Contest

by Matthew Reilly

Book Overview

The New York Public Library. A silent sanctuary of knowledge; a 100-year-old labyrinth of towering bookcases, narrow aisles and long marble hallways. For Doctor Stephen Swain and his daughter, Holly,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312990049
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 1.2" x 4.1"

Customer Reviews

AND YOU THOUGHT "FEAR FACTOR" WAS TOUGH?!!

Reilly fans who loved ICE STATION/TEMPLE/AREA7 will enjoy CONTEST. And for those who did not like his later works you may be surprised with CONTEST. Reily first made his entrance into the action genre with CONTEST but difficulty in getting it published prevented it from getting the exposure that his later novels received. However, his fame from ICE STATION helped to re-introduce CONTEST. THe storyline is creatively brilliant and yet simple...Every thousand years a free for all battle to the death called The Presidium is held between seven contestants; each one from seven different predatory alien species thoughout the galaxy. Earth's representative is an unwittingly chosen yet resourceful young ER doctor. To add to the suspense his young daughter is accidentally transported with him to the battleground. The battleground this time is the venerable New York Public Library in a clear statement of sanctimonious hypocrasy; a brilliant setting! Thousands of books and works of arts are destroyed during the brutal and vicious fights between all sorts of hideous, grotesque creatures. To ensure a contestant does not try to escape there is an added explosive piece of motivation to stay. And if there is one survivor from the seven original contestants he/she/it must get past a 14-foot tall ape-like creature called a Karanadon as the final challenge. The author even adds a humanoid-like sidekick called Selexin which aides the Earthling during the battle. A alien in the beginning, this Selexin becomes "human" towards the end. Yes, it's a B-Type novel but...the entire storyline is brilliant, plain and simple. Interestingly, the main character Stephen Swain has the same initials as Reilly's later hero Shane Schofield. One could even argue that Swain joined the Marines and became Shane Schofield. Even after reading ICE STATION/TEMPLE/AREA7 I still found CONTEST a unique, refreshing, and thoroughly creative thrill ride.

Fast paced action packed !!

Matthew Reilly has successfully captured his boyhood fascination for aliens, monsters, godzilla like lizards and hobbits (almost like one) in this book. It's one cool book which is hard to put down and it takes you to a roller coaster ride right from the start. It is a fast paced action thriller in which a simple doctor is put to a contest with 6 other warriors from different Alien races. The plot becomes more complex as his 9 year old daughter is also caught in between aliens and monsters. If you like science fiction and thoroughly enjoy fights (Nasty fights), you would love this one. And by the way switch off your brains when you pick one up for a trip.

Contest packs in the action and the thrills

When I first heard about Matthew Reilly's Contest, I was very excited. I thought the idea of a life or death contest in the New York Public Library was a great idea. When I began reading it, I realized that I was not going to be disappointed. Actually it exceeded my expectations!The Contest takes place in the New York Public Library between 7 competitors, each from a different world, and each with a "guide". The action is non-stop, and it is written in a way that transports you to the middle of the action.One of the best things about this book was that it did not let you rest for one page. I read the book in two days and I really could not put it down until the last page. The idea is far fetched, if you are into reading something that might actually happen, you might want to shy away from this one, but if you are in a fun exciting read, this one is for you.I read Ice Station by Matt Reilly before I read Contest, and while Ice Station was a bit better, Contest was right up there. I highly recommend Contest to anyone looking for a fun read that you will find hard to put down.

Thrills A Plenty -- but slower than Reilly's previous 3...

I've known about 'Contest' since LONG before it's most recent release. Anyone who gets into Matthew Reilly's novels will eventually find out about his first novel that he shopped around to publishers who all said, 'No thanks' and went ahead and published it himself. His sheer preserverance paid off when he received a contract to write 'Ice Station', his first commercial success. A novel which completely re-wrote the book on how an action/adventure novel should be written. I am NOT kidding when I say there is more action in the 1st 50 pages than in a DOZEN Dirk Pitt novels COMBINED. The pacing that Reilly creates is absolutely unbelievable. Something you have NEVER experienced before by ANY other author. 'Ice Station' was just one amazingly fun novel -- incredibly unbelievable -- but tremendously FUN. He followed that up with my personal favorite Reilly novel to date, 'Temple'...which continued his pacing with new intensity. He resurrected his main character from 'Ice Station' when he brought us 'Area 7' and thrilled me yet again with chase scenes that race along at warp speed. Now I discovered that 'Contest' would be partially re-written and released globally -- at the publishers request due to Reilly's stunning popularity. I was skeptical, but hopeful that 'Contest' would live up to his previous works.I am happy to say that the plot to 'Contest' is simply FANTASTIC. Unlike one previous reviewer who made it out that in order for your galaxy to continue to survive, you had to win the Contest, this is NOT the case. Just one Contestant is chosen from 7 worlds to compete in The Presidian -- THE Contest. Either you walk out the winner or you don't walk out at ALL. Doctor Stephen Swain is sucked into what is called 'The Labyrinth' or to us mere mortals, The New York Public Library. Stephen is an UNWILLING participant. He was chosen against his will to participate in the Contest to either win, or like 2 other human representatives in the past, fail miserably. But along the way a few snags cause a few problems: Stephen's daughter, Holly, is accidentally brought along through a teleport device -- oh, and one of the Contestants has made the horrific choice to cheat, rendering all others participating in The Presidian an all but dismal chance at survival. Along for the ride with Stephen and Holly is their Guide, Selexin, who has the unfortunate task of telling his unwilling participant about how to proceed in a Contest he doesn't want to be in, and quickly decides that as nice as Stephen Swain is, he'll most likely be one of the first to die, and if the Contestant dies, so does their Guide, which means that Selexin must die as well. Poor Selexin. Along the way we also find out that whoever is IN the Presidian, they must be fitted with a non removeable wrist-band which gives out specific information, such as how many Contestants are still alive, and also acts as executioner should you accidentally find yourself OUTSIDE of The Labyrinth.

Non Stop Action

As Matthew Reilly has explained, this book was intended to be a no holds barred action adventure. Its very nature is to entertain and no apologies are made for the outrageous escapes or impossibly feats of heroics. I think he has met his goal in no uncertain terms.Dr Stephen Swain has been handed one of the most sought after and prestigious opportunities in the universe. He has been chosen to represent Earth in the Presidian, a game played against the other 6 inhabited worlds. What an honour! What an opportunity! There's only 1 catch, the game is actually a fight to the death. Seven participants enter a labyrinth but only one leaves. Oh yeah, and Earth's participants have all performed remarkably poorly in past events.Swain is afforded an advantage albeit a small one. This Presidian will be fought on his home ground or, more specifically, inside the New York Public Library. But any advantage he may have begins and ends there. Apparently, because previous representatives from Earth who were chosen based on their warrior backgrounds have performed so badly, Swain's selection was based solely on his ability to think his way around problems. So he enters a deadly fight to the death armed with - his wits.So the battle begins after a quick rundown of the rules and the action becomes frenetic. It's a frantic bid for survival against the odds that doesn't fail in it's number one objective - namely to provide edge of the seat thrills.