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dozerd7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
brookshurry's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
China and dragons. Instead of capitalism and dinosaurs.
But more or less Jurassic Park.
But more or less Jurassic Park.
smittyluvs2reed58's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.25
suzysai's review against another edition
3.0
I really think this would have been better served as a screenplay; great action that would make for a blockbuster film. As far as the writing goes...let's just say that it won't be winning any awards. But I don't think Reilly was even intending that. Aside from a few redundancies (lots of escaping the dragons JUST IN TIME!) I enjoyed imagining the spectacle this would be on the big screen.
cornmaven's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this book, but in the end I could not give it more than one star. My analysis:
This is really a screenplay, not a novel. It is basically Jurassic World only with dragons. That's not a bad thing; that's the reason I picked it up. But the execution of the story did not fit the medium.
The positives:
Exciting plot.
Cool dragons.
The negatives:
Cardboard, stereotypical action movie characters, more suited for a big screen summer blockbuster than a book.
The writing style was lazy and some of it was condescending to a reader. Why feel the need to define something as iconic as FUBAR? Why have to lecture for 2-3 pages on the different types of hibernation, when a well crafted conversation could have done the trick? If a reader doesn't know these things, they can look them up.
Insertion of special effects/action words into the narrative (again like a screenplay). I got tired of reading "Whoosh", "Wham!" "Splat" and "Boom".
Oh yeah, and as others have pointed out, a plethora of hyphens, exclamation points, and dot dot dots.....................
Very repetitive descriptions of things, as if the remuneration was a per word contract. CJ pulling out the brain chip through Lucky's eye socket, for example. To paraphrase, she pulled it out of the socket. The chip came out. Duh.
There was always some amazing circumstance that kept the characters alive, described as "miraculously." It got tedious.
By the end, I decided that I would have rather watched this as a movie, than read it as a book. Of course, I don't think U.S./China relations would benefit from having it filmed, as the Chinese are such ruthless bad guys in the story.
This is really a screenplay, not a novel. It is basically Jurassic World only with dragons. That's not a bad thing; that's the reason I picked it up. But the execution of the story did not fit the medium.
The positives:
Exciting plot.
Cool dragons.
The negatives:
Cardboard, stereotypical action movie characters, more suited for a big screen summer blockbuster than a book.
The writing style was lazy and some of it was condescending to a reader. Why feel the need to define something as iconic as FUBAR? Why have to lecture for 2-3 pages on the different types of hibernation, when a well crafted conversation could have done the trick? If a reader doesn't know these things, they can look them up.
Insertion of special effects/action words into the narrative (again like a screenplay). I got tired of reading "Whoosh", "Wham!" "Splat" and "Boom".
Oh yeah, and as others have pointed out, a plethora of hyphens, exclamation points, and dot dot dots.....................
Very repetitive descriptions of things, as if the remuneration was a per word contract. CJ pulling out the brain chip through Lucky's eye socket, for example. To paraphrase, she pulled it out of the socket. The chip came out. Duh.
There was always some amazing circumstance that kept the characters alive, described as "miraculously." It got tedious.
By the end, I decided that I would have rather watched this as a movie, than read it as a book. Of course, I don't think U.S./China relations would benefit from having it filmed, as the Chinese are such ruthless bad guys in the story.
xxleshyxx's review against another edition
4.0
This book was fast paced from the beginning. Matthew Reilly created a world that was believable, which drew the reader into to his world. It was literally a book I couldn't put down.
jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition
3.0
I received an advance review copy from publisher via NetGalley. A HUGE thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this opportunity to read and review.
So... very... gory. Geez. I remember reading Jurassic Park (and let's face it, if someone doesn't say Jurassic Park and Great Zoo of China in the same review, they have not read the book) and not feeling that grossed out. Honestly, do not eat while reading this book. With organs being shot out of people's mouths and faces being chomped off, its pretty gruesome at times.
