5/5 stars
It's no secret that post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels are all the rage right now. Between The Hunger Games series and the novels it has inspired, and the old but ever popular novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which despite being published in 1950 is ever popular (in fact I'll be reading and reviewing it very soon!), futuristic novels are taking over our libraries, bookstores, and e-readers. For this reason, I anticipate that James Patterson's newest novel will catch like fire!
Normally, Patterson tackles mystery and thrillers, and he does it well. However, his brand new novel with Michael Ledwidge, Zoo, is more of a sci-fi thriller, a different territory for him, but he handled it well! However, instead of being post-apocalyptic, like the novels I mentioned above, Zoo describes just how the world reaches the apocalypse, and it may surprise you.
As you may have guessed from the title, animals play a large part in the end of the world scenario present in this novel. Animals, over the past few years, have increased their aggression toward humans, and are acting strangely: coming together (despite normal behaviors of their species) and attacking humans, seemingly unprovoked. Jackson Oz, known as Oz, was doing well at an Ivy League college, until his theories about animals taking over the world got him laughed out of the prestigious science circles he was once a part of.
However, as the novel progresses, it becomes alarmingly clear that Oz's theories are all too real. As every kind of animal, from wild lions to household dogs, becomes more and more aggressive and dangerous, the world begins to panic and fall to pieces, at the mercy of mammals everywhere. Will people finally start listening to Oz...before its too late?
This novel asked some tough questions and made me think a lot about if this were to really happen. Were the animals just crazy, or were they angered by the human treatment they had received all their lives? What would I be willing to give up to stop these attacks? Would I, and my fellow humans, be willing to give up "essentials" like cell phones, and cars?
This novel was a fantastic, quick read, and interesting to me, someone who doesn't enjoy science, and doesn't read much sci-fi. Go out and get a copy of this novel asap, and if you read it, tell me what you thought!
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