It took me a while to get around to reading The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly, and boy am I glad I did. What’s the book like? Think Jurassic Park (the raptors). Godzilla (1998 movie). And... strangely, think How to Train Your Dragon.
My thoughts:
Liberal use of profanity has returned!!!! Yesssssss.
Matthew Reilly spends about the first 1/5 of the book setting up the premise. It makes ‘WTF, a dragon zoo in China?!?’ into ‘Cool. A dragon zoo in China’. Signature diagrams and info dumps abound. The seamless meld of research and storytelling is admirable – it’s what Matthew does best.
For someone who is used to Matthew’s characters being cardboard cannon fodder, it was odd (a good kind of odd) to see him more invested in building personalities for his characters. Action (with cannon-fodder characters) was still the main focus of the story, but there were more memorable characters.
The book presented some commentary on the methods of China which I think may alienate some of its readers, but it’s not so different from Matthew’s portrayal of the French in Scarecrow books or the Americans in the Jack West books. The emphasis on cultural leadership was interesting.
The use of a female protagonist was also interesting. It was quite different from other books I’ve read. No one judged/second guessed/argued against the orders that she issues. The emphasis was on physical capabilities and problem solving. Not your typical female lead. Apart from bonding with a particular dragon, I’m not sure if CJ’s gender even mattered.
Did I hear someone mention dragons? Matthew’s take on this beast is superb. He’s really playing to his strengths here: melding the research with the story, and creating devastating beasts. Throughout the book, I wasn’t sure if I was rooting for the dragons or the people.
Overall, I really liked the book. I read it in 2 days. Full discloser: I am a huge fan of Matthew Reilly. I have all his books, and all but 2 are signed.
My thoughts:
Liberal use of profanity has returned!!!! Yesssssss.
Matthew Reilly spends about the first 1/5 of the book setting up the premise. It makes ‘WTF, a dragon zoo in China?!?’ into ‘Cool. A dragon zoo in China’. Signature diagrams and info dumps abound. The seamless meld of research and storytelling is admirable – it’s what Matthew does best.
For someone who is used to Matthew’s characters being cardboard cannon fodder, it was odd (a good kind of odd) to see him more invested in building personalities for his characters. Action (with cannon-fodder characters) was still the main focus of the story, but there were more memorable characters.
The book presented some commentary on the methods of China which I think may alienate some of its readers, but it’s not so different from Matthew’s portrayal of the French in Scarecrow books or the Americans in the Jack West books. The emphasis on cultural leadership was interesting.
The use of a female protagonist was also interesting. It was quite different from other books I’ve read. No one judged/second guessed/argued against the orders that she issues. The emphasis was on physical capabilities and problem solving. Not your typical female lead. Apart from bonding with a particular dragon, I’m not sure if CJ’s gender even mattered.
Did I hear someone mention dragons? Matthew’s take on this beast is superb. He’s really playing to his strengths here: melding the research with the story, and creating devastating beasts. Throughout the book, I wasn’t sure if I was rooting for the dragons or the people.
Overall, I really liked the book. I read it in 2 days. Full discloser: I am a huge fan of Matthew Reilly. I have all his books, and all but 2 are signed.
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