Book Review: The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

The Great Zoo of China

by Matthew Reilly

Publisher: Gallery Books

Published: Gallery Books

ASIN: B00J69Y52K

Amazon Synopsis:

In the blockbuster and bestselling tradition of Jurassic Park comes the breakneck new adventure from the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author Matthew Reilly whose imaginative, cinematic thrillers “make you feel like a kid again; [they’re] a blast” (Booklist).

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have proven the existence of dragons—a landmark discovery no one could ever believe is real, and a scientific revelation that will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing findings within the greatest zoo ever constructed.

A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see these 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 the dragons are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.

Of course it can’t…

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My Thoughts:

The Great Zoo of China is an incredibly suspenseful thrilling book from the beginning straight through until the end. You'll have difficulty putting this book down until you know what happens. The author makes these animals come to life and in incredibly believable way. If you were a fan of Jurassic Park you will definitely enjoy this book. While The Great Zoo of China is similar in that it takes place in a theme park that's where the similarity ends.

I liked that the main character was a female. I like her strong character and her confidence. I also liked her brother Hamish. He was a tough character and a great backup to her strong personality.

The action in this book was amazing. Once it got started there was no stopping it. Descriptions of these animals flying and soaring in the air with the ability to lift the weights that they did was beautifully described. Their sizes were astounding. Their intelligence and ability to plan and think was astounding. Their personalities were easy to see in their actions. I liked that there were several different kinds of them and appreciated that there was one variety that was friendly to humans.

I think it was appropriate that the author picked China as the location for the zoo as there is no other country where such a project could be completed in such secrecy over such a long period of time. The author obviously spent a lot of time thinking and planning this novel out to make everything flow so well.

There was a fair bit of swearing in this book and a lot of blood and gore so I would consider this to be an adult book.I could very easily see this book being adapted into a movie and I wouldn't be surprised to see it in the near future in the theatres.

If you enjoy books with monster creatures, thrillers or suspense I'm sure you'll enjoy The Great Zoo of China I would highly recommend this book. I gave it a rating of five stars out of five.

Thank you to the publishers via NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

Born in Sydney in 1974, Matthew Reilly was not always a big fan of reading.

According to Matthew, ‘I actually disliked reading in my early high school years. I was given very dry old classics in Year 7 and it was only after I read To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies in Year 10 that I realised reading could transport you to another world. Once I figured that out, I went out and found all the action novels I could!’

Following this revelation, Matthew soon began creating stories of his own and set about writing his first novel, Contest, at 19 while still at university studying law.

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