170 – Luke Dumas & The Ghosts That Time Forgot

Send us a Text Message. Sometimes two words can make a jaded horror reader sit up straight.    Ghost is one, Dinosaur is another.   Ghost. Dinosaur.   Have you ever heard a more beautiful combination, a sweeter symphony of syllables.   If “Ghost Dinosaur” doesn’t make you go squeeee and shake your fists in excitement, I don’t know how to help you.   Anyway, that’s the focus of Luke Dumas delightful new novel, The Paleontologist. It’s a story about a haunted man, a creepy museum, institutional intrigue, murder and GHOST GODDAMN DINOSAURS!!   We talk about all of that and lots more, including humour in horror, how far a book can stretch a reader’s empathy, and why privilege is such a complex issue to tackle.    But yeah. Also Ghost Dinosaurs.   Enjoy!   The Paleontologist was published 31st October by Atria Books    Books mentioned:  A History of Fear (2022), by Luke DumasChildren of the Fang, and Other Genealogies (2020), by John LanganThe Lost World (1912), by Arthur Conan DoyleJurassic Park (1990), by Michael CrichtonTyrannosaur Canyon (2005), by Douglas PrestonThe Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr Spencer Black (2013), by E.B. HudspethThe Bonus Room (AKA Bedbugs) (2023) by Ben H. WintersNestlings (2023), by Nat Cassidy  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to [email protected]  Support the Show.