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Oh my goodness, glad to have finished this book. It was sad that I continued listening hoping for some sort of reason to have sat through this book, but it never came. The trials CJ went through in the second half of the book were almost silly and completely predictable with how zany they were. This was such a let-down. I feel the book was overly violent for no real reason, there were moments where I had to step away from it due to the description of some of the attacks. Wow...

DNF @ 50% No, I just can't. This reads like Jurassic Park fan fiction, with all the usual tropes - beautiful yet damaged (only slightly) heroine who somehow manages to pull an Indiana Jones and saves her little party from some ferocious creatures hell bent on human blood. There is zero character development, dialogue reads like a very cheesy movie script and the story line is basically the same scene on repeat. Dragon-EEk-RUN-Fight/Hide-Phew-that was a close one! Oh dear Mr X didn't make it (insert cheesy throwaway line here).

Very one dimensional - very not for me. But hey, I don't think Mr. Reilly cares too much what I think, he sells and laughs all the way to the bank. And good for him i say...

The over-the-top plot, which is basically a comic book that demonizes the Chinese pointlessly and pits one heroic (American) woman against impossible odds over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, isn't the worst thing about this ridiculous book. That would be the writing itself, loaded with needless adjectives and repetition and cartoon-ish dialogue and descriptions. I don't think I'll ever read another by Matthew Reilly.

The Great Zoo of China does a great job of grabbing your attention within the first 30 pages. Having said that, there isn't much character development offered to the readers.
Anyone who is a fan of Jurassic Park will enjoy this book. However, if you're not into countless action scenes for almost half the book, this may not be your cup of tea. Four stars was given due to my love of the ancient animals being found/created and made into an attraction for the public plot line.

Fast, furious, fun read! Dragons in China, a country used to having everything and everyone under control. Whatever could go wrong in a secret zoo of dragons?
If you loved Jurassic Park, you'll enjoy this one.
Ps: and if you can be patient with the author's love of exclamation marks and italics (fortunately, less than in his previous works). He spins a great yarn. Love the premise.

When you read Reilly you do so knowing what to expect. Break neck speed and over the top stunts. And boy does he deliver. When he reach the pinnacle (for me it was Scarecrow) of what he could do with bad guys (bounty hunters) he decided to take a leaf out of Contest and viola The Great Zoo was born. Sadly, knowing what to expect means that you can almost predict whats going to happen and the dramatic pauses and build up are a dead give away to the next scene. Normally his plots are more robust and its difficult for the reader to figure out how to solve them but this book does not meet those standards. The layout of the Zoo and the drawings are still classic Reilly though and you will still probably stay up into the wee hours to finish it.