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Fierce Kingdom

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Member Reviews

This was a book that didn't really work for me. The characters and situation were frustrating - it also represents one of those novels which I think piggy back from the success of Emma Donoghue's Room without engaging with the psychological complexity that she grappled with there. It feels like more shock factor/ mingling with the cuteness of the kid who doesn't really get the danger of the situation that they are in. I am really veering away from books like that after a real run of them so I very much checked out here.

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There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

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This was a struggle. I struggled like hell in the middle, really had to stop myself from permanently laying this down and not picking it up again.
The first part was fast paced. The ending ok.

Why did I pick this up?

I liked the sound of the premise.
It was “sold” to the reader well.
But it didn’t deliver what it promised.

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I read this a couple of years ago remember it being a quick paced thriller that proceeds in real time. An interesting premise with the main character and son locked in a zoo with 3-gunmen and their attempts to escape. It's an okay thriller, one of those easy summer reads and something I would recommend if sitting on the beach/looking to read something a little easier!

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A really gripping thriller that kept me guessing until the very last page. I loved it. Would recommend!

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Increadibly tense and fast paced - must be read in one sitting!

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I look forward to a time when the plot of this book seems insane and far-fetched, but that’s not the world we live in. I read this book in the shadow of an American mass shooting; and I write this review in the shadow of another. Always bigger, always worse, ever more common, every more normalised – never once decried as terrorism by a nation who have covered themselves in true weapons of mass destruction. If I hear one more person with a platform to influence gun control sending “thoughts and prayers” to victims I think I’m going to lose my mind. But I digress.

Lincoln is a good little boy who loves the zoo. He’s four, so he doesn’t like the dinosaur attraction quite so much as when he was only three – he wants to hear about real animals, and figure out how everything works, and play with his superhero ‘guys’. His mother Joan always knew she would do anything to protect him… but never in her worst nightmares imagined she would have to protect him from something like this. As they make their way towards the exit of the closing zoo, shots begin to rain down into the crowd. Those who survive to flee back into the zoo begin to be hunted down one by one.

Fierce Kingdom is almost unbearably tense in places, and while the ending did seem rushed it was almost a relief that it was. My heart. I don’t have any children, but due to the skilful drawing of Joan and Lincoln’s relationship it reminded me of Room, as I wondered ‘what would I do?’. As a lone adult looking at the timeline of the book (set over a couple of hours) it seems like lunacy to risk being found to go looking for food, but as a mother trying to avoid explaining to her hungry child that he needs to stay perfectly silent or he will be another statistic murdered by lunatics it makes sense.

For a book set in a zoo there isn’t a lot about animals, but the setting couldn’t be more perfect. Innocent creatures, trapped behind bars, unable to be free and live their lives, being observed, feeling ever exposed and threatened. Unspeakable creatures, roaming free, who should be behind bars but will never be, picking off those they perceive to be weaker. I’d recommend Fierce Kingdom as a fast-paced topical thriller to anyone with an interest in the genre.

Fierce Kingdom is published by Random House. I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this entertaining novel.
This book was quite a thrilling read, but proved my personal opinion, a mother knows her child the best. The relationship between a mother and her son can never be explained, and that is personal experience talking. There is no limits to what I would do for my son, and this book was a brilliant example of this.
Really a good book, please treat yourself to it.

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Lincoln, 4 and his mum, Joan, are visiting the zoo as they often do when shots ring out. What follows is a mothers fight to keep her child alive above everything else.
I wasn't sure how this simple idea could keep an entire book going but it did. You meet other characters along the way but the main characters are Lincoln and his mother who is doing the best she can to protect her son.
It was an easy read but kept you gripped to see whether Joan or Lincoln would survive.

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Not really my usual type of book from the prologue, but being a free offering thanks to NetGalley and that it had a fair bit of hype about it I thought I would give it a go. It didn't float my boat I am afraid. The plot is based around Joan and her son Lincoln who are at a zoo when some gunman star shooting people. The book then follows Joan going into survival mode to do all she can to protect her son. But it just didn't really ever get going or leave me on the edge of my seat. I'm not sure if it was ever meant to, maybe more of a view into what a mother will do to protect her child. Just not very thrilling - but others may like it. I will give this 2/5.

