Product Description

The New York State Library looms as a silent sanctuary of knowledge: a hundred-year-old labyrinth of towering bookcases, narrow aisles, and spiral staircases. But for Dr Stephen Swain and his eight-year-old daughter Holly it is a place of nightmare. Because, for just one night, this historic building is to become the venue for a horrifying contest, a contest in which Swain must compete, whether he likes it or not.

The rules of the challenge are simple: seven contestants will enter, but only one will leave. With his daughter in his arms, Stephen Swain is plunged into a terrifying fight for survival. The stakes are high, the odds are brutal. He can choose to run, to hide, or to fight - but if he wants to live, he needs to win. For, in this particular contest, unless you leave as victor, you do not leave at all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8492 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 763 pages

About the Author
Matthew Reilly was born in Sydney in 1974 and studied Law at the University of New South Wales. He has written both screenplays and magazine articles, and recently optioned the film rights to Contest. His second and third novels, Ice Station and Temple, became No. 1 bestsellers in his native Australia, and went on to enjoy huge success internationally. The author still lives in Sydney, and keeps on writing.

Customer Reviews

This is most unusual
I suppose the genre for this book is Sci-fi but thriller would fit it too. I like thrillers and this is one of the fastest paced books I have read lately. The action takes place in the New York State Library and action there certainly is. Stephen Swain is a doctor, a radiologist, he is teleported from his Connecticut home to the library and told by a little man in white that he has been selected to represent Earth in a galactic, fight to the death, contest. To complicate matters Swain is holding his daughter, Holly, in his arms at the time of the transportation, so his killer instinct, not that he has one, is directed at protecting his daughter from the six other contestants and a few other ugly creatures along for the ride.
Well-done Reilly I will look out for the rest of your novels.

Absolutely ou of this world, LITERALLY!
After this book i have nothing but praise and thanks for Matthew Reilly as this was the book that made me the avid reader i am today.

This book is an action-packed cauldron of aliens, special effects and .. midgets. The basic plot involves Stephen Swain, a regular doctor, being thrust into the world that is Contest. A brutal, and at sometimes gory, battle to the death.

After finding himself and his daughter telported into this monstrous battle, he must use his intelligence and his instincts to overcome these foes, whilst at the same time protecting his daughter.

While at first trying to avoid every confrontation by running away, he finds out that in the end the only way to survive, is to fight.

Prepare to enter the world of Matthew Reilly, you'll want to pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable, becuase once your there, you'll never want to leave.

Why the bad reviews???
Can't believe some of the bad reviews for this book. This is a fast paced easy to read thriller that is well worth a read. Not Matthew Reilly's best book, but certainly not as bad as some of the reviewers have made out. Buy it and you won't be disappointed.