The Great Zoo of China

November 10, 2014
In this entertaining if derivative science thriller from bestseller Reilly (Scarecrow Returns), Chinese officials invite a group of Americans to the opening of a new, groundbreaking zoo in Guangdong Province. On arrival, the guests—who include the U.S. ambassador to China, a New York Times columnist, and the book’s plucky heroine, herpetologist CJ Cameron, who’s covering the event for National Geographic—are stunned to discover that the Chinese have somehow managed to populate the zoo with a “unique kind of dinosaur.” Cable car rides enable people to be right in the middle of flying dragons. Of course, electricity-based protective measures are supposed to insure their safety, but, inevitably, system failures send CJ and the others scrambling to survive. While some readers may consider this more of a rip-off than an homage to Jurassic Park, Reilly makes both the existence of the legendary beasts and the Chinese motivation to launch the project plausible. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME.

November 15, 2014
Reilly, author of the Jack West Jr. action thrillers (and the earlier Shane Schofield series), gives his usual breathless performance here. A group of visitors to a new Chinese zooamong them, an American reptile expert, a New York Times columnist, and an ambassador's aide with a shadowy pastare shocked to learn that the Chinese have discovered a creature that's always been considered mythological. More than that: they've created this zoo to keep the creatures penned in, no small feat since the creatures can fly. Naturally, the carefully planned visit goes awry almost immediately, leaving our group of visitors running for their lives, pursued by creatures whose one purpose is to eat them. Sure, this sounds a lot like Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park (1990), but let's just say Reilly is tapping into a literary theme, and move on. Taken on its own merits, the book delivers the usual Reilly goods: plenty of action, a variety of interesting characters, and some villains we can't wait to see get what's coming to them. It also delivers pacing that borders on frenetic, scene staging that reads like a screenplay, and punctuation that relies a little too much on exclamation marks. Still, for readers who like the feel of a slam-bang B-movie action thriller, Reilly does it as well as anyone. And who says there's anything wrong with slam-bang action anyway? HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: For over-the-top-adventure addicts, a Reilly novel is like a new roller-coaster opening at Great America. Lines form, fans swoon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)