This is a true velociraptor according to all the reliable research I could find. You will note a lack of quills on its arms. This is becaues velociraptor likely had no such things, despite the countless pictures you see speculating that it did. You will also note the furry coat of down, which in this case is patchy and matted with blood. This fur-like down was quite likely on this family of therapods, though whether they kept it their entire lives, I have to wonder. What I really would like to know is this—did these feathers ever evolve for sensory purposes on the face. In other words, did velociraptor have whiskers? I almost put them on just to see.

Actually, this isn’t a velociraptor at all. It’s a young man named Eralo who was cursed by a faery witch to become a velociraptor. We spend a nice portion of the novel trying to catch him and contain his bestial impulses, something like an old movie I saw one time....