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bethmalkin's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
jillottaway's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
sam_hartwig's review
4.0
"Yeah. Ooh, ah", that's how it always starts. But then there's the running and screaming" ~ Dr. Ian Malcolm (The Lost World)
This is the exact quote that came to mind while I was listening to this on audiobook. I use this quote in many different situations because it's awesome. Anyway my initial thoughts were that this reminded me a lot like Jurassic Park. I haven't read Jurassic Park but I've seen the movies SO many times that I could see the similarities. Matthew Reilly mentions that Jurassic Park is one of his favourite books, and it's what inspired him to want to write. He also said that he's been researching and writing "The Great Zoo of China" for a long time and you can really tell how much time and heart he's put into it.
I loved how believable the dragons were, all the research has paid off. The idea of how dragons could be real was cool. Throughout the years we see dragons in mythology and it's because every few hundred years one wakes up from the nest to see if the world is warm enough for the rest to be awaken. Well what if the Chinese found one of these nests and decided to create a zoo to be better than Disneyland?! There's so much more story building, and it all seemed so plausible.
People who know me will know how much I love Monster movies, and it seems Matthew Reilly and I have that in common. I really enjoyed this book because it was like reading a monster movie. There was so much action, plot twists and lots of people getting eaten haha!
Of course there were lots of scenes that seemed unbelievable and that the good guys always seem to get away, but I expected that! I've seen so many monster/creature movies that go by that sort of formula that I didn't mind it at all. The more ridiculous and over the top, the better in my opinion!
I think I'll be reading more Matthew Reilly in the future! Oh and I really liked the dragon quotes at the beginning of the chapters, it was awesome to see a Tolkien quote in there.
This is the exact quote that came to mind while I was listening to this on audiobook. I use this quote in many different situations because it's awesome. Anyway my initial thoughts were that this reminded me a lot like Jurassic Park. I haven't read Jurassic Park but I've seen the movies SO many times that I could see the similarities. Matthew Reilly mentions that Jurassic Park is one of his favourite books, and it's what inspired him to want to write. He also said that he's been researching and writing "The Great Zoo of China" for a long time and you can really tell how much time and heart he's put into it.
I loved how believable the dragons were, all the research has paid off. The idea of how dragons could be real was cool. Throughout the years we see dragons in mythology and it's because every few hundred years one wakes up from the nest to see if the world is warm enough for the rest to be awaken. Well what if the Chinese found one of these nests and decided to create a zoo to be better than Disneyland?! There's so much more story building, and it all seemed so plausible.
People who know me will know how much I love Monster movies, and it seems Matthew Reilly and I have that in common. I really enjoyed this book because it was like reading a monster movie. There was so much action, plot twists and lots of people getting eaten haha!
Of course there were lots of scenes that seemed unbelievable and that the good guys always seem to get away, but I expected that! I've seen so many monster/creature movies that go by that sort of formula that I didn't mind it at all. The more ridiculous and over the top, the better in my opinion!
I think I'll be reading more Matthew Reilly in the future! Oh and I really liked the dragon quotes at the beginning of the chapters, it was awesome to see a Tolkien quote in there.
defaultnamespace's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
the_wanlorn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Why on earth are there so many exclamation points!
kandi_of_the_future's review
2.0
I gave this book two stars because it had a great premise. Without that, it would have gotten one star. The premise, a dragon zoo built by China, is actually quite a cool idea. A press tour gone wrong...yes it reeks of Jurassic Park but in a paying homage to a great book kind of way, and wasn't so literal a ripoff that I couldn't enjoy it. The descriptions of the dragons were excellent, and the whole design of the zoo was very well thought out.
What I didn't like:
1. When an author finds it necessary to use hyphens, ellipses, exclamation points, and italics to express action or suspense or thrills, it reads like fanfic. Or a blog. Or my pre-teen daughter's diary. It does not read like the work of a bestselling novelist who has written several books. Please tell me Matthew Reilly does not resort to italics and exclamation points to describe action in all his books.
2. I love a good action novel. I love a good thriller. I do not love action for the sake of action. This book, the action eats up most of the pages. Eventually I stopped caring about any of the characters and started hoping they'd all be eaten and fast, so it'd be over.
3. Lucky, the dragon. The dragon was cool. What was annoying was that, fortunately for the main human character CJ, Lucky had a special implant and could talk to humans listening in on channel 22. Really? Why? Could we not have a novel about a dragon zoo without having talking dragons???
Jurassic Park made me afraid of what was rustling around in the woods behind my house for a while. The Great Zoo of China makes me afraid of reading another Matthew Reilly novel and discovering he really does resort to exclamation points and italics to drive action in all his books.
Anyway, if you want to read an action-packed story with a lot of bad guys from China, this is an easy read and has a decent plot. But if you want a real thriller about an amazing zoo, go read Jurassic Park again.
What I didn't like:
1. When an author finds it necessary to use hyphens, ellipses, exclamation points, and italics to express action or suspense or thrills, it reads like fanfic. Or a blog. Or my pre-teen daughter's diary. It does not read like the work of a bestselling novelist who has written several books. Please tell me Matthew Reilly does not resort to italics and exclamation points to describe action in all his books.
2. I love a good action novel. I love a good thriller. I do not love action for the sake of action. This book, the action eats up most of the pages. Eventually I stopped caring about any of the characters and started hoping they'd all be eaten and fast, so it'd be over.
3. Lucky, the dragon. The dragon was cool. What was annoying was that, fortunately for the main human character CJ, Lucky had a special implant and could talk to humans listening in on channel 22. Really? Why? Could we not have a novel about a dragon zoo without having talking dragons???
Jurassic Park made me afraid of what was rustling around in the woods behind my house for a while. The Great Zoo of China makes me afraid of reading another Matthew Reilly novel and discovering he really does resort to exclamation points and italics to drive action in all his books.
Anyway, if you want to read an action-packed story with a lot of bad guys from China, this is an easy read and has a decent plot. But if you want a real thriller about an amazing zoo, go read Jurassic Park again.
rileyblancett's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I’ve never felt the need to comment on a writer’s actual writing style before, but the prose contained so many exclamation marks that it kind of took me out of it at times.
glenn_rulz's review
adventurous
fast-paced
4.5
Very good action book, definitely one of the best from Matthew Reiley