Book Review: The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Total's resident book reviewer; Carol Hall describes and gives her opinion on the action adventure novel 'The Great Zoo'.

As with all Matthew Reilly books this is a fast-paced, adrenalin-filled action adventure.  If you’ve never read one of his books, this is a great one to start with – and I promise you’ll want to read more!

The Great Zoo of China is due to open and so the Chinese leaders need a renowned reptile expert, the American Ambassador to China, plus a few other dignitaries, to show off their achievement.  The renowned reptile expert, CJ Cameron, is the main character and with a quick mind and near photographic memory, helps to set the pace of the action.  CJ’s brother, Hamish, gets pulled in as photographer and their familial relationship comes into play as the story unfolds.

The Great Zoo is on a mega scale; impressive in its conception, exciting and believable in the detail.  But it all falls apart – catastrophically.  And, without giving too much away, the reason it falls apart is that the only animals in this zoo are highly intelligent, ruthless hunters with abilities that put them above all other successful hunters – and they can fly.  The single type of animal in this zoo are dragons.  Not the sort you may have read about from mediaeval times but exceptionally authentic in Matthew Reilly’s plausible tale – powerful and frightening.  And, if you have a teenager who isn’t interested in reading yet, I’m sure this would sway their thinking in the right direction.

Contains:

• Infrequent strong language,
• Violence and graphic descriptions of violent deaths. 
• Parental guidance is always best but I would
• Suggest this may suit a teenager over 14.