east and west is well entrenched. Traffic between the capital cities is officially non-existent, but far from those hallowed halls the Sauropolian scientists who care for the southern borderland of savannah and desert are quietly meeting with their Chandaran counterparts. Recognized Sauropolian ecologists Arianna and Redstripe, who have made this cooperation possible, dodge Southwest Quadrant Sheriff Tarletal's spies as they try to coordinate a conference with their former apprentices from Chandara, Telii and Alejara.
The only others who cross the border are the skybax, who fly wherever they please. Will Denison is a respected apprentice in his early forties, Master Oolu eyes his retirement cottage in the heights of the Backbone, and Master Balam tries to write yet another message to his son Kaak in Waterfall City, who isn't writing back. After leaving the Canyon some years earlier to circumnavigate the island, Kaak wears the apprentice uniform, flies for Stationmaster Rostya, and moves in with his friend Jack to a flat in the physicians' quarters in the City of Mists.
As for the outside world, the sun rises and sets on the British Empire. British troops wage war on the Zulu, Chile fights Peru and Bolivia, and a twenty-five year old sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps is aboard a ship sailing from Egypt to China which has the bad luck to encounter pirates. Badly damaged, though victorious, the ship is battered by constant storms in the South China Sea. Washed overboard and badly wounded, Sergeant Martinez is a combat artist carried by dolphins to the shores of Dinotopia, where he tries to adjust to a radically different life in the Haven of the Muses.
This Dinotopia is full of imperfect people making imperfect attempts to be better than they are. The events of the miniseries are completely disregarded; canon consists of the original Dinotopian novels and Windchaser, River Quest, and Hatchling, which are the only digest novels I've been able to find.
Every effort will be made to include short stories, novellas, original sketches, and photography, all with that Victorian steampunk flavor. Airships, ahoy!
The only others who cross the border are the skybax, who fly wherever they please. Will Denison is a respected apprentice in his early forties, Master Oolu eyes his retirement cottage in the heights of the Backbone, and Master Balam tries to write yet another message to his son Kaak in Waterfall City, who isn't writing back. After leaving the Canyon some years earlier to circumnavigate the island, Kaak wears the apprentice uniform, flies for Stationmaster Rostya, and moves in with his friend Jack to a flat in the physicians' quarters in the City of Mists.
As for the outside world, the sun rises and sets on the British Empire. British troops wage war on the Zulu, Chile fights Peru and Bolivia, and a twenty-five year old sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps is aboard a ship sailing from Egypt to China which has the bad luck to encounter pirates. Badly damaged, though victorious, the ship is battered by constant storms in the South China Sea. Washed overboard and badly wounded, Sergeant Martinez is a combat artist carried by dolphins to the shores of Dinotopia, where he tries to adjust to a radically different life in the Haven of the Muses.
This Dinotopia is full of imperfect people making imperfect attempts to be better than they are. The events of the miniseries are completely disregarded; canon consists of the original Dinotopian novels and Windchaser, River Quest, and Hatchling, which are the only digest novels I've been able to find.
Every effort will be made to include short stories, novellas, original sketches, and photography, all with that Victorian steampunk flavor. Airships, ahoy!
Disclaimer
All images from James Gurney are used under his standing permission for non-profit fan sites. I make no money from this site and I think everyone should visit Dinotopia.com to buy the original books, read Mr. Gurney's blog, and generally celebrate the island.