Zoo

Written by James Patterson

Narrated by Jay Snyder

For thirty-six 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.

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House UK Audio
• Release date: Sep 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781409006077

James Patterson

James Patterson is the CEO of J. Walter Thompson, an advertising agency in New York. He has written several successful fiction and nonfiction books, including The New York Times best seller The Day America Told the Truth.

Reviews for Zoo

[sharonpmoxley · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Patterson has finally missed the boat on Zoo. The book is utterly predictable with a well worn plot that tries to imitate Hitchcock’s Birds. Animals killing humans all over the world just doesn’t work. I could only read to the middle of the book and finally tossed it without finishing. Given the number of books Patterson puts out each year he was bound to score a zero sometime. This is that time.

[patrick631 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

this was one of the worst books of his I read. I could barely get through it.

[geek_mum11 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was definately not one of James Patterson's best. It had a nice hooking plot, but it just fell flat. I was very disappointed.

[repb_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Stupid and outlandish. Crazy situation where mankind has screwed around with the environment with cell phones and overuse of petroleum causing animal life to attack all human beings. I finished just because, for the life of me, I could not future out how he (they - it took two writers to create this story?) were going to finish. Unnecessarily includes lesbianism and foul language to top it off. A waste of reader's time.

[chancelet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An entertaining read, to say the least. I truly enjoyed it, even though there were some points in the plot where you say, "That is so stupid. No one would have done that!" Once you get past that, the story is good, the tone is works well, and the ending was done right.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like the book. I truly believe that authors write to please their audience. Sadly, I am not in the audience for this book.It feels like a combination of Jurassic Park, Mighty Joe Young and King Kong, gone wrong. What could have been a really exciting novel descends into a fantasy, not quite believable. The author has used the book to advance his political agenda with issues that range from environmental abuse, to governmental arrogance and incompetence, to almost all other social issues, even including a lesbian couple that is attacked in Africa, although their sexuality has nothing whatsoever to do with the story.After more than a decade of unusual animal behavior, indicating an animal population behaving contrary to their natures, turning on humans, the powers that be, meaning government officials, finally wake up and turn to scientists for the answer which will solve what seems to be the possible arrival of the end of days. They turn to a man who originated the concept of a human/animal clash but was previously very unsuccessful in warning the public or getting the ear of the people in charge. Originally on the fast track at Columbia, working toward his PHD, Jackson Oz is undone by this theory. Unemployed and no longer at school working toward his degree, he can’t shake the thought that there is “a paradigm shift underway in the world of animal life, and that animals are behaving strangely” out of character, in a way that will be catastrophic for the world. Too soon, his theory becomes the nightmare of reality.He rants about an ineffective, corrupt government, peopled by arrogant, spoiled Congressmen, etc., making decisions based on politics rather than common sense(sounds a bit familiar), and he even casts a female President in an important role, but not a thoughtful President in charge of the crisis, rather one that overreacts and makes poor decisions, making the crisis worse. It is not too far into the future since she is the 45th President. Jackson Oz is the name of the quasi hero of the novel. Many of his decisions are uninformed and immature, as well. The book further declines, in my opinion, with the inclusion of irrelevant sex scenes and very often inane dialogue. In addition, the effort to add wit to the tale, failed for me. The subject matter was not funny, and if addressed with greater seriousness, the author might well have made this novel a warning about what might come if we continue to abuse our world, rather than engaging in an implausible flight of fancy.Those that like books that combine fantasy, science fiction and horror, and those who eagerly await the next Patterson novel, will undoubtedly find more to like in this book than I did. It is a fast read, it is exciting, but it left me wanting. Perhaps it would best be read on an airplane or on a beach, somewhere on vacation, preferably where there are no wild animals.

