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rychnerd's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
vikingwolf's review against another edition
5.0
Dr Stephen Swain came to media and police attention when he stopped an injured undercover cop being killed in the hospital by angry gang members-and it seems that others have become interested in him too. One night he suddenly finds himself and his eight year old daughter Holly transported from his home to the interior of the New York Public Library, forced to become a contestant in a deadly game where only the winner can leave alive. However this game is not just fighting to beat other humans. Stephen will have to protecty his daughter from scary warriors from across many worlds.
This was different from what I was expecting and was so much more! I liked the idea of a man being locked in the library with a fight to the death with other contestants but I had no idea that these others were going to be the scariest aliens you can imagine! The first hint we get of this is when a baffled Stephen meets his contest guide Selexin, a four foot alien who tells him that the Presidian takes place every thousand earth years between chosen warriors from seven intelligent worlds. As Earth do not know of these other worlds a worthy champion is chosen for them, in this case Stephen. With no weapons and an electrical field preventing him leaving the library, Stephen has to worry about tough seasoned monsters chasing him, a bomb on his arm in case he does try to escape and a deadly creature asleep in the library that nobody wants to wake up.
I really liked Stephen. He is just an ordinary man who has no idea what is happening but quickly accepts that Selexin is telling the truth and may be the only thing between him and certain death. He becomes resourceful, using his personal knowledge of the library to try and keep Holly away from the other contestants in the hope that they might kill each other first and buy him some time to find a way to escape. Selexin is a great character. He is feeling gloomy at being assigned to the human as when Stephen dies, he dies too. His job is to record evidence of any kills that Stephen makes, which other guides are also doing for their contestant. It is only when proof of six deaths is received back at contest headquarters that the seventh is declared the winner and can leave the library. He is a fun character who sees potential in Stephen and becomes attached to him and Holly and will do what he can to help.
The other warriors are truly frightening! Reese has a crocodile body and scorpion type tail and can paralyse her enemy. Bellos is seven feet tall with horns and illegally smuggled his hoodyas into the contest. You don't want to meet a hoodyah! Balthazar has deadly blades. Konda is a huge insect with poison claws. These are just a few of the creatures that Stephen is trying to avoid. There is also the huge fearsome monster Karanadon that is hunting them all.We also have a couple of cops inside the building who are guarding the crime scene where a security guard was murdered earlier in the day when the contest was being set up. We also follow Bob from the power company who is trying to work out why the grid is in a mess and finding a way to fix it. I liked these side stories a lot and it adds to the interest in the book.
It is a very tense thriller. Our heroes are creeping around in the dark, trying to evade and then fight these monsters. There is also plenty of running and hiding involved and the dark creepy library is just the perfect setting for it. There are many floors and dark corners, lifts, stairs and a basement, good and bad decisions being made...and each choice can lead to a life or death fight with something nasty. The action scenes are fun creature feature moments which are a good addition. There are no dull moments and there is always something happening to keep the reader interested. The range of characters is good and varied. The author also just gets into the story with no big boring gaps and it moves along at a great pace.
It is certainly a tense thriller as I mentioned, with exciting action sequences and these science fiction elements added to it but you don't need to love SF to read and enjoy this as it is at heart an adventure thriller. Fans of thrillers, scifi and adventure books should have a good time with this book. I totally loved it!
This was different from what I was expecting and was so much more! I liked the idea of a man being locked in the library with a fight to the death with other contestants but I had no idea that these others were going to be the scariest aliens you can imagine! The first hint we get of this is when a baffled Stephen meets his contest guide Selexin, a four foot alien who tells him that the Presidian takes place every thousand earth years between chosen warriors from seven intelligent worlds. As Earth do not know of these other worlds a worthy champion is chosen for them, in this case Stephen. With no weapons and an electrical field preventing him leaving the library, Stephen has to worry about tough seasoned monsters chasing him, a bomb on his arm in case he does try to escape and a deadly creature asleep in the library that nobody wants to wake up.
I really liked Stephen. He is just an ordinary man who has no idea what is happening but quickly accepts that Selexin is telling the truth and may be the only thing between him and certain death. He becomes resourceful, using his personal knowledge of the library to try and keep Holly away from the other contestants in the hope that they might kill each other first and buy him some time to find a way to escape. Selexin is a great character. He is feeling gloomy at being assigned to the human as when Stephen dies, he dies too. His job is to record evidence of any kills that Stephen makes, which other guides are also doing for their contestant. It is only when proof of six deaths is received back at contest headquarters that the seventh is declared the winner and can leave the library. He is a fun character who sees potential in Stephen and becomes attached to him and Holly and will do what he can to help.
The other warriors are truly frightening! Reese has a crocodile body and scorpion type tail and can paralyse her enemy. Bellos is seven feet tall with horns and illegally smuggled his hoodyas into the contest. You don't want to meet a hoodyah! Balthazar has deadly blades. Konda is a huge insect with poison claws. These are just a few of the creatures that Stephen is trying to avoid. There is also the huge fearsome monster Karanadon that is hunting them all.We also have a couple of cops inside the building who are guarding the crime scene where a security guard was murdered earlier in the day when the contest was being set up. We also follow Bob from the power company who is trying to work out why the grid is in a mess and finding a way to fix it. I liked these side stories a lot and it adds to the interest in the book.
