Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) - , reviewed on 12/20/2015 + 569 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Imagine that the fictional dragons of history aren't fictional. They're solo representatives of their hibernating race. Then, imagine that a nest containing 88 eggs hatched and emerged into the world where they were captured by the Chinese and confined to a valley where they were to be displayed for the public ...

Yes, the basic premise of Matthew Reilly's "The Great Zoo of China" sounds a lot like Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park". He makes no secret of that fact, and even has one of the characters make allusions towards it. However, there is so much more to "The Great Zoo of China" than a simple clone of the earlier work.

"The Great Zoo of China" stands as an excellent thriller in its own right. After a relatively short introduction, author Reilly jumps directly into the action and the action feeds additional action, upon additional action. Reilly knows the difference between "thriller" and "suspense", as well, and mixes the latter in on occasion. (To paraphrase Hitchcock if a dragon leaps out of a cave's side tunnel, that's a thriller. If you know, or even suspect, that a dragon is in one of the side tunnels but don't know when it'll leap out, that's suspense.) Further, while Crichton's novel was driven by the various faces of capitalism, Reilly uses his to explore the emergence of China on the world stage.

Under most circumstances, a thriller like "The Great Zoo of China" would get the highest rankings for its effective use of thrills, timing, and morality. However, as it is impossible to read this book without having the shadow of Crichton's T-Rex loom over both it and the reader, I cannot do that. The author is responsible for giving his or her work a uniqueness, and Reilly did not quite accomplish what in this case was an incredible daunting task.

RATING: 4 stars

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