This strikes me as the dystopian version of Water For Elephants. Tif Tamim ekes out a living in a future version of a circus, in which the sole form of entertainment is performing dinosaurs. BOY, WITH ACCIDENTAL DINOSAUR predicts the discovery of time travel at a period when advanced society is falling apart. With little or no other entertainment, people revert to poking animals with a stick, is how it seems to me.

The author Ian McDonald does not pretend for a minute that animals are all that well treated in a travelling circus, but some are better circuses, some are dealing with young, fit animals, and others are dealing with worn cast- off beasts. When a would-be buckaroo, Tif, picks up an aged carnotaur, not fit to be ridden, he takes the job of walking it to the nearest time portal in Wyoming to send it back to the past.

Post-apocalyptic America is plagued by gangs and guns. There is strong language, a smattering of violence and more of prejudice, while young Tif quickly develops a gay crush on a dino rider. In other words, this isn’t one for readers as young as the title might suggest. I would put a minimum age of sixteen on it, but younger folks will probably read it anyway. The writing is staccato; the action jumps around across a few years – not due to time travel – and all the other characters are adults.

Memphis runs the Tatterdemalion Circus which absorbs the footsore carnotaur. Matilda, a Canadian veterinarian, helps Tif learn to handle the majestic triceratops and carnotaur better. Silver Clown is a role needed by each circus, a combination of rodeo clown and computer agent. Prince is an ambisexual man who rides bucking broncs in the show. I would have liked to see the staff oiling the skin of these beasts, clipping nails, extracting broken teeth. Nope. The time travel portal is used only for prehistory, we learn, so as not to affect the present day. Looking at the version of the present day, I’m thinking that some lingering effects might not be a bad thing.

Ian McDonald lives in Northern Ireland and has won many SF awards. This novella BOY, WITH ACCIDENTAL DINOSAUR does not seem polished and easy to read, but it’s probably intended to reflect the hardscrabble, chaotic life of dystopia.