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alekscanard's review against another edition
4.0
This novel makes Jurassic Park look like a comedy. Reilly once again dumps a cast of lovable characters into countless, seemingly impossible scenarios, and has them escape by ingenious means. The Great Zoo of China is a man versus wild thriller just as good as Temple, only on a much larger scale.
taegen's review against another edition
3.0
Holy forking shirtballs
At first, I was mildly interested but worried it was going too slowly and that I would quickly get bored... but then I hit page 132 and it all "went to hell"
From there, I literally could NOT stop reading. This story is hold your breath, hang onto your hat, heart racing kind of stuff and I was not immune.
While a *lot* of the plot lines are extremely unbelievable and eye roll worthy, it kind of didn't matter because it was so fast paced you didn't stop to think about all the ways in which the ridiculousness was, well, simply ridiculous. Unfortunately the "over-the-top" nature of Reilly did get a bit much for me by the end but still an entertaining read.
I was told this was "Jurrasic Park but with Dragons" and yep, that pretty much sums it up.
Trigger warning: it can get pretty gruesome
At first, I was mildly interested but worried it was going too slowly and that I would quickly get bored... but then I hit page 132 and it all "went to hell"
From there, I literally could NOT stop reading. This story is hold your breath, hang onto your hat, heart racing kind of stuff and I was not immune.
While a *lot* of the plot lines are extremely unbelievable and eye roll worthy, it kind of didn't matter because it was so fast paced you didn't stop to think about all the ways in which the ridiculousness was, well, simply ridiculous. Unfortunately the "over-the-top" nature of Reilly did get a bit much for me by the end but still an entertaining read.
I was told this was "Jurrasic Park but with Dragons" and yep, that pretty much sums it up.
Trigger warning: it can get pretty gruesome
taniemaree's review against another edition
2.0
Well it really is an adventure story from start to finish. While I like this genre, it was quite overwhelming at times and hard to get into the book because of the constant plot movement. Jurassic Park with dragons is the inevitable comparison - which is probably too much of a compliment to Matthew Reilly. I really wanted to like this book, but alas I just could not.
tashraid3r's review against another edition
5.0
This book is AMAZING! I'm a big fan of Matthew Reilly's books and once again he demonstrated his awesome ability to intertwine fiction with reality all the while keeping up the action paced plot! I especially loved the lead heroine character and hope to see more of her in future novels. This is definitely a book you should read and one that can't be put down!
stolensongbird22's review against another edition
3.0
The prolouge was really good.. and then the actual story started and i get it needs to build it up, but everything that happened seemed too predictable as its very close to jurrasic park. The only thing i found interesting was Lucky, and she didn't come into it until a little more than half way through the book. The ending was good, but i can see it ending multiple different ways.
nannyf's review against another edition
5.0
If I could give this book 10 stars I would do just that! I loved it that much. Judging by some other reviews I have seen it would appear there are a lot of people who don't share this opinion. But you know what? This is my opinion, and I loved it.
Yes ok so there are going to be obvious comparisons to Jurassic Park. I have never read the book but I have seen all the films and they are films I enioy, and I can easily watch them again and again. The author himself states that his favourite all time novel is Jurassic Park, and for years he wanted to write a book such as this. He wanted to do something on the same grand scale, but make it different in its own right. And I feel he has done just that.
I love the myth of dragons. I would love to think that they were real at some point in time. The explanation given in this book as to how the scientists managed to find dragons is so believable that I f someone went on TV, giving the facts as they are written in this book, I would believe them. And I am not in the least bit gullible.
The book is action packed from start to finish. The author allows the reader the ability to let their imagination run to great lengths with his descriptions of the dragons, their behaviour, their habitat, the different factions of dragon. The way each of the different species finds its own place in the zoo, staking their claim to it, shows what amazing creatures they are. The ability to form 'family groups', inside which is a strict hierarchy, shows that they are clever animals.
Of course it wouldn't be a disaster book without a hero, or in this case a heroine. CJ is a kickass young woman who manages to get through a hell of a lot in the course of this book. She does have help obviously, but her ability to think things through, combined with her knowledge of species with similar traits to the dragons, makes her an obvious choice for the main character.
The other character I must mention is Lucky! Oh my goodness who wouldn't love Lucky. I want my very own Lucky after reading this story!
The action is fast paced, the story kept my attention throughout, the characters were all good, and the descriptive work when it came to the dragons, their environment, and the zoo as a whole, was excellent. The introduction of maps throughout the book also helped me see exactly what was going on.
I cannot say enough how much I loved this book, and I urge any fans of Jurassic Park to give this a go.
Yes ok so there are going to be obvious comparisons to Jurassic Park. I have never read the book but I have seen all the films and they are films I enioy, and I can easily watch them again and again. The author himself states that his favourite all time novel is Jurassic Park, and for years he wanted to write a book such as this. He wanted to do something on the same grand scale, but make it different in its own right. And I feel he has done just that.
I love the myth of dragons. I would love to think that they were real at some point in time. The explanation given in this book as to how the scientists managed to find dragons is so believable that I f someone went on TV, giving the facts as they are written in this book, I would believe them. And I am not in the least bit gullible.
The book is action packed from start to finish. The author allows the reader the ability to let their imagination run to great lengths with his descriptions of the dragons, their behaviour, their habitat, the different factions of dragon. The way each of the different species finds its own place in the zoo, staking their claim to it, shows what amazing creatures they are. The ability to form 'family groups', inside which is a strict hierarchy, shows that they are clever animals.
Of course it wouldn't be a disaster book without a hero, or in this case a heroine. CJ is a kickass young woman who manages to get through a hell of a lot in the course of this book. She does have help obviously, but her ability to think things through, combined with her knowledge of species with similar traits to the dragons, makes her an obvious choice for the main character.
The other character I must mention is Lucky! Oh my goodness who wouldn't love Lucky. I want my very own Lucky after reading this story!
The action is fast paced, the story kept my attention throughout, the characters were all good, and the descriptive work when it came to the dragons, their environment, and the zoo as a whole, was excellent. The introduction of maps throughout the book also helped me see exactly what was going on.
I cannot say enough how much I loved this book, and I urge any fans of Jurassic Park to give this a go.
booksandbikes17's review against another edition
2.0
This is basically a rehash of Jurassic Park but with dragons. If you've read any Matthew Reilly, you probably know what to expect.....the book is 90% action sequence, loads of exclamation points and italics to highlight the especially actiony bits. It's a very cliched read, but I was after something very simple and forgettable and that's what I got.
elizareads35's review against another edition
3.0
Basically the book equivalent of a passable action movie. Page turning while you are reading, but nothing very memorable or unique.