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'Fierce Kingdom' came strongly recommended to me by a friend who said that she was so engrossed by the first fifty pages that she missed her stop on the tube! Any book which can grab your interest like that and not let it go always intrigues me. And wow, 'Fierce Kingdom' really is the definition of a gripping thriller.
I don't want to give too much away, but it's the tale of a mother and her son who are trapped in a zoo which has been taken over by a number of gunmen. However, it's also a story of the bond we have with our parents, the decisions we make in the way we treat others, the relationships we build over the course of a life and how even the smallest decisions can have huge ramifications. Reading it feels like you're holding your breath, as it rushes from moment to moment.
My only minor criticism is that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending which felt a bit hazy and rushed. But, in saying that, it did make me burst into tears while reading it in a cafe and many (many) reassurances to the lovely person serving me that I was crying because of an incredible book rather than any major life trauma!
I've already recommended 'Fierce Kingdom' to a number of my friends and will continue to do so. It's a fantastic read - but just make sure you've got plenty of tissues to hand as you (inevitably) race through it.

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Pure tension from the first page to the last. Very descriptive writing which made the story seem so real and the characters were so believable. what a great idea for a story and very relevant to the current times where terror abounds.

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I really struggling with a rating for this book. I decided on three stars because I was caught up in the story and had to know how it was going to end. However, I did have some issues with it.

Joan is relaxing with her four-year-old son, Lincoln in one of their favorite areas of the zoo. She is listening to him chatter about Dr. Doom and Batman. It's near closing time and so they start to head for the exit....the next moment she hears what sounds like popping balloons or firecrackers. As she continues to head towards the exit she sees something that makes her turn around and run.

For the next three hours she must run, hide, and make some tough decisions to keep herself and her son safe.

When the book started off it was really intense. I can't imagine being in such a terrifying situation. Trying to keep yourself AND your child calm at a time like that would be extremely stressful. Even though I am not a mother myself, my heart was literally in my throat as I wondered where I would hide/whatt would I do?
Most of the story is told from the mother, Joan's point of view, but we do hear from teenager, Kailynn who works in the zoo's restaurant and a retired schoolteacher, Margaret Powell. As the story grows we discover information about Lincoln and the relationship between mother and son. We also hear about Kailynn's life and her relationship with her father. and the teachers life and feelings towards her students
The mid section of the book seemed to slow down too much although it did pick up towards the end but this was such contrast to the beginning of the book which was pacy and tense. I had a few issues with believability - why would you throw your phone away to hide the light - why not switch it off? Also before she threw away said phone, she spoke to her husband on the phone but I was a bit confused as to why she wouldn't just call the police? If you were that scared, feared for the life of your child, would you not call the police immediately and scream "Get me out of here!" down the phone?
There were also a few unanswered questions for me in the book . . . I don't want to say because of spoiling the story for others . . . but there were a couple of people still left unaccounted for at the end which I found a little annoying.

All that being said, I felt compelled to continue reading to the end. I was engrossed by it and desperate to find out what happened in the end. I have to admit, I didn't like the cruelty parts of the book (again don't want to go into detail about this) but it didn't sit right with me. I am an animal lover but I didn't see the point in putting this cruelty in to demonstrate a psychopathic nature of a character - it could have been handled differently. Plus, in the writer's thank you's, she mentions the cat escapades and it filled me with horror; did someone she know actually do this and she was thanking them? I shuddered at that. I just don't like things put in for shockability factor and I felt this was why it was there. I can cope with most things and animal cruelty isn't one of them, although I am aware that is my personal preference and it may not bother others. However, I do feel there should be a warning about this in the front of the book.
Overall a great concept, good pace at the beginning and end, a bit lacklustre in the middle. I was compelled to keep turning the pages and finished the book in two sittings, but there were a lot of unanswered questions and the cruelty didn't agree with me.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

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Wow, this story is a fantastic five stars and would make a brilliant film. There is so much intense drama that I couldn't put the book down. Joan and her four year old son, Lincoln, are on a trip to the zoo. It's almost closing time so they head to the exit gates. Suddenly a gunman appears and starts shooting people, randomly. Joan grabs Lincoln and runs. She knows the zoo pretty well and takes Lincoln to hide in an empty enclosure. They hide for a while and with darkness falling are almost found. Joan's maternal instinct kicks in and she does everything she can to protect her young son. Will they survive? Read on!

