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kat7890erina's review
4.0
Still a favourite after all these years. Ben's journey through an Australia ravaged by the Last Days and culminating in the corrupted heart of Taronga is swiftly-paced and prompts deep ethical consideration. I love it.
ellenpenleysmith's review
1.0
Blah. Had to read this for school last year (2009)... I don't even want to talk about how bad I thought it was!
callielaine's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ps_a22's review
3.0
I was really glad that this book was republished with creative and lively illustrations to accompany the chapters. Even though this novel was written decades ago, I wasn't reluctant to read it (as I often am with older novels) as the book itself was in good conditions. The story itself was heart-warming as well. The idea of Ben having the Call was a really intriguing concept and his dynamic relationship with the tigers was very well expressed. I enjoyed reading this novel very much.
nessa_arandur's review
3.0
I read this in school and got Mad Max dystopian future vibes from it. Since I was into Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn series (which is also dystopian fantasy where mind powers feature heavily), I remember being disappointed at the subtlety and back-seat role of the telepathy in this book. The protagonist forms a telepathic bond with a tiger in the zoo and becomes sort of a handler for it. They battle wills each time he tries to control the tiger, and a major theme of this book is freedom. The human interactions were all pretty depressing, but the book kind of won me over by the end. While not my preferred reading, I liked it. The fact I remember it after decades it remarkable. Maybe it’s time for a reread. I’m curious what I would take away from this as an adult.
jadejade's review
3.0
Like many of the reviewers here, this was assigned reading for a class in school, possibly because of the popular author and the Australian setting. Although dystopians have never been my thing, this novel was interesting enough for student me to finish and also interesting enough for adult me to remember the plot and key scenes years later.
torosa's review
2.0
Honestly, it's just not my cup of tea, I guess. Many other people i know liked this, but I just don't like the slow pace of the book, as I'm impatient.
sarah1984's review
3.0
25/1 - Another school book, from year 8 English (I think). I enjoyed Taronga as a 14-year-old because it was different - it was my first dystopian novel and it featured adult themes (I don't mean sex, I'd already started reading romance by that time) which was really exciting for a reader just starting to branch out from Enid Blyton. Before starting this I only had a few vague memories of it being set at Taronga Park Zoo and that, for some reason or other, the world had come to an end. That's a bit frustrating sometimes, you know the end of the world has happened but exactly how it happened is never properly (or in this case, at all) explained. I don't like the not knowing, the mystery of what happened playing on your mind through the whole book. The scene of Ben's near capture on Sydney Harbour Bridge and the dog's death was very difficult to read. I don't think I could sacrifice a dog for my life, especially not if I could get into their minds to make them trust me. I know I'd run out into the road to save my own dogs if they were in danger, and I'd never be able to live with myself if my actions caused them injury or death. All this talk about injured dogs has made me teary-eyed, so I've got to go hug my dog till she cheers me up. To be continued...
27/1 - Taronga ends in a battle between Chas' of invaders and Molly's group trying to keep a hold of Taronga for themselves. The battle is actually set in motion by Ben, supported by Ellie, who after hearing Molly and Steve's plan for Taronga if it's ever captured, come to the drastic decision that they have to free the animals and leave the humans to fight it out amongst themselves. Ben struggles with this decision, first not sure if it's the right thing to do for the animals' sake and then realising he can't cold-bloodedly send people, no matter their character or plans for him and the animals, to their deaths. Fortunately for his and the animals' futures the decision is out of his hands because both groups are so intent on killing each other that they give no thought to their own survival.Eventually it's just Chas and Molly left. Molly is taken out by a charging rhino, but not fast enough for Chas, who gets in the way of a stray bullet as Molly attempts to shoot Raja with her dying breath. Ben and Ellie and all the animals manage to escape the massacre scene that Taronga now is. In the final scenes Ben and Ellie have found an abandoned apartment block to spend the day in before setting out for the less-inhabited bush. Somehow Raja has found Ben and seems to corner him. Ben accepts what he is sure will be his death as justice for the part he played in the death of the dog. It appears that Raja is going to strike Ben but at the last minute the tiger turns it into a gentle cuff across the head, like what he might do to a naughty cub. Raja has finally begun to trust Ben and as they were both heading in the same direction, towards the mountains, I hope that they might run into each other every so often.
27/1 - Taronga ends in a battle between Chas' of invaders and Molly's group trying to keep a hold of Taronga for themselves. The battle is actually set in motion by Ben, supported by Ellie, who after hearing Molly and Steve's plan for Taronga if it's ever captured, come to the drastic decision that they have to free the animals and leave the humans to fight it out amongst themselves. Ben struggles with this decision, first not sure if it's the right thing to do for the animals' sake and then realising he can't cold-bloodedly send people, no matter their character or plans for him and the animals, to their deaths. Fortunately for his and the animals' futures the decision is out of his hands because both groups are so intent on killing each other that they give no thought to their own survival.Eventually it's just Chas and Molly left. Molly is taken out by a charging rhino, but not fast enough for Chas, who gets in the way of a stray bullet as Molly attempts to shoot Raja with her dying breath. Ben and Ellie and all the animals manage to escape the massacre scene that Taronga now is. In the final scenes Ben and Ellie have found an abandoned apartment block to spend the day in before setting out for the less-inhabited bush. Somehow Raja has found Ben and seems to corner him. Ben accepts what he is sure will be his death as justice for the part he played in the death of the dog. It appears that Raja is going to strike Ben but at the last minute the tiger turns it into a gentle cuff across the head, like what he might do to a naughty cub. Raja has finally begun to trust Ben and as they were both heading in the same direction, towards the mountains, I hope that they might run into each other every so often.