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June 2014 Science Fiction Action/Adventure Group Read: Contest by Matthew Reilly *Spoilers*
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I read this a couple years ago. It was a little less polished than his later work, but still a lot of fun. I enjoyed how he kind of dumped you right into the middle of the action.
Hadn't yet read it, and it was kinda in the back of my current to read-list... But I guess now is as good a time as any to start this one and discuss it later with everyone. :)
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Wow, what a beginning!!
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As usual, I didn't want to put it down once I started.
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First book of his I read and have read everything else. Very good action writer
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Reilly is still my favorite A/A writer.
message 11:
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Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie
(last edited Jun 13, 2014 01:02PM)
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rated it 4 stars
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1. What did you think of the idea of an intergalactic, to the death contest taking place in the New York Public Library?
--It was kind of fun and weird in a good way. I mean, who would choose a library to have a gladiator contest?
2. How is Swain the ideal main character in this story? What did you think of Swain's daughter being caught in the situation? How did this change the story dynamic from another scenario where the life of a child wasn't involved?
--I think he's ideal because of his personality. He's a healer by profession and he has a lot of empathy and a well-developed sense of ethics. Instead of doing whatever it took to win, he still used his sense of honor in the contest and it worked for his favor. Also, he's a rational thinker and problem solver, which made it possible to get around the unwinnable situations he faced. Holly being teleported along with Swain ups the ante, because Swain also has to keep her safe in addition to himself. You don't often see kids in action scenarios, so it was an interesting dynamic. He might have taken more risks to himself if his daughter wasn't there.
3. What did you think about the other contestants?
--I was disappointed that most of them weren't humanoid. I think it would have been more fun to see what other humanoid life might be out in the universe and how they were different anthropologically from earthlings. I liked Balthazar (which he had talked more) and the Karanadon was kind of interesting. I also liked Swain's little guide Selexin. He was sarcastic and annoying, but also helpful. He learned a lot through his association with Swain.
4. What this story predictable or unpredictable? What aspects threw you for a loop if any?
--I don't know if I would call it predictable. I didn't really know what to expect. I think some of the elements that are typical for Reilly's books were there except less on-screen gore. I liked how Swain would get out of one tight spot and end up in another one. I really didn't expect the end.
5. What did you enjoy the most out of this book? The least?
--I loved Swain's ingenuity and how he worked around the rules of the game in good ways. How he formed an alliance with Balthazar was cool. It kept me on my seat constantly. I would have liked more humanoid contestants. I didn't like that the cops got killed.
6. Put yourself in Swain's shoes. How would you have reacted to various scenarios he encountered?
--I'd probably be in trouble. Enough said! I would like to think I wouldn't want to kill the other contestants unless they were trying to kill me and I couldn't help it.
7. Did you get a twinge when the library and books were destroyed?
--Oh it really damaged my book loving soul!
8. Since our June theme is sci-fi action/adventure, how did the science fiction aspects measure up?
--I thought the science fiction part was good. Fairly low tech, but credible. I loved the teleportation aspect and the little guides.
9. For those who have read other books by Reilly, how does this compare to his later works in your opinion?
--I think it showcases what I like about his writing, but you could see he was a less experienced writer when he wrote this. Pretty good for a 19 year old.
10. What are some other good sci-fi action/adventure novels you'd recommend to fans of this book?
--You might like Temple by Reilly. Sandstorm by Rollins.
11. Overall rating out of 1 to 10 or 1-5 stars?
--I'd give it a 7.5/10 and 4 out of 5 stars.
12. Did you have a question for the other participants to answer? Please put it in bold code.
I asked all the other questions, so I am going to pass on this one.
Great read, non-stop action as usual. If you like the momentum, try Ice Station. Cracking pace from the get go and more polished.
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message 15:
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Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!
(last edited Jun 25, 2014 07:02PM)
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rated it 4 stars
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message 17:
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Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!
(last edited Jun 27, 2014 07:27PM)
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rated it 4 stars
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Wouldn't be my first choice, but I guess it worked.
2. How is Swain the ideal main character in this story? What did you think of Swain's daughter being caught in the situation? How did this change the story dynamic from another scenario where the life of a child wasn't involved?
He's the perfect unlikely hero...He is not a fighter in real life, but saves lives instead. When thrust into this new world, he must rely on his intellect and quick thinking to stay alive. He also doesn't subscribe to the "kill or be killed" mantra...Even though he is battling for his own life, he still wants to be the "good guy" and save others if possible...If there is a way to change the rules of the game, he will find it! This doesn't mean at all that he is afraid to fight in any way...he can and does carry his own with the best of them...it just means that he isn't just about the killing. I love stories with unlikely heroes...not everyone has to be a trained fighter/killer! I almost wished that the daughter wasn't involved at all...she took away his main focus, which should have been all for the aliens. I don't think the story needed an emotional connection like that to work.
