The Cageless Zoo

by Thomas K. Carpenter

Visiting the galaxy's only Cageless Zoo should be a special treat for Melandre and her children. Except she's still trying to reckon with her husband's recent death and how she's going to raise two highly independent children on her own. As their visit quickly falls to chaos, Melandre learns that family is the only thing left she has to rely on.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, Animals, Science Fiction Fantasy

51 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2011

About the author

Thomas K. Carpenter is a full time contemporary fantasy author with over 70 independently published titles. His bestselling, multi-series universe, The Hundred Halls, has over 43 books and counting. His stories focus on fantastic families, magical academies, and epic adventures. All the books can be found at major retailers and directly from the author at https://thomaskcarpenter.com/.

You can sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/trialso...
When he is not writing, he enjoys playing turn-based strategy games and MTG, skiing, hiking, traveling, and chilling on the couch with his wife and their little dog, Merlin, at home in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

I read 42% - confusing - definitely not my thing.

[NayDoubleU · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think maybe the format of this story threw me off but something just didn't hit home the way I would have liked. Loved the simplicity of this story and how quick of a read but I had a lot of unanswered questions. So much potential

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dangerous, exotic predators feast, August 13, 2016

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Cageless Zoo (Kindle Edition)

The Darwin Institute will go to extremes to protect Darwin's theory, including covering up research showing that John-Baptiste Lamarck was right rather than the supporters of Darwin. Unfortunately for visitors to the cageless zoo, owned and operated by the Institute, the cover-up blinds them to danger lurking in the zoo. Of course things go wrong (or there wouldn't be much of a story) and people end up really feeding the animals.

[Michelle McPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cageless Zoo

What an interesting and horrifying concept. I could see the draw of this type of attraction but I don't think I could ever trust technology enough to personally visit a careless zoo myself.

[Markel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was worried about reading this one as I had high expectations and even though it didn't match them I still enjoyed the read. It was fast, easy, flowed quickly and you could feel the fear. It was a lot of fun.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a really enjoyable read if not a little short. I would have liked to have had the experience expanded, but for a short story, I think it was pretty well put together.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very short/quick read (and the ebook is free on Amazon!). The book description is fairly accurate, but in my opinion it doesn't make the danger/adventure that dominates a large portion of the story evident enough.

Basically a woman's husband dies leaving her with two kids. She takes them to a cageless zoo where you can get right up close and personal with the "animals". The something happens and the family finds themselves stuck in the middle of this zoo full of dangerous animals that are running amok. The death of the husband actually does play an important role in the story but I don't want to give too much away.

I gave this story three stars because it is an interesting enough story line, but I just didn't feel sucked in like I need to be in order to give it a four or a five. Perhaps in part that was because I knew this story was very short and didn't want to get to invested in a story that wasn't going to go very far. Considering it was free though and it was short I liked it enough that I would recommend it to someone who just had a little extra time on their hands.

[DENISA HOWE · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful… gory surprise. The actual plot was captivating as it brings you into a family dealing with the loss of their father. They go to the virtual zoo owned by the company their father did research for. He had facts to prove something very wrong could and probably would happen. The mystery of his death and company who wanted to keep his research hidden fills these pages. The most fascinating and scary pages kept me on the edge of my seat. The zoo held no bars, had animals that needed no physical control or restraint and was amazing. These animals were those that haven’t existed yet, only in our imagination. They all were unique, special and blood hungry. Something goes very very wrong and they are caught in the middle…. Father was right but would they live to tell it?
This book was bought via Amazon.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story on Kindle and I've been reading it on my iPod for a few weeks. Imagine a futuristic story with animals as yet undiscovered. Not just unknown, but some of the scariest predators out there. Then, put them in a zoo with no cages and some mind altering technology that lets them not notice humans. The technology is fun and the animals are creative, both of which I enjoy in a story. Of course, like Jurassic Park, no system is foolproof and a power failure in a sandstorm means disaster.

All in all, I liked it. If this became a full-length book about the people behind the zoo or the scientists studying the animals, I would read it. A book 15 years in the future and featuring children that follow in their dad's footsteps would also be a potentially good read.

[Sfloreen · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you like sci-fantasy, you might like this book. I actually do not like reading science fiction novels where nothing is either described well, or explained. It's okay to wave a magic wand in a fantasy book and something happen, it's explained away by magic. It is not okay to do this in a sci-fi to me. There should be some explanation as to how something works, and there were no explanations to anything in this book. In my opinion, the writer is being very lazy, too lazy to do the slightest bit of research, when they write a novel such as this.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was very intriguing. I enjoyed the author's use of fictional creatures. The animals in this zoo were mixes between animals we have and made up animals. I enjoyed the storyline of how a mother and her two children are visiting a zoo where there are no cages. But I especially liked how their father was proven right in his research that his company tried hiding. I liked that the man that was trying to keep the husband's research hidden was taken out my one if the creatures.

[Alexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like Jurassic Park

Feels like Jurassic Park

the story isn't bad and it does have a Jurassic Park feel to it. My 3 star comes from lack of exotic animal description and extremely awkward name choices. The names were extremely distracting. however, it's still an enjoyable short read. I didn't read the excerpt of the author's other writing, only the title story.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story.
A widow and her two children visit a cageless zoo to meet with a member of the administration. The admin wants her late husband's research on certain animals. She fears they will suppress the information because it's contrary to their own beliefs.
While there a sandstorm knocks out the power and releases the animals. How will they escape?

[Ginger · Rating 1 out of 5]

This freebie had been on my Kindle for 5 years. Complete. Waste. Of. Time. It was way too similar to Jurassic Park, but Jurassic Park was way better than this!
Now I remember why I don't read Sci-Fi. :(

[Kristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay story...kinda reminded me of Jurassic Park meets Star Wars, except minus the light sabers.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jurassic park on steroids.