Book Review: The Great Zoo of China

If there are any haters out there, I’d like to give you the heads up immediately that this is a Matthew Reilly book review – and I looovveee Matthew Reilly books. Despite (or, hey, let’s be honest, because of) the AK-47s, borderline racism towards America and the excessive use of the word AWESOME, I love Matthew Reilly’s books. They’re fun, fast and action-packed: they are basically the equivalent of a blockbuster film, but in book form. Plus, on top of all that, Matthew Reilly seems like a really nice, down-to-earth guy, without all the smugness of other best-selling authors, such as, say…Dan Brown.

The Great Zoo of China follows the unveiling of something extraordinary in China – something that the Chinese government has kept hidden for over 40 years, and which will trump Disneyworld, the Eiffel Tower and, hell, The Great Barrier Reef in one fell swoop. When big reptile expert Dr Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, alongside a small group of VIPs, is invited to The Great Zoo of China, she isn’t suspecting the wondrous sights and animals it contains – they also don’t expect the hell that they’ve just willingly entered.

Although the cover pretty much gives it away, I’m not going to state exactly what type of animal is residing inside The Great Zoo of China. I will, however, admit that Reilly’s novel is quite similar to Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park – a similarity that Reilly himself brings up, particularly since he states that Jurassic Park is his ultimate favourite novel (for anyone who hasn’t read Matthew Reilly books before, that statement right them pretty much encompasses his style of writing). And just like Jurassic Park, readers are left screaming at the pages going ‘WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?’. Oh well.

Like all of Reilly’s novels, The Great Zoo of China is action-packed, fast-moving and incredulous. His main protagonist, a woman! (which, in my mind, makes Reilly a super awesome feminist), is similar to other protagonists Reilly has written about – she is strong, intelligent, a fantastic problem-solver who is good under pressure…and physically scarred (her face shows the battles that she endured in the mouth of a giant crocodile). Not only is she great with giant reptiles, but she’s also apparently a whiz at shooting bazookas, taking down bad guys and avoiding a nuclear blast. Like they say, never get a man to do a woman’s job, right?

There are two things that I love about Reilly’s books, and thankfully The Great Zoo of China is no exception. The first is that Reilly makes reading easy. While I realise that is a weird thing to write, particularly for a publishing student who reads perhaps a tad more than the average person, but the thing is, a lot of novels are hard work, even some of the best. Yet when I read a Matthew Reilly book, I’m not conscious that I’m reading a book (stupid as it sounds), because I’m so wrapped up in the story. Incredibly, this is sometimes what Reilly is critiqued on, but I’m of the firm belief that if a book is easy to read and still highly entertaining, then the writer is doing his job very, very well.

The second aspect of Reilly’s books, particularly his more recent ones, is that they are jam-packed with fun facts: politics, history, economics and geography. Anyone who turns their nose up at fiction because it ‘doesn’t teach them anything’ clearly hasn’t read a Reilly novel, if only for the fact that they will learn more about AK-47s than they thought possible.

(On that ‘fiction is useless’ argument, I’d also like to add that studies have shown that the more a child reads, the more they are able to interpret other’s emotions. So, there.)

The Great Zoo of China is fun, fast and, dare I say it, awesome. Just like all of Matthew Reilly’s books, it contains a lovable, fierce protagonist who is (almost) too good to be true – but hey, that’s the best bit about fiction, isn’t it? Not only will The Great Zoo of China keep you gripped until the final page, but it will make you, once again, wonder why a famous producer hasn’t snapped up the rights and turned Reilly’s books into a film yet.

Have you read The Great Zoo of China? Are you a fan of Matthew Reilly? Let me know!

The Great Zoo of China – (image taken from http://www.matthewreilly.com)

Book Review: The Tournament

Author Matthew Reilly is well known for his swashbuckling breakneck stories, and thankfully The Tournament lives up to his reputation.  High-class literature?  No.  A damn enjoyable read?  Most certainly.

Set in 1546, The Tournament is told from the perspective of ‘Bessie’ or Queen Elizabeth the 1st when she was a 13 year old girl, her father (Henry the 8th) ruled England, and she was third in line for the throne.  When Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire and Constantinople (now Istanbul), invites a player from each country in Europe to play in a magnificent chess tournament, Bessie goes along for the ride alongside her famed tutor, Roger Ascham and Mr Giles, the English representative for the chess tournament.

But of course, it’s not just about the chess (it never is).  Soon, Ascham is asked to find out the identity of a killer on the loose, the chess tournament is not how it appears, and debauchery and the sins of flesh of every type of person is soon on show.

While this has been considered one of Reilly’s slower paced novels, as far as absorbing reads go, it’s along with the best of them.  Reilly is well-known for his ‘blockbuster novels’ so to speak; they’re fast, they’re fun and they have a great storyline, and The Tournament fills all of these criteria.

What I personally enjoy about Reilly’s later novels is that he incorporates facts and history into his story lines, so even though the writing may not be of a super high calibre, with all the random history facts thrown in, I still felt like I was learning (doesn’t that sound a bit lame?  I’m sure you know what I mean though).  Which not only means I can get away with reading less history books, yet still sound smart at the dinner table when whipping out random facts about Queen Elizabeth the 1st.  Win-win.

In The Tournament, Reilly has used well-known historical figures, such as Queen Elizabeth the 1st, Roger Ascham and Ivan the Terrible, to not only flesh out his story line, but to also add an extra dimension of interest and intrigue for the readers.  However, in saying that, at times I did feel like The Tournament was a touch too Dan Brown-y, what with the Turkish setting, the scholar leading the way, and, at times, sorry to say this, borderline clumsy writing.

And while overall the storyline was absorbing, and I genuinely looked forward to any time I had when I could read this, it was a touch clunky and unbelievable at times.  One example is when Ascham is lured into a trap – yet it seems quite obvious what was going to occur, and it seems very odd that a character known for his logic and reason wouldn’t have seen it.  But perhaps I’m just being pedantic.

Overall, I would recommend The Tournament.  In short, it’s a fun read.  I really like Matthew Reilly’s books, and from all the interviews I’ve read, Matthew Reilly himself too.  Not only is it awesome to think that we have a super successful Australian author all of our own (take that, Dan Brown), but he also creates terrific story lines that get you reading page after page…even if you do have work early the next morning.

Have you read The Tournament or anything by Matthew Reilly?  What do you think of fiction that incorporates real-life characters and facts?  Are you a fan of big action novels?  Let me know!

The Tournament – (image taken from http://www.covers.booktopia.com.au)