Aliens vs. Dinosaurs

The Rise of Roughstone

By: Nick Delmedico

Narrated by: Nick Delmedico

Length: 5 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

THE WORLD OF THE DINOSAUR - 65 million years ago.

Aliens visit the Earth and collect small specimens for laboratory study, not realizing they are kidnapping children. In an effort to get them back, King Rex forges an alliance with the aliens who hold the secret to flying without wings. Without their help there is no hope of traveling to their home world and getting the children back. Rex is not the only one who has made an alliance with the aliens. Roughstone, a renegade general, has built his own army to take control of the empire. His opportunity will come when the King leaves on his rescue mission. Roughstone has his own force of greenies that have developed powerful weapons to support the General in his coup. Together they will take over the Earth to do with as they please. Will Rex see through the General's plan in time to save his empire?

©2023 Nick Delmedico (P)2023 Nick Delmedico

Enjoyable Story with Dinosaurs Battling Aliens!

I don’t spend a whole lot of my time listening to audiobooks pitched at children, however I do have kids and nieces and nephews that like stories, so I made sure to include them in reviewing this to make sure I got a target market opinion.

As for pitching a book for kids, a story containing dinosaurs battling aliens is likely an easy sell for most parents. This is actually book two in the Aliens vs Dinosaurs series, but you can go into this without needing the first. A brief summary of the events in book one sets the scene; aliens have abducted children of the dinos, and a war for leadership is brewing between the King, Rex, and Roughstone, the leader of the insurrection.

The dinosaurs have a social hierarchy similar to humans (just roughly 65-million years before us), with ideas such as a monarchy and military command. They hold meetings and strategy sessions, so rather than dumb beasts, they’re on a similar level to humans today just without the technology.

Perhaps not a bedtime story for getting kids asleep as there’s a lot of action including infighting of the dinosaurs and fighting off the invading aliens, so it might have the opposite effect!

Good themes throughout for kids too, such as working together to solve problems, overcoming cultural differences, and working hard to get along. Violence is there but it’s not the go-to solution for the good guys.

Generally well received by the kids who heard it, though of course kids as dinosaur experts will nitpick. Apparently, some of the dinosaurs lived in different periods… but let’s be fair. It’s a fun story involving smart dinosaurs and aliens, so mixing Jurassic and Cretaceous dinos is fair game.

So overall, a fun and fast-moving story that would appeal to most kids. I’d probably go for the slightly older kids because of some of the descriptive violence.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I have not let this gift affect nor influence my opinions of this audiobook and have left an honest review.