The Great Zoo of China

I don't typically read thrillers, and I haven't read Jurassic Park because the movie gave young me nightmares for YEARS. (I haven't seen ANY of the sequels, it was that bad!) But this was billed as Jurassic Park but with DRAGONS. And dragon-themed ANYTHING gets my attention, so in the queue it went! And I am glad for it, because this book was awesome. From the first glimpse of dragons flying above the tourist area, to the moment when everything starts to go wrong, to racing through the pages to find out how our hero manages to survive, this book had me entranced. The action just careens through the swamps and mountains of the park, almost as out of control as the dragons CJ is running from. And while we know CJ has to survive, because she's the main character, she has a brother, a little girl she's taken under her protection, old colleagues, and countrymen that she could lose at any moment.

And the dragons. Oh my, the dragons. They come in three sizes - Princes, about the size of a small car, Kings, about city bus size, and Emperors. Emperors are the size of passenger jets. With creatures this size, the action is supersized, too! Picture dragons picking up garbage trucks and flinging them at buildings, and you've got the idea! These dragons are intelligent, too. They have a language, and can plan and set traps together. They are devious and DEADLY.

If the dragons weren't enough, the story is also set in China. China is known for squashing dissent, and it's no different with the zoo. No one outside the zoo knows about the dragons, and until they have things under control, and the zoo up and running, they can't let anyone know about it. Which means any witnesses to this dragon rebellion need to die, whether to the claws of the dragons or the bullets of the Chinese military.

The Great (Dragon) Zoo of China is one heck of a ride, and the action is amazing. I think this is one of my favorites of the year. It's also the fourth book on my Summer reading list.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

The Great Zoo of China was a fast paced, action packed thrill ride! While I did find the beginning a little slow, it soon picked up and then never let up - as one would expect from a Matthew Reilly novel. Yes, one can't help but draw comparisons to Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. But regardless of that, this book kept me entertained and on the edge of my seat. It would make a great movie!

I am a Matthew Reilly fan so yes, I may well be a little biased here.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fast paced, some tech details to make it plausible, and a great big survival adventure set in a contained claustrophobic style environment.
Highly entertaining, different enough from his Scarecrow and Jack West novels to stand nicely on its own.
Great to have a female lead who although she has trauma has not allowed it to hamper her life.
It didn't feel as ‘at home' as some of his other novels but maybe that's because I know his ‘regular' characters and these are new ones.
Characterisation is well done. My only real complaint is that it reads so quickly!