I came across this book completely by accident. In fact, I was browsing on Amazon and in the "also bought" section of the page was a book titled Project Hyperion, which was proclaimed a "Kaiju" thriller. The Godzilla-like monster on the cover immediately peaked my interest, but I thought, really? It kind of seemed ridiculous. Sure, I used to enjoy the Godzilla movies and similar fare when I was in middle/high school. Anyone else remember the Creature Double Feature? But, the modern versions of Godzilla have, in my opinion, fallen extremely short, and movies like Pacific Rim and Cloverfield weren't exactly smash hits.
I was just about ready to move on when I noticed that this was the fourth book in a series, and it had a 4.8 rating out of 5 - the majority of them 5 star reviews. Okaaay - worth another look. I searched for the previous books and they all had good reviews as well. So, I started browsing other books by the author, and came across Island 731. While not listed as a "Kaiju" thriller, I noticed that the "Kaiju" series included a novel titled Project 731, so I figured there must be a connection, and thought it MUST be the first book in the series.
Anyway, I picked it up at my local bookstore and started reading it. The inside cover contained a blurb that compared Island 731 to The Island of Dr. Moreau. Another blurb referred to it as one of the best successors to Jurassic Park. I also noticed that Steve Berry and James Rollins had some nice comments about Secondworld, another book by Mr. Robinson, so things are looking pretty decent.
While The Island of Dr. Moreau has some interesting elements, I found both the book and various TV movies to be on the boring side. It wasn't sounding like the same kind of story as Project Hyperion or the other books in the series, and it did not seem like the "origin" of the series either, so I thought I was in for a major disappointment. But, I kept reading. It was a little on the slow side for the first four or five chapters, but once they reached the island I didn't want to put this book down. For me, what this book has in common with Moreau is the scientific experimentation, but that's about it.
When I reached the halfway point, I was enjoying the book so much I researched the series some more. On Wikipedia, Island 731 was definitely listed as book "0" in the series, but Project Nemesis was actually the first book published. So, I had a confirmation that there was a connection between the books, and it did appear to be a prequel of sorts - but the story lines still seemed to be vastly different. But, that really didn't matter at this point - I was hooked!
I have to say, this was an awesome read! From chapter to chapter I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. This was a fast, gripping read of the variety I typically only find with Dan Brown, Robert J. Sawyer, Jack McDevitt, and Michael Crichton. The origins of the island are haunting, the science and biology are interesting, there's plenty of action, and I was surprised by many different elements of the story, which kept it fresh. I really had no idea where things would end up.
The last few pages of the book contain a brief overview of the events of Project Nemesis, and also have an introduction to Project Maigo, the next book in the series. After reading this, I am anxious to check out Project Nemesis and the additional books in the series. Given the high ratings, I fully expect to enjoy them. After browsing further on Amazon, I also have interest in handful of other standalone books by this author, which fall into my areas of interest (Beneath and Raising the Past currently look the most interesting).
This is another author that I was unaware of that I have taken a chance on, and it has paid off in a major way. I can't wait to get started on checking out some of the other books.
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