General Information
===================
 Title:                  Contest
 Author:                 Matthew Reilly
 Read By:                Sean Mangan
 Copyright:              2000
 Audiobook Copyright:    2001
 Genre:                  Mystery
 Publisher:              Bolinda Audio Books
 Abridged:               No

Original Media Information
==========================
 Media:                  Tape
 Number:                 8
 Source:                 Library
 Condition:              Very Good

File Information
================
 Number of MP3s:         16
 Total Duration:         9:58:18
 Total MP3 Size:         411.04
 Parity Archive:         No
 Ripped By:              scsigirl
 Ripped With:            CoolEditPro
 Encoded At:             CBR 96 kbit/s 44100 Hz Mono
 ID3 Tags:               Set, v1.1, v2.3

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Book Description
================
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The New York Public Library. A silent sanctuary of knowledge: a one-hundred-ye-
-
ar-old labyrinth of towering bookcases, narrow aisles, and long marble 
hallways. For Dr. Stephen Swain and his daughter, Holly, it is the site 
of a nightmare, because for one night this historic building is to be 
the venue for a contest. A contest in which Swain is to compete, whether 
he likes it or not." "The terms are simple: Seven contestants will enter, 
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 brutal. He can choose to run, to hide, or to fight - but if he 
wants to live, he has to win. For in this contest, unless you leave 
as the victor, you do not leave at all. 

FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
ETs with a mordant sense of drama turn the New York Public Library into 
"the labyrinth" for an interstellar survival game show in this ungainly 
thriller from Australian Reilly (Ice Station). Seven players, each from 
a different world, compete for their lives, combating not only each 
other but also a monster called the Karanodon. The earthly representative 
is Dr. Steven Swain, chosen for his courage in successfully fighting 
off a gang of thugs who invade his operating room. Unfortunately, Swain 
happens to be holding Holly, his plucky little daughter, at the moment 
he's transported into the labyrinth, so she goes with him. The most 
devilish trick the "sponsors" provide is an unremovable digital bracelet, 
whose face shows how many opponents remain, and will commence a deadly 
15-minute countdown should its wearer manage to escape the library's 
electrified confines. Derivative of Michael Crichton's techno-thrillers 
as well as Stephen King/Richard Bachman's The Running Man, the book 
offers constant, nail-biting action, but not a lot of reverence for 
one of New York City's greatest public institutions. (Mar. 10) Forecast: 
As the author admits in a note, this was his first novel, originally 
self-published in Australia. It should sell well to established fans 
who won't mind being disappointed to discover it's not up to the standard 
of Reilly's later work. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. 

Kirkus Reviews
The Australian author of three breathlessly plotted action thrillers 
(Area 7, 2002, etc.) unveils what was his first novel. You'd think a 
bunch of highly advanced aliens would find some other place in the galaxy 
to hold a gory death match than the 42nd Street New York Public Library, 
and that they'd pick someone other than radiologist Stephen Swain to 
represent the human race. A brainy, good-natured widower who quelled 
a violent disturbance a few weeks back (and thus gained the approval 
of extraterrestrial watchers), Swain finds himself teleported into the 
library, unwitting and unarmed, from his Long Island home, with his 
eight-old daughter, Holly, in his arms. There, a fussy, four-foot humanoid 
named Selexin spends far too many pages explaining the contest rules, 
which are, basically, that the last of the seven species to survive 
has to kill the Karandon, a big, stupid, hairy ape with claws, who has 
already shredded a library security guard. Oh, and Swain better not 
flee: the library is enclosed in a lethal electrical field and, even 
if Swain finds a way to disable it, a band on his wrist that he can't 
remove will incinerate him if he's outside the field for more than 15 
minutes. Why 15 minutes? Why do all the creatures Swain has to fight 
resemble hokey Hollywood monsters from cheesy horror and science fiction 
shows? Why do aliens with such advanced technology use claws, knives, 
horns, fangs, mesmerizing antennae, or big ugly feet to kill their prey? 
Why does the National Security Agency send in a platoon of macho commandoes 
to investigate when New York's Finest deals with illegal aliens all 
the time? Reilly has little concern for these and other preposterous 
plot holes, and, on page89, he begins the inventive, highly contrived, 
breathtakingly executed mayhem that makes his thrillers such quick, 
mindless reads. Reilly says he had to self-publish Contest "after every 
major publisher in Sydney rejected it." Those editors should keep their 
jobs.

