Banjo and Swift

I’ve been intending to review Banjo and Swift for some time now. Author Iacovos Le Du (AKA Acheroraptor, with whom I participated in a roundtable discussion during PaleostreamCon) was kind enough to send me a copy, but as often happens, I collect books faster than I can review them, and I kept neglecting it for far too long. It’s high time I remedy that, so let’s take a look at it now!

Banjo and Swift is a dinosaur novel in the tradition of Raptor Red (or 50 Dinosaur Tales, which I’ve previously reviewed); that is to say, presented as realistically as possible, with minimal anthropomorphism. While the author provides minor insights into the dinosaurs’ minds, we are not led to believe they think like a human does. None of the characters possess internal monologues or anything like that: we occasionally see things from their point of view, but the author does not impose anything beyond what one would expect to see from an animal of this nature.

The plot tells the story of two Australovenator brothers, the titular Banjo & Swift. There’s a bit of a “that’s just the way things are” tragedy to their story, as they go from inseparable nest mates to bitter rivals, almost in the style of “The Fox and the Hound”. As the brothers become antagonists and the dominant Banjo eventually chases his brother away, the story’s focus follows the weaker Swift as he struggles to carve out a niche for himself in the lush but unforgiving world of Cretaceous Australia. As the underdog of the story, we come to root for him through his failures and triumphs, eventually establishing a tough but relatively comfortable existence for himself, just in time for Banjo to wander back into his life and threaten to upend everything in the climactic final chapter.

The book is presented in three parts, with Parts 1 & 2 ending with a break in the narrative to discuss the science of the Winton Formation, wherein the story takes place. It provides valuable insight into the paleontology of the region, discussing how we know what we know, and explaining where reasonable inferences were made when the relevant data is fragmentary or incomplete. Paleoart by Vyhr Yglik also graces both the cover and the first few pages of the book, providing a reconstruction of both the paleoflora and fauna for readers to form a picture with. This information provides a useful backdrop for the rest of the story, with the knowledge of its factual basis making it feel that much more real and immediate.

I really enjoyed Banjo and Swift, and I know it has garnered a small fanbase among us dino nerds in the “Paleosphere”. If you’re an avid reader and looking for an engaging narrative involving dinosaurs, I highly recommend checking this one out! I happily give it my Dino Dad Stomp of Approval!