Writing Prehistoric Creatures in Fantasy Novels

[Venusaur26]

Remembering this post I did long ago… https://forum.scribblehub.com/threads/ice-age-creatures-in-fantasy-novels.9139/

Now I’ve been wondering how prehistoric creatures from any era could be added into a fantasy-theme novel without sounding weird

 

[KittraMcBriar]

I have prehistoric creatures in my fantasy novel Stonesong and so far, no one seems to think they’re jarring or that they don’t make sense. I just give them names that fit within the context of the world and describe them from the character’s perspective as I would any other fantasy creature, and it seems to work out.

 

[Chaos_Sinner777]

Pull a Dinosaur Dungeon and just have them be extinct there too, but brought back by a Dungeon Core.

 

[Bartun]

I added dinosaurs to my fantasy novel Nowhere to Run, since dinosaur is not a word there, people call them "dragons". Although "dragons" are nearly extinct, there are a few still around. One of the main characters is an anthropomorphic dinosaur that helps the protagonist.

 

[Ymadthepirate]

Megalodon, Titanboa

 

[Snusmumriken]

Any creature will look weird if your setting doesn't reflect on its presence in the world. You can write in herbivore Cthulhu herds into your setting as long as you have tentacle farmers and a robust weird meat industry to show for it. Likewise, a wolf-infested forest nearby would feel weird if children peacefully go there for mushrooms and no one cares or dies.

 

[K5Rakitan]

how prehistoric creatures from any era could be added into a fantasy-theme novel without sounding weird

Carefully research it until you know more about it than your own pets, and then the rest will write itself.