I smirked a little to myself when adding this to my "alternate history" shelf, because the Cretaceous is certainly that, but then this is more parable than anything else. Dinosaurs and ants working together to create an enormous civilization that can only survive on the contributions of both... until they start squabbling. You would think that the lives of the two are so different that there wouldn't be much overlap to fight about, but then religion comes along and does God look like a dinosaur or an ant? It's a ridiculous argument, but then it's meant to be and humans certainly have their own share of ridiculous disputes.

Of course, despite reconciliation it all turns to custard (it has to, for humans to evolve far enough to take over) and disaster ensues. As a story, it's not especially surprising in its overall arc, but the very tongue-in-cheek approach makes it fun to read, and there's enough of surprise in how each half of this hybrid way of life fucks it up for the other, and for themselves, that the metaphor retains its sense of whimsy and sardonic applicability.