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Hover Car Racer #1-3
Hover Car Racer
A no-holds-barred science fiction thriller from Australia's favourite novelist, author of the Scarecrow series and Jack West Jr series with new novel Mr Einstein's Secretary out now. "High-octane Harry Potter" The Age"Reilly has a gift for sustaining momentum that never lets up." Publishers WeeklyMeet Jason Chaser, hover car racer. He's won himself a place at the International Race School, where racers either make it on to the Pro Circuit - or they crash and burn.But he's an outsider. He's younger than the other racers. His car, the Argonaut, is older. And on top of that, someone doesn't want him to succeed at the School and will do anything to stop him.Now Jason Chaser isn't just fighting for his place on the starting line, he's racing for his life.Fans of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton will love Matthew Reilly.
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
124 people are currently reading
1377 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Reilly
68 books6,324 followersBorn in Sydney in 1974, Matthew Reilly was not always a big fan of reading. It was only after he read To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies in Year 10 that he realised reading could transport you to another world. Following this revelation, Matthew soon began creating stories of his own and set about writing his first novel, Contest, at the age of 19 while still at university studying law.
Following rejections from all the major publishers, Matthew self-published Contest in 1996, printing 1000 copies. He produced a big-budget-looking novel which he sold into bookshops throughout Sydney, one shop at a time.
In January 1997, a Commissioning Editor for Pan Macmillan Australia walked into Angus & Robertson's Pitt Street Mall store and bought a copy of Contest. The editor tracked Matthew down through his contact details in the front of the book. Interestingly, those original self-published editions of Contest have now become much sought after collectors' items. One recently sold on eBay for $1200!
Matthew Reilly is now the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow novels: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and the novella Hell Island; the Jack West novels: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, and The Three Secret Cities; and the standalone novels Contest, Temple, Hover Car Racer, The Tournament, Troll Mountain, The Great Zoo of China and The Secret Runners of New York.
His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.
Since Seven Ancient Wonders in 2005, Matthew's novels have been the biggest selling new fiction title released in Australia for that year.
Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush.
He owns and drives a DeLorean DMC-12, the car made famous in the Back to the Future movies. He also has a life-sized Han Solo in carbonite hanging on the wall of his office! When not writing or penning a film script, Matthew can be found on the golf course.
Matthew Reilly is currently living in Los Angeles.
(source: Amazon)
Following rejections from all the major publishers, Matthew self-published Contest in 1996, printing 1000 copies. He produced a big-budget-looking novel which he sold into bookshops throughout Sydney, one shop at a time.
In January 1997, a Commissioning Editor for Pan Macmillan Australia walked into Angus & Robertson's Pitt Street Mall store and bought a copy of Contest. The editor tracked Matthew down through his contact details in the front of the book. Interestingly, those original self-published editions of Contest have now become much sought after collectors' items. One recently sold on eBay for $1200!
Matthew Reilly is now the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow novels: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and the novella Hell Island; the Jack West novels: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, and The Three Secret Cities; and the standalone novels Contest, Temple, Hover Car Racer, The Tournament, Troll Mountain, The Great Zoo of China and The Secret Runners of New York.
His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.
Since Seven Ancient Wonders in 2005, Matthew's novels have been the biggest selling new fiction title released in Australia for that year.
Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush.
He owns and drives a DeLorean DMC-12, the car made famous in the Back to the Future movies. He also has a life-sized Han Solo in carbonite hanging on the wall of his office! When not writing or penning a film script, Matthew can be found on the golf course.
Matthew Reilly is currently living in Los Angeles.
(source: Amazon)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
October 3, 2024
wow! heart racing, pure genius! loved it.
September 26, 2018
I will start by saying that I enjoyed this fast paced and incredibly easy to read book. Yes I will admit it was probably written for an age group and demographic other than myself but you know what I do not care. I enjoyed it.
Yes the story rather simplistic and in hindsight incredibly predictable but the pace and energy that the story was pitched at you just could not help but get swept along with it.
Now this book appears to be the culmination of 3 other short instalments - I will admit I do not know if that was the case or just the publishing notes since I came to this book through following the works of Matthew Reilly who is know for his action packed adventures. Now I will amid that I am not expect but I have on more than one occasion been told to seek out his work and read it (although I suspect that this book was not what they were imply).
