Built upon a fascinating premise: My review of "Zoo" by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

As you look at the picture below, you may (or may not) be thinking to yourself "'What? Zoo is christian fiction?" Well, er, no, not exactly. But, although this is not the typical type of book I review on this blog, I have to say I was utterly intrigued by the plot - with good reason. Read on to learn more about the latest from James Patterson:

about the book...

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide. With wildly inventive imagination and white-knuckle suspense that rivals Stephen King at his very best, James Patterson's ZOO is an epic, non-stop thrill-ride from "One of the best of the best." (TIME)

My review...

Zoo is a novel built upon a fascinating plot-line of animals world-wide becoming more and more violent and attacking humans on a wide-spread scale. The theory underlying these attacks (of which I won't say more so that I don't give spoilers) is one I have never considered before, and though I may not resonate with the strong purely evolutionary underpinnings of the book, the actual premise of the book is enough to make me stop and wonder if such a thing could happen. The pacing of the book is swift, quickly drawing you into the story as the characters race to save themselves and society as they know it. I found the characters to be well-developed for being a suspense novel, and there were plenty of pulse-accelerating moments to hold my interest. I must say that once the explanation behind the animal attacks was revealed, I found myself thinking back over a few of the scenes of the story and finding they didn't quite mesh with the explanation. However, on the whole I found this to be a highly enjoyable read, and one that will make me consider the effect my own carbon footprint is having on the world.

I strongly recommend this book for pure entertainment value and give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of the publisher, Hachette Book Group (Little, Brown and Company) for the purposes of this unbiased review.

about the authors...

James Patterson

In the past three years, James Patterson has sold more books than any other author (according to Bookscan), and in total, James's books have sold an estimated 205 million copies worldwide.  Since 2006, one out of every seventeen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title.  He is the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's bestsellers lists and is the only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one year — a record-breaking feat he’s accomplished every year since 2005.  To date, James Patterson has had nineteen consecutive #1 New York Times bestselling novels, and holds the New York Times record for most Hardcover Fiction bestselling titles by a single author (63 total), which is also a Guinness World Record. 

Michael Ledwidge

Michael Ledwidge is the author of The Narrowback, Bad Connection, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. His latest thriller, The Quickie, was released by Little, Brown in 2007.

A word of caution

Typical readers of Christian fiction should know that there are many uses of bad language used in the book, so that if you find such language offensive you should know to steer clear of zoo.