Publication History |
“After Man: A Zoology of the Future” is one of Dougal Dixon’s more than 20
books on natural history, including speculative earth science. The premise is
simple: Dixon has removed humans and their domestic animals from the earth
and allowed 50 million years to pass. Climates and geography have settled
down, and evolution has continued to work its magic (pardon the pun).
Unlike many books of its type, “After Man” devotes considerable space to
discussion of science. Seemingly half its pages relate to genetics, evolution,
animal behavior, food chains, plate tectonics, various environments, and the
like. Much of this science should be unnecessary review for adult readers;
more realistically, it is an important refresher. On the other end of the reader
spectrum, much of the scientific discussion is well above children’s reading
comprehension level. At least high school science is needed. Still, the science
review lets the reader appreciate even more the amount of thought and
research that Dixon has used to create his animals of the future.
The resulting animals range from the familiar – a myriad of “rabbucks,”
descendants of rabbits who have grown long legs enabling them to take over
the niches of deer and other hoofstock – to the downright bizarre. Imagine
amphibious monkeys diving for fish, gibbon-like cats swinging through the
tropical forest, and wolf-like predator rats prowling the temperate grasslands.
Among the most disturbing was the clef-back antelope, whose vertebrae have
elongated into a double-ridge in the middle of which nest birds. There is more
to this creature, but let me sum it up by saying, “yuck.”
No matter how strange the animals, they are all firmly routed in science and
well illustrated. The half-dozen illustrators do a fine job of convincing the
reader that each animal could actually exist. From the Introduction (by
Desmond Morris, world-renown zoologist and acclaimed author of “The Naked
Ape” (1967) among other books) to the appendix, “After Man” is a fine lesson
in biology and imagination. The word is “After Man” has been optioned by
Dreamworks. Let’s hope so.
Rating: 8 out of 10
books on natural history, including speculative earth science. The premise is
simple: Dixon has removed humans and their domestic animals from the earth
and allowed 50 million years to pass. Climates and geography have settled
down, and evolution has continued to work its magic (pardon the pun).
Unlike many books of its type, “After Man” devotes considerable space to
discussion of science. Seemingly half its pages relate to genetics, evolution,
animal behavior, food chains, plate tectonics, various environments, and the
like. Much of this science should be unnecessary review for adult readers;
more realistically, it is an important refresher. On the other end of the reader
spectrum, much of the scientific discussion is well above children’s reading
comprehension level. At least high school science is needed. Still, the science
review lets the reader appreciate even more the amount of thought and
research that Dixon has used to create his animals of the future.
The resulting animals range from the familiar – a myriad of “rabbucks,”
descendants of rabbits who have grown long legs enabling them to take over
the niches of deer and other hoofstock – to the downright bizarre. Imagine
amphibious monkeys diving for fish, gibbon-like cats swinging through the
tropical forest, and wolf-like predator rats prowling the temperate grasslands.
Among the most disturbing was the clef-back antelope, whose vertebrae have
elongated into a double-ridge in the middle of which nest birds. There is more
to this creature, but let me sum it up by saying, “yuck.”
No matter how strange the animals, they are all firmly routed in science and
well illustrated. The half-dozen illustrators do a fine job of convincing the
reader that each animal could actually exist. From the Introduction (by
Desmond Morris, world-renown zoologist and acclaimed author of “The Naked
Ape” (1967) among other books) to the appendix, “After Man” is a fine lesson
in biology and imagination. The word is “After Man” has been optioned by
Dreamworks. Let’s hope so.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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| After Man: A Zoology of the Future (Dougal Dixon) By SC Bryce |
First Printing:
FantasyBookSpot.com (Dec. 6, 2006).
FantasyBookSpot.com (Dec. 6, 2006).
Second Printing:
SCBryce.com (Dec. 22, 2006).
SCBryce.com (Dec. 22, 2006).
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