I loved the main character, CJ. Go Girl Power. She was smart, tough, and not the typical looking leading lady. She has visible scars on her face from a near-fatal incident with a crocodile. However, I had to pause a couple times in the reading wondering "how does she know so much about wielding guns or creating mini flame throwers or hand-to-hand combat." Sure, she's had to deal with large crocodiles, so I get her ability to think through problems when facing wild animals, but some of the combat planning left me wondering who she really was instead of Greg Johnson. There were also a few too many "this is the end" moments where CJ was quickly & miraculously saved. Or a few times when I felt Greg Johnson should have been coming up with escape ideas (with his CIA experience and all).
The unveiling of the dragons lore was what made the story intriguing. I enjoyed the exploration of where dragons have been, how they live, and meeting Lucky. I think the CJ-Lucky duo should have happened earlier in the story. It really was an element that differentiated Great Zoo of China from Jurassic Park. Otherwise, I kept thinking the line from Jurassic Park "Life will find a way."
The book was also lacking in good humor. Some of the characters were interesting, but most of the book was rather sinister. It needed more lighthearted elements. And Lucky needed to more prominent in the book. Plus the gory deaths were not meaningful. There were only like 4 characters I did not want to die, the rest were red shirts. So there was no emotional tie in when these people died. And many character moments were predictable (you knew CJ was going to kiss someone on the cheek before the book was over).
Overall, the concept was interesting. There was a lot more political motivation behind the story than with JP. The dragon lore is fascinating and well thought out. But there were few characters to connect to, and the story was overwhelmed with bloody details. The plot moves like a bullet train which can be a plus, but it would have been nice to catch a breath every now and then between dragon feedings and dragon near-end-death moments. I would have like more good dragons, less evil dragon feasting on humans, and more character development opportunities.
So... very... gory. Geez. I remember reading Jurassic Park (and let's face it, if someone doesn't say Jurassic Park and Great Zoo of China in the same review, they have not read the book) and not feeling that grossed out. Honestly, do not eat while reading this book. With organs being shot out of people's mouths and faces being chomped off, its pretty gruesome at times.
I loved the main character, CJ. Go Girl Power. She was smart, tough, and not the typical looking leading lady. She has visible scars on her face from a near-fatal incident with a crocodile. However, I had to pause a couple times in the reading wondering "how does she know so much about wielding guns or creating mini flame throwers or hand-to-hand combat." Sure, she's had to deal with large crocodiles, so I get her ability to think through problems when facing wild animals, but some of the combat planning left me wondering who she really was instead of Greg Johnson. There were also a few too many "this is the end" moments where CJ was quickly & miraculously saved. Or a few times when I felt Greg Johnson should have been coming up with escape ideas (with his CIA experience and all).
The unveiling of the dragons lore was what made the story intriguing. I enjoyed the exploration of where dragons have been, how they live, and meeting Lucky. I think the CJ-Lucky duo should have happened earlier in the story. It really was an element that differentiated Great Zoo of China from Jurassic Park. Otherwise, I kept thinking the line from Jurassic Park "Life will find a way."
The book was also lacking in good humor. Some of the characters were interesting, but most of the book was rather sinister. It needed more lighthearted elements. And Lucky needed to more prominent in the book. Plus the gory deaths were not meaningful. There were only like 4 characters I did not want to die, the rest were red shirts. So there was no emotional tie in when these people died. And many character moments were predictable (you knew CJ was going to kiss someone on the cheek before the book was over).
Overall, the concept was interesting. There was a lot more political motivation behind the story than with JP. The dragon lore is fascinating and well thought out. But there were few characters to connect to, and the story was overwhelmed with bloody details. The plot moves like a bullet train which can be a plus, but it would have been nice to catch a breath every now and then between dragon feedings and dragon near-end-death moments. I would have like more good dragons, less evil dragon feasting on humans, and more character development opportunities.