Contest

This was part of an elimination-style book club, and did surprisingly well because it does its thing and doesn't care what you think. I respect that.

The fundamental premise is that several intelligent alien species hold duel to the death once a millennium for no good reason. They think humans are (and have been for millennia) too backward to learn of their existence; but not too backward to be kidnapped to take part in the contest, whereas all the other contenders are hand-picked and know all about it. The other aliens have such evolved morality that the honour of taking part in a not-strictly-necessary fight to the death outweighs the simple fact that such humans (lacking preparation, or any knowledge of the contest, or their show more opponents' abilities, and having never seen an alien in their lives) will inevitably die ignominiously.

It's vitally important that humans not learn anything about them, so they decide to hold this contest in a public building in the centre of a major city. Rather than finding a deserted warehouse or something, they pick the city library. Their cunning plan to avoid detection is to drop a savage alien monster into the library, where it can kill a few passers-by with no connection to the contest whatsoever. Next, they wait until the local law enforcement come in, seal off the building, and set guards inside while monitoring it constantly. Then, and only then, do they use powerful force-fields to block any exit from the building and start porting in contestants, in the process neatly sealing in a few more humans to die pointlessly. Luckily their Advanced Alien Morality has no problems with that.

This is about averagely plausible for every other aspect of the book. Much of my enjoyment came from mocking and then rolling with the preposterousness that confronted me on every page. The sequence of hardcore characters set up, one by one, to seem like the protagonist, each kickier-ass than the last! The exploding wristbands! The alien guides whose sole purpose is to be a living webcam and exposition-device! The magnets! The alien cheating! The explosions! The Men In Black!

It's incredibly fast-paced, not particularly well-written and utterly implausible at every step, but it were a laugh and it doesn't work the old brain too hard. show less

I love almost everything that Matthew Reilly writes….so I wasn’t too surprised that I love this one also. If you were to mix “Juristic Park” and “Die Hard” together you would have the ingredients that compose Contest. Matthew Reilly has an incredible talent for creating characters that matter and that you can care about. Contest will take you for one wild ride and you will be glad that you went along. . Have fun! Don’t try too hard to make it make sense in the scheme of reality…just sit back and enjoy.

En la Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York va a tener lugar un juego mortal: el Presidian. Siete jugadores de diferentes planetas tendrán que enfrentarse en este escenario, donde el doctor Stephen Swain será nuestro representante involuntario, que además está acompañado de su hija pequeña, Holly. Pero, ¿qué podrá hacer un humano contra seres extraterrestres, auténticos cazadores?

‘El laberinto’ (Contest, 1996), del australiano Matthew Reilly, es una muy buena de aventuras y ciencia ficción, muy visual, con frases cortas y que va al grano, algo de agradecer en un best seller que no pretende otra cosa que entretener y divertir. El planteamiento no es muy original, un juego donde solo puede quedar uno (Battle Royal, Los Juegos show more del Hambre), pero Reilly sabe dotarle de frescura. Lo dicho, acción y entretenimiento. show less

I picked this book up on evening when I just had to get out of the house and have some time to myself, and not be a mommy and wife. I grabbed a cup of coffee, cursed myself for not thinking to bring a book from home, and quickly got lost within the pages of this novel. My expectation were not high, all I wanted was to loose myself for a couple of hours within a quick, easy read, but this story allowed me to escape and was actually a good story. After about four hours, and I'm not sure how many cups of coffee, my husband called my cell phone to ask if I was ever coming home. I did, and quickly holed myself up in my room to finish my book. A wonderful escape to help save a woman's sanity.

A man and his daughter are drawn into a battle to the death called the Presidium. Seven life forms from different galaxies come together once every thousand years to determine superiority. This year’s labyrinth of choice is the New York Public Library. Human’s are the only representatives not aware of this ongoing “contest” and are the only species drawn into the event without consent. Of course, no human has ever won. Enter Dr. Steven Swain and his daughter (via teleportation of course) and the contest is on. Oh – did I forget to mention that there is a big, bad monster that has to be defeated at the end and some annoying interference from NSA?
This was another entertaining book from Mr. Reilly. It is his first novel show more (originally self published), so a little less intense than the Jack West series. I liked it for that reason. The style of this book also seems to foreshadow some of the author’s favourite elements used in the Jack West series. (Spoiler alert - Many book lovers will cringe at the destruction of the landmark and its contents … I did … but what does one expect when pesky aliens are involved) show less

Dr. Stephen Swain and his daughter Holly are teleported into the NY Public Library, which has been sealed by an massive electric field, along with a guide named Selexin. Selexin explains that Swain is the sole human in mortal combat with extraterrestrials, and the rules of the Presidian competition. (Holly's presence was only an accident because she was too close to Swain when he was snatched.) Brutal, violent, fast-paced action, with ineffective, secret U.S. governmental interference. Swain's creativity and cool demeanor under pressure is impressive. This was Australian author Reilly's first book, which was originally self-published.

If you want a book full of rip-roaring excitement and nail-biting adventure, you can't go past Matthew Reilly. Even though "Contest' is obviously his first book, it is still a great read and I liked the setting for all this action - the New York State Library.