Books like Revenge of the Dinotrux — picked by fans

Jurassic Park meets Lord of the Rings. Need I say more? Fablehaven, and its sequel series, Dragonwatch, draws upon centuries of mythology to create a wildlife haven—or, rather, a "monsterlife" haven—protected by a kindhearted cast of rogues. The series’ biggest strength is that author Brandon Mull understands there’s something sinister lying behind most fairytales, and he brings that danger to every scene. 

This was one of the first books I read with dragons in it. We follow a dragon named Firedrake as he ventures to find a place where dragons can live in peace forever. He is accompanied by his little brownie friend, Sorrel, and a boy named Ben. This book sparked my love of dragons, and to this day, I love to go back and read through the adventure that started it all.

I love how this book has it all: action, adventure, romance, and humor in spades. From the opening words, the snarky humor hooked me. I picked up the book, wanting to dislike it, and the author won me over from the first page.

I love that the bad guys are bad, the good guys are (mostly) good, and people have to make hard decisions not just to survive but to save the world.

No writer creates a compelling sense of dread better than H.P. Lovecraft. His stories instantly immerse you in whatever world he’s conjuring, and I think his writing reached its peak in this book.

His narrator descends into a creepy world of “others” whom he senses want to harm him (in his personal life, Lovecraft was notoriously disdainful of “others”). I was willingly dragged along with Lovecraft’s desperate narrator as he raced through town, hotel rooms, and ultimately into a terrifying gathering of the townspeople.

Nearly a century after its publication, I consider it to be one of the most timeless and striking pieces of horror ever created. 

As research, I read a lot of books about werewolves. Some were bad, some were decent, and some were too academic. This one was, in the words of Goldilocks, just right. I loved that it was written in a language anyone could understand and that it wasn’t focused on just one geographic location or culture.

Douglas presents everything from Greek mythology to Norse, Japanese, American Indian, and others. He keeps his personal commentary to a minimum and presents the reader with much information. I see this book as a primer for understanding just about everything about the shapeshifter in legend and literature. If the fiction author has done his/her job well, the shapeshifter will have roots in something Douglas has told us about.

This book was the first time I saw elements and mythical creatures mentioned together, and I grew up loving both. Although I read this as a kid, I still think about this series frequently.

The main character is unique because she is a companion to all mythical creatures and regular animals instead of just one type, and I found that super cool. The descriptions and storyline of her power made me wish I had it, too. I liked how many mythical creatures I got to read about in this book, and it helped spur my interest in them even more.

I also like it when the MC in books is oblivious to the magical world but gets dragged into it because I get to learn about it alongside them.  

I don’t even know where to start with this one. Our lead sapphic is married to a tree lady (dryad), captain Jenny, who once kept half-unicorn man Gary prisoner aboard her ship so she could harvest his horn for fuel. Gary’s out for revenge but the mystical Sisters of the Supersymmetrical Axiom have had a vision that involves Gary and Jenny working together. Also, Jenny’s wife has been kidnapped, which is never great. 

Space Unicorn Blues is another sapphic space book that doesn’t rely on romance for the plot, but does allow lesbians to simply exist. This book is a delight more for its absolute refusal of tropes than anything else, and constant weird fairy tale references thrown in throughout.

I love this lavishly produced 2013 book. It overarches my other recommended “best books for following mythical beasts through time.” Titles of early chapters—“What is an Imaginary Animal?” “Every Real Animal is Imaginary,” and “Every Imaginary Animal is Real”—encompass the book’s interplay between nature’s animals, imaginary ones, and human beings.

Open Imaginary Animals anywhere to get a glimpse of its variety and scope. Boria Sax’s interdisciplinary, learned, and conversational text sweeps across folklore, legends, myths, and natural history of worldwide cultures from antiquity to today. Accompanying art, much in color, spans a Lascaux cave painting and a photograph of a human-looking robot; throughout are fantastic creatures in paintings, early natural history engravings, and other pictorial forms.

As Dr. Sax writes, “Imaginary creatures can be overwhelming in their multiplicity.”

Helena is typical at the start of her journey. She doesn’t know of magic or anything odd about life. And it’s this start and subsequent growth through the course of this first book that makes her a delightful character. She uses a little intuition, confidence, and a heaping of observational skills, picking up context from other people in her new job as a caretaker for an old magical bookstore. And with that information, she stands up for herself, fills her own desires for growth, and becomes a valuable asset to the magical war around her. 

The pegasi characters in this story are a lot like humans, but they’re also a lot like horses. Their personalities are as unique as their names! I love how this highlights a young animal’s life in a really relatable, playful way that adults can enjoy, too. This book reminded me of the joy of horse foals in real life, but it also made me think a lot about what it means to be true to yourself and your calling.