Anyway the book was great fun to read and although I read it over several days I was repeatedly surprised on how fast I read through it.
Now there is only one compliant (and hence why not a full house) this publication had a number of maps of the various raceways reproduced in it. The reason I was not happy was that the paper quality and the fact that a complex (and I suspect colour) 3D map of the race way print was lost in the pages of this book. For what ever reason the images just did not work and where little more than dark grey shadows where all detail was lost. Considering these represented the various race ways which the author took great details to explain I would have thought the publisher would have at least tried a little harder.
However that was the publisher and not the author so I will try not to hold that against him - the book was fun and a nice distraction when I needed it.
Yes the story rather simplistic and in hindsight incredibly predictable but the pace and energy that the story was pitched at you just could not help but get swept along with it.
Now this book appears to be the culmination of 3 other short instalments - I will admit I do not know if that was the case or just the publishing notes since I came to this book through following the works of Matthew Reilly who is know for his action packed adventures. Now I will amid that I am not expect but I have on more than one occasion been told to seek out his work and read it (although I suspect that this book was not what they were imply).
Anyway the book was great fun to read and although I read it over several days I was repeatedly surprised on how fast I read through it.
Now there is only one compliant (and hence why not a full house) this publication had a number of maps of the various raceways reproduced in it. The reason I was not happy was that the paper quality and the fact that a complex (and I suspect colour) 3D map of the race way print was lost in the pages of this book. For what ever reason the images just did not work and where little more than dark grey shadows where all detail was lost. Considering these represented the various race ways which the author took great details to explain I would have thought the publisher would have at least tried a little harder.
However that was the publisher and not the author so I will try not to hold that against him - the book was fun and a nice distraction when I needed it.
June 4, 2015
When I read the back of the book I suspected that this was gonna be Matthew Reilly's weakest book. Turns out I was wrong, the pace of this book is intense, the racing really comes alive of the pages. The plot is a bit formulaic "a kid from humble background fights his way to the top to compete with the best".
As usual with a Reilly book the characters are great and you can't help but cheer them on.
I remember reading this book at work whilst doing a very boring job of using a routing machine to make holes in 300 boxes, this certainly helped to pass the time quicker.
As usual with a Reilly book the characters are great and you can't help but cheer them on.
I remember reading this book at work whilst doing a very boring job of using a routing machine to make holes in 300 boxes, this certainly helped to pass the time quicker.
January 19, 2023
Cars going vroom ✅
Fictional geography created to make new York better ✅
Cringest ending line I've seen ✅
Can't get better
Fictional geography created to make new York better ✅
Cringest ending line I've seen ✅
Can't get better
August 14, 2018
I love Matthew Reilly's work, but this is probably my least favourite. I think as the original short installments it would have been intriguing, but in novel format it just made the story drag and was more frustrating.
Still an interesting story but don't judge Reilly's work by this one.
Still an interesting story but don't judge Reilly's work by this one.
May 13, 2021
Enjoyable story that has all the hall marks of a good Reilly story... Love how he sets a lot of the story in Australia... well worth a read....
October 23, 2023
it was good and based in Tasmania sooooooo
April 26, 2017
Cliché, predictable and I loved every second of it!
Jason Chaser, a hopeful youth from a humble background, dreams of making it onto the national stage for hover car racing. Following the conclusion of a local derby Jason is offered a position at the International Race School. Jason and his younger brother, the Bug, find themselves in Tasmania (now a privately owned training centre) and in the middle of a political conspiracy, which threatens Jason’s position at the racing school and his life. Exiled and persecuted both on and off the track, Jason must fight with everything he has to make his dream become reality and get through with his life intact.
I really loved this novel. I found it funny how, despite the systematic and simple plot; a kid from modest beginnings fights and, against all odds, makes his way to the top to take on the best in the world; I was kept on the edge of my seat, my nerves jittering, throughout my entire reading. The pace of the book was intense, even for Matthew Reilly.
The characters where relatable and the plot realistic (well, as realistic as a futuristic story about hover cars can be).
I seriously don’t know how Reilly does it. My heart never stopped racing and I dreaded the moment I would be forced to put it down.
Read the entirety of my review: http://atticsaltreviews.blogspot.com....
