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emilyrose_xx's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book! If you love The Maze Runner or The Hunger Games or any other survival/action/thriller novel, then this is an epic book to read! A fight to the death, trapped in a New York Library, win or you die, deadly alien monsters around every corner... A fast paced novel, not too long, an amazing storyline and awesome and frightening characters. Would definitely read again... 5 stars!
tabularasablog's review against another edition
4.0
Matthew Reilly has described the book best himself in the introduction/acknowledgements. No fancy paintwork. No fancy upholstery. Just raw non-stop energy.
patchy710's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really fun read so long as you remind yourself you are not reading literature! A guy gets trapped inside the New York Public Library with six other "beings" from across the universe. It is a contest; the goal being to be the last one left alive. Never before has a human won the contest. They've always been the first to die. It is interesting though to see how the protagonist survives without the strength and brutality the other contestants possess. What humans lack physically (compared to other sentients from the universe) we make up for in other ways...
lushr's review against another edition
3.0
Bit too thriller and bit too violent for me. It was really well written, had me going all the way and great character arcs. But just not the kind of relaxing reading I enjoy!
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This book is...pretty fun, honestly. If you're looking for great character development, don't look here. If you're after fabulous world building, turn away now. If you want massive amounts of description, this ain't the book for you. If, however, you want a super fast plot, a bunch of explosions, and something that's basically The Hunger Games but with aliens in a library in New York City, then look no further!
This is very obviously Reilly's first book. It's not as polished as books like Ice Station that brought him into the public eye. But at the same time, I almost prefer it. Because there are less of those "And then he miraculously escaped because of contrivance" moments that often lead to eye rolling in Matthew Reilly books.
The library that he's set the book in is very clearly fictional, but based on the New York Public Library. Unfortunately, his publishers decided that in order to publish the book in the US, it should LITERALLY be based in the New York Public Library, and I feel like that's probably a terrible decision because it immediately grounds the story in reality, and conjures up images of a building that practically everyone would recognise. And this causes people to nitpick when Reilly's fictional library's fictional lay out doesn't exactly match that of the New York Public Library. Blame the publisher, friends, not the author.
Look, it's basically the kind of book you want to read on an aeroplane. Nothing to tax your brain and plenty of action. And yet, despite a fairly ridiculous plot and characters you can basically read a newspaper through, it manages to be endearing. It's not a Pulitzer prize winner, that's for sure. But it's a damned sight more fun.
This is very obviously Reilly's first book. It's not as polished as books like Ice Station that brought him into the public eye. But at the same time, I almost prefer it. Because there are less of those "And then he miraculously escaped because of contrivance" moments that often lead to eye rolling in Matthew Reilly books.
The library that he's set the book in is very clearly fictional, but based on the New York Public Library. Unfortunately, his publishers decided that in order to publish the book in the US, it should LITERALLY be based in the New York Public Library, and I feel like that's probably a terrible decision because it immediately grounds the story in reality, and conjures up images of a building that practically everyone would recognise. And this causes people to nitpick when Reilly's fictional library's fictional lay out doesn't exactly match that of the New York Public Library. Blame the publisher, friends, not the author.
Look, it's basically the kind of book you want to read on an aeroplane. Nothing to tax your brain and plenty of action. And yet, despite a fairly ridiculous plot and characters you can basically read a newspaper through, it manages to be endearing. It's not a Pulitzer prize winner, that's for sure. But it's a damned sight more fun.
rach3333's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
Sadly, I couldn't finish it.
A friend suggested it to me and I trust his taste in books. But after this... well... I'll be having serious words with him!
I love fantasy, I love scifi... and yet I just couldn't get into this because it wasn't believable. It wasn't written or presented in a way that you could imagine or believe and get into, so... well. I gave up.
Too many books out there for me to be wasting my time on this one, I'm sorry to say.
A friend suggested it to me and I trust his taste in books. But after this... well... I'll be having serious words with him!
I love fantasy, I love scifi... and yet I just couldn't get into this because it wasn't believable. It wasn't written or presented in a way that you could imagine or believe and get into, so... well. I gave up.
Too many books out there for me to be wasting my time on this one, I'm sorry to say.
catsbah's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be, but it was a quick,intense but entertaining read.
annegirl's review against another edition
4.0
This book finds a man and his daughter in a fight to the death with creatures from other worlds. Every world knows of their involvement in this occasional contest except for the humans. It was interesting and hard to put down.
The only problem I ever have with his books is that all too often people I care about or like die- and in this books case in a pretty gruesome way. So, if you don't want to read that then don't go anywhere near his books.
He is very imaginitive.
The only problem I ever have with his books is that all too often people I care about or like die- and in this books case in a pretty gruesome way. So, if you don't want to read that then don't go anywhere near his books.
He is very imaginitive.
trevert's review against another edition
2.0
It's the book equivalent of one of those modern action movies that hurl stuff in your face constantly, at full volume and breakneck pace. This keeps it entertaining and never boring, but also covers up the fact that there's very little characterization or story. Ergo, it falls into the weird category of "Book that are fun to read, and at the same time not very good."