Book Review: Jurassic Hell by Russ Watts

There are not many places left untouched by man. There are even fewer where dinosaurs roam…

A probe breaks up on its return to Earth, scattering valuable data over an uninhabited island in the South Pacific. A three man crew from private company Space54 investigate, but they fail to return. The local chief refuses further access to the remote island, protecting an ancestral home unseen by man until now. An undercover military unit led by Phoenix Lewbridge is sent to the island to find any survivors and bring them home. What she finds on the island tests her unit’s fighting capabilities to the extreme.

Jurassic Hell: The ultimate showdown begins between man and beast. There can only be one winner… 

My Review: 
Ricardo, Tobias and Jane are sent into the island jungle to retrieve a scientific probe despite the misgivings of the religious local tribe leader, and they vanish. Permission has not been given for a rescue mission but the local man who took the three missing people to the island agrees to smuggle in a military unit hired by Space54 to find the missing people and the data they were searching for. The rescue team have no idea that the island jungle is ruled by various deadly dinosaurs until they have arrived. Now time is running out to get safely back to the beach to be picked up and the team need to decide whether to continue with the rescue or just abandon them to try to save themselves. 

The book begins with Ricardo, Tobias and Jane trying to track where the probe has landed quickly as the local chief has only allowed them to be there for two days. In the heat of the jungle, they struggle to stay on schedule and come suddenly into conflict with a huge dinosaur. We don't see the fate of all three of the team, as we then switch to the rescue team being assembled to go and find them. This is an illegal secret rescue without the permission or assistance of the local chief but local boat owner Freddy defies his chief to secretly land them on the island for a one day mission, declaring that he must leave for home when it gets dark. Now the team have to navigate the jungle and find the missing people, unaware of what they are going to find.

The team leader is Phoenix, who struggles to maintain control over the men in her unit, especially ambitious second in command Karl. I found it annoying how Phoenix just lets him bitch and undermine her at every opportunity and does nothing about it. For a supposed strong leader it makes her very weak. In fact Karl's rudeness almost makes Freddy change his mind about helping him on the mission and she really needed to take charge and shut him up. She spends most of the trip over to the island dreaming about sex with Freddy and is so distracted that her team take orders from Max and decide their path through the jungle, which she then gets pissed at them for. Well pay attention then woman and control your team! The other thing that bugged me was her obsession with her sisters-one minute she bleats that she wishes she had dull lives like them and was safe, then she is bragging about her exciting life and hating to be bored like her sisters. This goes on a lot through the book which was annoying.

My favourite character is Freddy, who reluctantly goes against his teachings to help with the rescue because he feels guilty for taking the first group there. Karl is a complete pain and I really can't stand him and the way he behaves towards Phoenix but he keeps getting away with it. That level of insubordination should never be tolerated in a military special forces team. It's only later in the book that Karl improves as the mission gets really deadly. However then it goes into how Phoenix and Karl no longer hate each other and secretly LURVE each other. Ugh. There are too many sexual steriotypes in here with the female disrespected by her male colleagues, the fact she has to think about sex and attraction non stop through a 12 hour mission where dinosaurs are killing the team, that men and women can't work together in the military without sex creeping in...it was a bit frustrating at times. 

I did like the dinosaurs in the book and there was plenty of action to enjoy. The T Rex was totally terrifying and as relentless and deadly as you would expect it to be when hunting prey. I liked that it wasn't easy to just kill with weapons and that cunning and luck had to come into their plans. The other monsters are just as deadly and I enjoyed all the dinosaur attacks. The book does end on a cliffhanger but I have no idea if there is to be a follow up book or if it is just going to be left like that. If there is no sequel then it is a really disappointing way to end. 

There are a few flaws in the book but I did still enjoy reading it. I did like the author's writing enough to read more of his work.

Read July 2019
3 stars.