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Fierce Kingdom was a powerful, intriguing and emotive story, with a chilling opening chapter, although it wasn't all as fast paced as I expected. With shooting incidents rife in the US, this is a highly topical read. It explores the behaviour of a mother and her young son during an emergency situation, rather than reading like an action-packed thriller all the way through.

The book focuses mainly on Joan and four-year-old Lincoln, who are caught up in a shooting incident at their local zoo. This is a place they know well, so Joan knows exactly where to hide when the shooting begins. The focus is on their relationship and the difficult decisions Joan has to make to keep them safe.

Fierce Kingdom is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of the zoo, although this did slow down the pace at times. Most chapters follow Joan's thoughts, as she works how to keep Lincoln calm at a time of immense danger. Being a typical young child, he gets bored easily, needs food and struggles to keep quiet. But we do 'meet' another couple of the people in hiding, as well as one of the gunmen.

The tension ramped up as the book progressed, once Joan and Lincoln left their hiding place in search of food. Their fear felt very authentic and I struggled to put down the book during the final chapters. The ending was fairly dramatic but also a little abrupt, leaving me to wonder what had happened to some of the other characters. Plus, being set in a zoo, I would have loved more animal involvement.

Overall though, this was an enjoyable read and certainly made me think 'what would I have done in that situation?'

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Joan and her small son are enjoying the last few minutes before closing time at the zoo. Tucked away in the often overlooked sandpit, the day slips away from them until they are forced to run for the gates to avoid being locked in, but the sight that greets them at the exit is so horrifying that a night surrounded by caged animals pales in comparison. There are active shooters hunting human prey inside the zoo, their victims strewn all over the ground. As Joan’s survival instinct kicks in she realises she will do whatever it takes to keep her child safe. As she embarks on a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, trying to stay one step ahead of the gunmen while keeping a scared, hungry, tired four year old both quiet and calm, she soon understands just how far she will go for her child, placing his life above all others.

This book is not only a nail-biting ride from start to finish it is also an interesting look at maternal ferocity and survival instincts. Joan is a normal, unremarkable woman spending a pleasant day with her child, but when placed in a life-and-death situation the most basic part of her brain takes over forcing her to abandon all vestiges of human decency in order to keep him safe. The mounting sense of dread never lets up, and in a true testament to the author’s skill, the most horrifying, tense and gripping scene passes without a drop of blood being spilt. Although this story is mainly told through Joan’s eyes we do get glimpses of the experiences of others trapped inside, namely the shooter, a teenage restaurant worker named Kailynn and a retired teacher, Margaret Powell. Each adds a layer of tension to the story. Be warned, resolution of some of the most gripping side stories is not always provided, which may be frustrating for some.

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I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Don’t read this book if you’ve got other plans for the day – I did and found it immensely difficult to concentrate on anything else. This is an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a mother (Joan) and her young son (Lincoln) who find themselves trapped in a zoo with shooters on a rampage. This is the story of a mother’s devoted, desperate love for her child.
It is a chilling premise that is all too plausible. Joan’s struggle to keep her son calm and ultimately quiet as he gets increasingly tired, frightened, hungry and cranky, when the stakes are so high, is incredibly tense. The story focuses mainly on Joan and Lincoln but does also look at the attackers and how they came to this. An intense read.

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I read this book in one afternoon as I couldn't put it down and at times I realised that I was holding my breath so "the bad men" wouldn't hear me! Great story.

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Very well written book. My heart was thumping time and time again as Joan was trying to kept Lincoln safe from the gunmen. A well written portrayal of the fierce love a mother feels and the need to protect her child. Recommended.

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The word unputdownable is modest here... but I could not stop reading this. I'd been warned this was a stay-up-all-night-and-ache-from-tension-the-next-day kind of a book, and I was not misled. THRILLING

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