Jason Chaser, a hopeful youth from a humble background, dreams of making it onto the national stage for hover car racing. Following the conclusion of a local derby Jason is offered a position at the International Race School. Jason and his younger brother, the Bug, find themselves in Tasmania (now a privately owned training centre) and in the middle of a political conspiracy, which threatens Jason’s position at the racing school and his life. Exiled and persecuted both on and off the track, Jason must fight with everything he has to make his dream become reality and get through with his life intact.
I really loved this novel. I found it funny how, despite the systematic and simple plot; a kid from modest beginnings fights and, against all odds, makes his way to the top to take on the best in the world; I was kept on the edge of my seat, my nerves jittering, throughout my entire reading. The pace of the book was intense, even for Matthew Reilly.
The characters where relatable and the plot realistic (well, as realistic as a futuristic story about hover cars can be).
I seriously don’t know how Reilly does it. My heart never stopped racing and I dreaded the moment I would be forced to put it down.
Read the entirety of my review: http://atticsaltreviews.blogspot.com....
April 24, 2022
I wanna start with this: when I first read this book at 13 (many, many moons ago) it made me fall in love with reading. That’s how much I loved this book! It’s an action packed, edge of your seat roller coaster of a book that engrossed me so much I remember spending the whole weekend in bed reading it. The writing style is fun and casual, making it an easy read. It’s soooo Australian, there’s characters with names that are references to famous Australian, Aussie slang, the book is mainly set in Australia; and for these reasons made it feel sentimental to me when I was younger.
So I think for Aussie pimply teenage boys this is the PERFECT book. 10/10. End of review.
However, sadly, I am no longer 13 years old anymore. So rereading this book made me realise there are a few issues I may have this book as a 30yo adult that I may have glossed over or not realised was a problem when I was a child.
Such as:
1. This book fails the Bechdel test. The female characters are poorly written, with no personality traits or depth to them. We know everything about their dad and all his hobbies and quirks, but their mum? All she does is sew and cry.
2. There is very little character development in this book. The main character makes rookie mistakes or seemingly bad decisions which have negative consequences, only to repeat these very same actions later in the novel and they work out, without any lesson learnt or development made whatsoever! About two thirds in the main character begins A path of character development, however that doesn’t last long.
3. The whole premise of the book is so outlandishly ridiculous and over the top! Some events the main character is told no one has ever pulled off before or only have a 0.005% chance of happening. Yet, somehow he pulls it off! Every. Single. Time! Which can be fun to witness in an action scene, but for me it takes the element of doubt or surprise out of it if I know it’s gonna work out every time.
So I guess these issues pulled me out of the escapism of this young adult fantasy dream world, but it’s still a breezy fun read!
While this book is objectively enjoyable, light and fast paced, there are elements of this book that took me out of the immersiveness or the novel that left me not entirely loving this book.
But I dunno, maybe I’m too old? 🤷♂️
So I think for Aussie pimply teenage boys this is the PERFECT book. 10/10. End of review.
However, sadly, I am no longer 13 years old anymore. So rereading this book made me realise there are a few issues I may have this book as a 30yo adult that I may have glossed over or not realised was a problem when I was a child.
Such as:
1. This book fails the Bechdel test. The female characters are poorly written, with no personality traits or depth to them. We know everything about their dad and all his hobbies and quirks, but their mum? All she does is sew and cry.
2. There is very little character development in this book. The main character makes rookie mistakes or seemingly bad decisions which have negative consequences, only to repeat these very same actions later in the novel and they work out, without any lesson learnt or development made whatsoever! About two thirds in the main character begins A path of character development, however that doesn’t last long.
3. The whole premise of the book is so outlandishly ridiculous and over the top! Some events the main character is told no one has ever pulled off before or only have a 0.005% chance of happening. Yet, somehow he pulls it off! Every. Single. Time! Which can be fun to witness in an action scene, but for me it takes the element of doubt or surprise out of it if I know it’s gonna work out every time.
So I guess these issues pulled me out of the escapism of this young adult fantasy dream world, but it’s still a breezy fun read!
While this book is objectively enjoyable, light and fast paced, there are elements of this book that took me out of the immersiveness or the novel that left me not entirely loving this book.
But I dunno, maybe I’m too old? 🤷♂️
November 9, 2025
There’s a lot to love about Reilly’s style of writing, it’s fast and furious, with Reilly often commenting that his books are written cinematically. And it’s true, his books are like your favourite fast-paced action movie (although I must admit that I enjoy the narrative qualities of Reilly’s work more than I have any action movie, which tend to have poor characterisation and little narrative).
