About the AuthorMatthew Reilly is the New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Tournament, The Great Zoo of China, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Six Sacred Stones, Seven Deadly Wonders, Ice Station, Temple, Contest, Area 7, Scarecrow, the childrens book Hover Car Racer, and the novella, Hell Island. His books have been published in more than twenty languages in twenty countries, and he has sold more than seven million copies worldwide. Visit him at MatthewReilly.com and at Facebook.com/OfficialMatthewReilly. what items sell best on The Great Zoo of China
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Dragged-onBy Kenneth FreedmanThis is more of a screen play treatment than a novel. The science behind the dragons is problematical if you think about it for a bit, but that is not the problem. It is a series of tedious, repetitive action scenes. It is hard to care much about the cardboard characters. (One of them might as well say "Hello, I'm the cute precocious child you will later save from a dragon -- see you in few chapters, I must go now.) If all this sounds good to you, wait for the film version.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Very exciting and entertaining.By Sean FarrellWhile I really enjoy reading non-fiction and highbrow literature with deeper meanings, after so many such books in a row, it can be necessary to take a break and read a big, action-packed, blockbuster of a book. "The Great Zoo of China" fits that bill pretty perfectly. Taking obvious inspiration from Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" (and even acknowledging the fact once), this tells the story of the Chinese government's attempts to outshine America culturally by opening an enormous, theme-park style zoo that hosts several varieties of dragon, which the story claims really did roam the Earth at one time. The explanations for what happened to the creatures and how they were brought "back to life" seem believable enough as you read them, though undoubtedly they would be unlikely to hold up to closer scrutiny. One doesn't come to this sort of book for a science lesson however, but for the adventure. And what an adventure it is. The managers of the zoo have flown in members of the American press, diplomats, and Chinese bigwigs for an early tour of the facility to announce it to the world. As expected, things don't go as planned. Being chased around a massive complex by packs of vicious dragons is every bit as suspenseful as one would expect, leading to a book that is very difficult to put down. The characters aren't all necessarily that well developed, but most are fleshed out enough to keep you interested in their fates, and even one of the dragons winds up being very endearing. Matthew Reilly's writing style keeps the action moving along at a brisk pace, though he is a little too fond of accenting particularly big moments with italics and exclamation points. Still, this is a hugely entertaining book and great to curl up with on a cold Winter's night.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Loaded with action. Bring on the movieBy laurathomas61Ive enjoyed many of this authors books so it was an easy choice to read this one. The title had me kind of curious and then I read the synopsis and was hooked.This is a zoo like no other and China plans to capitalize on that. They see big money and power with their expensive enterprise. And that means covering up anything that does or will go wrong, by any means necessary. This adds to the danger for those invited to a private unveiling. When it does go wrong, its not just the creatures in the zoo they have to fear.As for those creatures. Im not going to tell you what they are. I do suggest you take a closer look at the cover. All of it. Youll see for yourself.What I really liked, besides the creatures getting loose, plotting their escape, and eating people, was their diversity. You have those that fly, slither, and swim. Some see us a food opportunity and some see us as being in their way.Its one heart pumping scene after another as the characters struggle to survive. Only a few of them were on my hope to survive list. The rest, I read on to see if and how they met their end.For fans of Jurassic Park, this is a good one for ya. If they build itwell, you know what happens next.