[csayban · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars – FairJackson Oz was supposed to have a bright future, finishing his PhD in biology and flaunting a gorgeous girlfriend. Instead he is flat broke in a New York City apartment shaken by constant trains, living with his chimpanzee, Attila, and scorned as a conspiracy nut for his theories on the escalating aggression of animals around the world. Even Oz is unsure of himself. That is until a last ditch trip to Africa brings him face-to-face with what is about to become a worldwide fight for survival between man and beast. But will anybody listen to him before it is too late?“...The world was becoming a zoo, without cages.”James Patterson has written or co-written more books than can be easily counted and has a worldwide following for his string of bestselling crime thrillers. With Zoo, however, he and co-writer Michael Ledwidge depart from this formula and head into uncharted territory. I have to say that early on, the premise of the book was very interesting. All sorts of different scenarios ran through my mind as I read of what could be causing the animal kingdom to go berserk. Patterson does a good job of fanning that flame of uncertainty through the first half of the book. However, when the picture finally resolves, the story quickly loses steam. It isn’t that the story completely falls apart, it just sort of fades out in a bit of a whimper. The last half of the book felt rushed.The character of Jackson Oz is well developed. I enjoyed following him as he tries to navigate his uncertainties and feelings about the crisis. But the rest of the characters are underdone and the narration ends up feeling very thin. In fact the entire story feels unfinished, especially the last 100 pages. In spite of its nearly 400 pages, Zoo reads very quickly – too quickly to reap the benefit of what was sown in the early chapters.Zoo has a really seductive premise for a doomsday scenario that hasn’t been tapped into very much to my knowledge. That is why I’m disappointed with it. In hands as capable as Patterson, I expected something better developed. It’s not that there is anything overtly wrong with Zoo, it just didn’t capitalize on an interesting beginning. I honestly wish Patterson could keep the first 200 pages and rewrite the rest. Unfortunately, Zoo will go down as a tale of what could have been…but wasn’t.

[leseratte30 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

fast paced, quick read - as usual with a Patterson

[draak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Zoo, animals everywhere are starting to act strangely. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, tries to sound the warning but everyone labels him as a crackpot. When he goes to Africa to witness first hand what is happening with the lions, he captures it on video and people finally start listening to him. But things aren't happening fast enough and before long animals are attacking and killing while the humans hide. When I first read what this book was about I hoped that it could deliver. And I was not disappointed. From the first page to the last it held my interest and I could not put it down. I highly recommend it.

[gma2lana · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I normally like Patterson books, they are to me a quick page turning read. HOWEVER, this book, did not do it for me. I usually can get through a book of his rather quickly, this book took me way to long. In the beginning of the story, it captured my attention, but towards the middle and end, it really stalled out for me. I am glad that I don't have to drag this to work with me, its the hard cover and I am sad that I spent $10 bucks for this book as well. Guess that's the chance we take. I wish I could do half stars, becuase 2.5 would be tops for me.

[dannalora_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was more like a Dean Koontz book than a James Patterson book. I am amazed with authors anyhow, but truly amazed when they can switch their genre up like that and the book still be a good one.

[pinkcrayon99 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There is a subtle change in animal behavior. As time progresses, more and more animal attacks on humans are being reported around the world. This problem is being studied by, Jackson Oz. Oz is a witty nerd whose theory on the sudden change in animal behavior is going unheard by most of his colleagues. His devotion to this theory has caused him to drop out of his prestigious PHd program and live in the bare minimum conditions. It also must be noted that Oz lives with a 3yr old chimp named, Attila. Oz stole Attila from the research center where he previously worked. On a trip to Africa to study lions who were attacking humans, Oz's life changed forever. The change was for better and worse. Oz returns home from Africa to a murder scene and Attila acting possessed.Jackson Oz is one of those characters that you feel like you have known for years. His intellect does not intimidate or overwhelm the story. His passion to try and make the world understand and recognize HAC: Human Animal Conflict is relentless. Eventually Oz's theory is proven true when animal packs all over the world gather and begin killing humans. Instead of Oz saying, "I told you so," he becomes even more disturbed at the magnitude of the crisis. The way that this book is written is quite captivating. You feel as if you are in this with Oz. You want him to figure out what is making these animals turn so suddenly. Oz is the underdog that you get out of breath cheering for. Current events and pop culture are also sprinkled throughout but not heavily. Patterson gives us narrators from India, Russia, and even the likes of "Gorillas in the Mist." We get a take from everyone's point of view even the animals. Patterson keeps Attila close which made me happy and sad. The entire time I was reading I kept thinking what would we do if this actually happens. It was interesting to see how Patterson wrote the government and people's responses to this international crisis. The ending was not happy or too sad but extremely sobering. I didn't find the book far-reaching or over the top. The scientific information and terms did not bog the reader down. This is my first James Patterson novel and I'm happy I stumbled across it.

[busyreadin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting theory on animals threatening human existence.

[tomwheaton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book had a really interesting premise and was a page-turner through the first half of the book. But, I thought it dragged a bit in the middle, then picked up again at the end. The ending was kind of inconclusive as it left the reader to decide what happened after the book ended and left me thinking that there might be a sequel.

[jefware · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Petroleum and EM radiation combine to turn mammals into a mega-mob of human killers powered by intelligent pheromones. The science is sub-surface in the sea of plausibility but the story in a real page-turner. I finished this book in three sessions, so it is an easy read.

[kikoa_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great read.....Loved it...When you want an easy book to read. Short chapters big print....you can just zoom through. Good scary story that is within the realm of possibility.