The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
Genre: Adult/Action/Adventure
Goodreads Summary:
It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years.
They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.
Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.
A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time.
Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.
The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.
Of course it can’t…
RELEASE DATE: 27/01/2015
**Spoiler Free Review**
I was sent a copy of this book from Gallery Books/Hatchette Children's Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I had been really intrigued by the concept of this book, mostly because I'm a huge fan of the Jurassic Park franchise and I'd heard this was similar but, at the same time, very different. The story focuses on CJ, a reptile expert, and her brother Hamish, a photographer, who are brought to the new Great Zoo of Chine in order to help with the press release. But what she and her brother find at this zoo is something more greater and more deadly than anyone could possibly imagine.
This book was epic. That is definitely the word I would use to describe it. It was fast-paced,intriguing and I loved what was actually in the zoo (which I won't spoil here for anyone who doesn't know!). The science behind it all merged flawlessly with the science-fiction and was very intelligent and made the story extremely believable. Reilly picked the perfect setting, in the perfect time of history to set his novel and it instantly worked. I also loved the quotes at the start of each section; I even noticed a few which were from some of my other favourite books and I think they fit so well with the storyline.
The characters were interesting, particularly CJ. There were a lot of characters introduced in the book quite quickly, which did make it difficult to process who was who. Also not many of them were fleshed out. However, the one's that were quickly became interesting, likeable and made me want to read more. I particularly liked Go-Go, CJ and Hamish. The combination of wit and intelligence really made these characters. However, I think my favourite character in the whole book was Lucky. The depiction of this character was so unique and so developed compared to the others that it just instantly made her my absolute favourite of the book.
The Maps and diagrams that frequently accompanied the text were excellently placed and certainly helped with the storyline. They painted a detailed picture of the zoo to the reader, and added an extra dimension to the book.
I know that Reilly is an action writer (which isn't usually my thing, I admit), and I know that action-based books are often very fast-paced and have an explosive use of metaphors. This book was literally non-stop once the action started and it certainly kept me turning the page until the very end. However, the use of exclamation marks and italicization started to grind on me slightly towards the middle of the book. I don't feel that exclamation marks are needed in a sentence just to point out that something shocking has happened, in fact, I often think there's more effect when there isn't one. It did also get slightly confusing at times with fast action and lots of characters being introduced and then disappearing and re-introduced later.
Having said that slight negative, I did really enjoy this book. The concept was fascinating and it was so entertaining and thrilling to read. If anyone out there is a fan of Jurassic Park or fast-paced action books then this is definitely for you! I will just add a warning though, to any younger readers, that this book is quite gory so if you don't like that sort of thing, I wouldn't pick it up!
It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years.
They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.
Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.
A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time.
Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.
The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.
Of course it can’t…
RELEASE DATE: 27/01/2015
**Spoiler Free Review**
I was sent a copy of this book from Gallery Books/Hatchette Children's Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I had been really intrigued by the concept of this book, mostly because I'm a huge fan of the Jurassic Park franchise and I'd heard this was similar but, at the same time, very different. The story focuses on CJ, a reptile expert, and her brother Hamish, a photographer, who are brought to the new Great Zoo of Chine in order to help with the press release. But what she and her brother find at this zoo is something more greater and more deadly than anyone could possibly imagine.
This book was epic. That is definitely the word I would use to describe it. It was fast-paced,intriguing and I loved what was actually in the zoo (which I won't spoil here for anyone who doesn't know!). The science behind it all merged flawlessly with the science-fiction and was very intelligent and made the story extremely believable. Reilly picked the perfect setting, in the perfect time of history to set his novel and it instantly worked. I also loved the quotes at the start of each section; I even noticed a few which were from some of my other favourite books and I think they fit so well with the storyline.
The characters were interesting, particularly CJ. There were a lot of characters introduced in the book quite quickly, which did make it difficult to process who was who. Also not many of them were fleshed out. However, the one's that were quickly became interesting, likeable and made me want to read more. I particularly liked Go-Go, CJ and Hamish. The combination of wit and intelligence really made these characters. However, I think my favourite character in the whole book was Lucky. The depiction of this character was so unique and so developed compared to the others that it just instantly made her my absolute favourite of the book.
The Maps and diagrams that frequently accompanied the text were excellently placed and certainly helped with the storyline. They painted a detailed picture of the zoo to the reader, and added an extra dimension to the book.
I know that Reilly is an action writer (which isn't usually my thing, I admit), and I know that action-based books are often very fast-paced and have an explosive use of metaphors. This book was literally non-stop once the action started and it certainly kept me turning the page until the very end. However, the use of exclamation marks and italicization started to grind on me slightly towards the middle of the book. I don't feel that exclamation marks are needed in a sentence just to point out that something shocking has happened, in fact, I often think there's more effect when there isn't one. It did also get slightly confusing at times with fast action and lots of characters being introduced and then disappearing and re-introduced later.
Having said that slight negative, I did really enjoy this book. The concept was fascinating and it was so entertaining and thrilling to read. If anyone out there is a fan of Jurassic Park or fast-paced action books then this is definitely for you! I will just add a warning though, to any younger readers, that this book is quite gory so if you don't like that sort of thing, I wouldn't pick it up!
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