3. What did you think about the other contestants?
I wasn't too keen on the descriptions of all the aliens...they were just ok to me. This is a place where the author could have really shined and used his imagination, and I felt that he just fell short here.
4. Was this story predictable or unpredictable? What aspects threw you for a loop if any?
I think that the outcome of the contest was predictable, but how they got there was very unpredictable.
5. What did you enjoy the most out of this book? The least?
What I enjoyed the most was all the nonstop action...Just as soon as Swain got out of one life threatening predicament, he was in another just as quickly. My least favorite was the choice of alien contestants...not very interesting in my opinion. Reilly could have done so much more here.
6. Put yourself in Swain's shoes. How would you have reacted to various scenarios he encountered?
I wouldn't have lasted five minutes!
7. Did you get a twinge when the library and books were destroyed?
Never really thought about it...sorry!
8. Since our June theme is sci-fi action/adventure, how did the science fiction aspects measure up?
I thought there was just enough sci-fi...not too overly technical!
9. For those who have read other books by Reilly, how does this compare to his later works in your opinion?
It was entertaining, but definitely not his best work. I am glad I read it though.
10. What are some other good sci-fi action/adventure novels you'd recommend to fans of this book?
As mentioned in his book, Jurassic Park and many other books by Michael Crichton...another one of my favorite authors!
11. Overall rating out of 1 to 10 or 1-5 stars?
4 stars
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I also agree that the aliens could have been better.
Did you see that Reilly mentioned Crichton being a favorite and that his book was sort of an homage to Crichton's type of fiction?
Thanks for participating in the discussion, Lisa!
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I read that Danielle...I thought it was interesting to hear about how he originally wrote the story and then rewrote it several years later, and the changes that were made. I love it when an author personalizes the story a little.
I read and enjoyed this a few years back :)
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This was the only Reilly book I hadn't read, but as it came up on here I thought I might as well.1. Strange choice. I didn't have a problem with it.
2. I thought Swain was a little undeveloped, and also pretty one dimensional.
Reilly does the father-daughter sort of thing again with the Jack West Jr. series. I find his child-adult dialogue a little cringeworthy at times, but its a tough thing to do I suppose.
3. I though Reilly was a little bit unimaginative actually, with most of the "aliens" essentially humanoid in form and speaking English without a "babelfish" method of explaining this away.
4. Extremely predictable. The minute you understand what the "contest" in question is you know that Swain is going to win against all odds.
5. I enjoyed the action sequences. This is consistently where Reilly is at his best –- coming up with creative situations.
I didn't enjoy the predictability of the narrative.
7. Yeah I did have a point where I thought of all the old and amazing stuff you find inside a state library going up in flames.
8. The only other Sci-Fi I've really read is the Hitchhiker "trilogy", which is more of a humour series than it is strictly sci-fi. Otherwise, I'm generally not that interested in sci-fi. As I said above, I found the sci-fi elements in this a bit uncreative.
9. I've read all of them now, and this is in the bottom half.
The Scarecrow books (e.g. Ice Station, Area 7) are great. Not fantastically written, but really fun stories told at a ridiculous pace.
The Jack West Jr. books are okay. They seem largely inspired by the Dan Brown and James Rollins style semi-supernatural mystery adventure genre.
And as a standalone, Temple is another pretty entertaining read.
11. 3 stars
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Action/Adventure Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Jurassic Park (other topics)Contest (other topics)
I will try to post some discussion questions when I get a chance. If you have questions you'd like to ask, please post them in bold. Use html tags (b) and (/b) in front and behind your question, substitute () for <>.
Optional Discussion Questions
1. What did you think of the idea of an intergalactic, to the death contest taking place in the New York Public Library?
2. How is Swain the ideal main character in this story? What did you think of Swain's daughter being caught in the situation? How did this change the story dynamic from another scenario where the life of a child wasn't involved?
3. What did you think about the other contestants?
4. What this story predictable or unpredictable? What aspects threw you for a loop if any?
5. What did you enjoy the most out of this book? The least?
6. Put yourself in Swain's shoes. How would you have reacted to various scenarios he encountered?
7. Did you get a twinge when the library and books were destroyed?
8. Since our June theme is sci-fi action/adventure, how did the science fiction aspects measure up?
9. For those who have read other books by Reilly, how does this compare to his later works in your opinion?
10. What are some other good sci-fi action/adventure novels you'd recommend to fans of this book?
11. Overall rating out of 1 to 10 or 1-5 stars?
12. Did you have a question for the other participants to answer? Please put it in bold code.