The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Oh dear.
I’ve been a huge fan of Matthew Reilly since I picked up his first book Contest many years ago. I absolutely love his no-holds-barred, super-fast, super-lean writing style. His books have always been fantastic ultra-high concept rollercoasters where characters are thrown into dangerous situations then had more and more piled onto them until they reach breaking point, then have more and more piled on.
Alas, with this book, it feels like he’s crossed over into a parody of himself. The high concept here is ‘imagine Jurassic Park, with dragons!’.
And that’s exactly what you get. There’s nothing new – even some of the characters joke about the fact that it’s Jurassic Park with Dragons.
I just didn’t care about any of the characters. The writing, usually so taut and whip-smart, is, in places, awful and like something a beginner novelist would write.
So disappointed. Here’s hoping for a return to form and a more original novel next time.
espresso coco 
I have to say that it’s refreshing to read a negative review. There’s no book on earth that everyone will love, but most people simply don’t mention the books they don’t connect with. And sometimes, a negative review might encourage someone to buy the book just to form their own opinion.
Wel done,
Usually when I’ve read a book I didn’t get on with, I might not bother writing a review. But in this case I’ve enjoyed his previous books so much and was so disappointed with this one that I felt it worth sharing what I thought!