Random House Canada, July 4, 2017.
Four Stars
Fierce Kingdom is a terrifying novel about the lengths a mother will go to in
order to protect her child. Joan and her four-year-old son Lincoln are spending
a fun and relaxing day at the zoo, when they hear what sounds like fireworks in
the distance. At the end of the long day, they head toward the front gates and
encounter a shocking scene – there are armed gunmen at the exit, standing over
bloody bodies on the ground.
Thinking fast, Joan grabs Lincoln and runs back into
the labyrinth of the zoo – and she keeps running for the next three hours,
right up until the novel’s thrilling ending. Luckily, Joan has spent a lot of
time at the zoo, and she remembers an empty exhibit where they can hide until
the police arrive. She has her cell phone and is able to contact her husband,
who tells her that the police are on their way – but soon after she is forced
to throw her phone away to distract the gunmen, leaving her at the mercy of the
dark zoo at night.
Staying just a step ahead of danger, Joan encounters
another small group of people who are also on the run – but working together
puts her and Lincoln in more danger. Joan quickly realizes the sacrifices she is
willing to make to save her child, and she is shocked by her own actions. The
novel questions our duty towards other people in contrast to our animal
instinct to survive with our own loved ones. The zoo setting is important
because it shows the humans that are trapped there as nothing more than animals
in a cage, desperate to survive – suddenly life is pared down to the essentials
of food, shelter and staying alive.
Most of the story is told from Joan’s perspective,
but we do meet some other characters, including one of the gunmen. Learning
about his motivations for the attack is intriguing, and the behaviour between
the men becomes increasingly animalistic as well. Each narrator also has
flashbacks describing their life before the zoo attack, which are emotional and
compelling, fleshing out these characters into three-dimensional people. The
background stories increase the stakes, as we become invested in the survival
of Joan, Lincoln and the others.
The events at the zoo aren’t always realistic, but it’s
certainly a believable situation that could happen to anyone at any time. The
difficult decisions of motherhood become clear and concise, as Joan sacrifices
everyone and everything – even herself – to protect Lincoln. Fierce Kingdom is a thrilling story,
difficult to put down and exciting from start to finish. This is a great summer
read that will likely be one of the most popular books of the season, and well
worth reading.
I received this book from Random House Canada and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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