Review: Zoo by James Patterson

Zoo by James Patterson

Little, Brown and Company

September 2012

Format: Hardcover, 416 pages

First line: Located in Griffith Park, a four-thousand-acre stretch of land featuring two eighteen-hole golf courses, the Autry National Center, and the HOLLYWOOD sign, the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is more of a run-down tourist attraction than a wildlife conservatory facility.

From the inside cover: Once in a lifetime, a writer puts it all together. This is James Patterson’s best book ever.
 

TOTAL

For
36 years, James Patterson has written unputdownable, pulse-racing
novels. Now, he has written a book that surpasses all of them. Zoo is
the thriller he was born to write.

WORLD
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.

DESTRUCTION
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 thoughts: I love James Patterson and his books. They are usually quick reads, filled with short chapters and lots of suspense. This was no exception to that, but for the first time, I had trouble reading one of his books. Now, let me explain…it wasn’t that I didn’t like the story, because I did. I found it fascinating, actually. The problem was that it was a little bit scary. The animal attacks were horrific and I quickly realized that reading this right before bed was not a good idea!

Zoo takes us on quite a ride. Imagine all the animals all over the world suddenly coming together and attacking humans. Also imagine that there’s someone who has been tracking these changes in animal behavior well before it gets out of hand, but is not taken seriously. All this happens and much more!  When I tell you that I had nightmares after stupidly reading a bit of this before bed one night, let me tell you – I woke up in a cold sweat! But luckily that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this book. This is a book that is both frightening and fascinating at the same time. And when you find out what it is that is causing this evolutionary change in animals, it really makes you think! Where does JP come up with these ideas?

I know that a lot of people are turned off by James Patterson because it seems he produces books like a factory. I am not one of the people. I look forward to reading most of his books – there are a few that I don’t read because they are just not my type of reads, but overall, I know when I pick up a book by JP, I know I am in for a treat. What about you? Are you a fan of James Patterson or have you been turned off by him?

(I purchased this book.)