It is a very tense thriller. Our heroes are creeping around in the dark, trying to evade and then fight these monsters. There is also plenty of running and hiding involved and the dark creepy library is just the perfect setting for it. There are many floors and dark corners, lifts, stairs and a basement, good and bad decisions being made...and each choice can lead to a life or death fight with something nasty. The action scenes are fun creature feature moments which are a good addition. There are no dull moments and there is always something happening to keep the reader interested. The range of characters is good and varied. The author also just gets into the story with no big boring gaps and it moves along at a great pace.
It is certainly a tense thriller as I mentioned, with exciting action sequences and these science fiction elements added to it but you don't need to love SF to read and enjoy this as it is at heart an adventure thriller. Fans of thrillers, scifi and adventure books should have a good time with this book. I totally loved it!
catwolfswritings's review against another edition
3.0
Цялото ревю тук > https://nikoljonnotsnow.wordpress.com/2017/05/27/битката-матю-райли/
Не мога да кажа, че не ми беше интересно. Сюжетът е напрегнат, действието се развива бързо и има известно напрежение в случващото се. Така че прелиствах страница след страница къде от желание да разбера какво се случва натам, къде от желание да приключа по-бързо книгата, но прелиствах и продължавах напред.
И замисълът също беше добър – това е едно „вселенско“ състезание, което се прави всяко хилядолетие и в него участват раси от различни планети. Състезание до смърт.
Това е все пак трилър, част от поредицата „Кралете на трилъра“ на БАРД и може би просто на мен ми се искаше нещо повече от тази книга, въпреки че то по характеристика не й е заложено. Защото напълно осъзнавам, че умишлено героите не бяха важни и не беше наблегнато на тях. Както казва и самият автор в свое интервю, за него няма нещо по-страхотно от това големи чудовища да преследват хората. И това, в крайна сметка, е историята му. Най-различни чудовища са събрани на едно място, за да се преследват и убиват, докато не остане само едно от тях. Важна тук е тъкмо гонитбата, динамичността и напрежението, което се създава, а не вътрешните сътресения на героите. Затова, от тази гледна точка, книгата все пак беше добра и си заслужава, ако обичате неангажиращи и динамични четива, които да ви изтръгнат от обикновеното „човешко“ ежедневие.
В общи линии е приятна история, напрегната, с интересни елементи и в нея определено има потенциал. Но нещо просто ми липсваше, за да й се насладя повече.
Не мога да кажа, че не ми беше интересно. Сюжетът е напрегнат, действието се развива бързо и има известно напрежение в случващото се. Така че прелиствах страница след страница къде от желание да разбера какво се случва натам, къде от желание да приключа по-бързо книгата, но прелиствах и продължавах напред.
И замисълът също беше добър – това е едно „вселенско“ състезание, което се прави всяко хилядолетие и в него участват раси от различни планети. Състезание до смърт.
Това е все пак трилър, част от поредицата „Кралете на трилъра“ на БАРД и може би просто на мен ми се искаше нещо повече от тази книга, въпреки че то по характеристика не й е заложено. Защото напълно осъзнавам, че умишлено героите не бяха важни и не беше наблегнато на тях. Както казва и самият автор в свое интервю, за него няма нещо по-страхотно от това големи чудовища да преследват хората. И това, в крайна сметка, е историята му. Най-различни чудовища са събрани на едно място, за да се преследват и убиват, докато не остане само едно от тях. Важна тук е тъкмо гонитбата, динамичността и напрежението, което се създава, а не вътрешните сътресения на героите. Затова, от тази гледна точка, книгата все пак беше добра и си заслужава, ако обичате неангажиращи и динамични четива, които да ви изтръгнат от обикновеното „човешко“ ежедневие.
В общи линии е приятна история, напрегната, с интересни елементи и в нея определено има потенциал. Но нещо просто ми липсваше, за да й се насладя повече.
simmyk91's review against another edition
2.0
Well written but lacks a character you can love. Basic story of a contest to the death - lacks new ideas aside from bringing species from different planets into it. Average story, wouldn't read again but I am not sad that I did read it.
ebokhyllami's review against another edition
3.0
Although I know this is a "slower" story than Reilly's Area7 and IceStation, I was pleasantly surprised. It is a pageturner for sure and kept me awake long into yesterday night. Since I have read several of his books, I find this novel action packed and entertaining for sure, but it's not one of his best. On the other hand, for being his first novel, I think it's brilliant! I waver between 3 and 4. I give it a strong 3.
water_woofer's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
spidermonkey93's review against another edition
3.0
That was wild. Will definitely read some more Matthew Reilly!
kate_oh's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
5.0
Contest is a super enjoyable action thriller. I listened to the audio book and chapter sound effects to demonstrate this were not my favourite 😂 but the guy reading it was okay. I’ve actually read this a few times and it was interesting listening to it instead, I definitely picked up on a few different things. Like how I thought Holly was older than she was, but she definitely came across very young on this read through for me.