Hover Car Racer is aimed at younger audiences than the typical Matthew Reilly fare, but it’s just as enjoyable for adults. It is just as fast-paced as his other books, though with less blood, gore and swearing. Originally released in various free instalments on the internet in 2004, Hover Car Racer was published in paperback in 2005.
There’s a lot to love about Hover Car Racer and its protagonist, Jason Chaser. It’s the typical underdog tale in which the protagonist must fight for survival and success amongst a group that largely has it easier than him (and have it out for him), but Reilly includes enough twists and turns to make it interesting. Out of all of Reilly’s novels, Hover Car Racer has perhaps the most characterisation, and does not rely solely on its ability to be fast-paced action.
This is definitely one of its strengths, and you cannot help but cheer for Jason not just during the races, but any time they come out on top over one of their many nasty rivals; along with his teammates, his brother the Bug as the navigator, and Sally McDuff as the mec chief. Not only that, Jason’s new friend, 16 year old Ariel is the only female driver at the International Race School, and must deal with the sexism that follows (including an attempt by the principal to keep her out of the school after winning a place there). As one of the main characters, Reilly provides plenty of moments which not only depict Ariel’s struggles, but also her triumphs as she proves herself in the racing world, and becomes a role model for other girls.
On reading Hover Car Racer for what was perhaps the 4th or 5th time (I’ve lost count tbh), I couldn’t help but be excited when any of my favourite scenes showed up (typically when any of the main characters took on their rivals and showed them up). I must also admit that there were fun details that I had completely forgotten about and got to relive again.
This book will have you pumping your fist in the air. Multiple times. I highly recommend it, regardless of your age. And on that note, please take the time also to check out Matthew Reilly’s other novels.
Hover Car Racer is aimed at younger audiences than the typical Matthew Reilly fare, but it’s just as enjoyable for adults. It is just as fast-paced as his other books, though with less blood, gore and swearing. Originally released in various free instalments on the internet in 2004, Hover Car Racer was published in paperback in 2005.
There’s a lot to love about Hover Car Racer and its protagonist, Jason Chaser. It’s the typical underdog tale in which the protagonist must fight for survival and success amongst a group that largely has it easier than him (and have it out for him), but Reilly includes enough twists and turns to make it interesting. Out of all of Reilly’s novels, Hover Car Racer has perhaps the most characterisation, and does not rely solely on its ability to be fast-paced action.
This is definitely one of its strengths, and you cannot help but cheer for Jason not just during the races, but any time they come out on top over one of their many nasty rivals; along with his teammates, his brother the Bug as the navigator, and Sally McDuff as the mec chief. Not only that, Jason’s new friend, 16 year old Ariel is the only female driver at the International Race School, and must deal with the sexism that follows (including an attempt by the principal to keep her out of the school after winning a place there). As one of the main characters, Reilly provides plenty of moments which not only depict Ariel’s struggles, but also her triumphs as she proves herself in the racing world, and becomes a role model for other girls.
On reading Hover Car Racer for what was perhaps the 4th or 5th time (I’ve lost count tbh), I couldn’t help but be excited when any of my favourite scenes showed up (typically when any of the main characters took on their rivals and showed them up). I must also admit that there were fun details that I had completely forgotten about and got to relive again.
This book will have you pumping your fist in the air. Multiple times. I highly recommend it, regardless of your age. And on that note, please take the time also to check out Matthew Reilly’s other novels.
October 17, 2014
I'm going to keep this short.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
Sorry, in keeping with Mr Reilly's style of writing, I felt the capitals were deserved.
I've read all of his books and loved the early ones. Sorry, I know that's a cliche, but I've really been disappointed with the most recent series, the five something or others, the six thingamejigs and so on. I stumbled on this book without being aware of its existence and my love for Matthew Reilly has been rekindled.
I believe there are certain emotions that the written word is particularly effective at stirring. Pure adrenaline rush is not one of them, nor the kind of excitement that has you clapping your hands and giggling foolishly. This book had me doing both of those things on a regular basis.
It follows a pretty classic storyline of a young boy who gets the chance to race, in superspeed cars, against the world's best. Along the way he attends race school, deals with the bully, makes friends, has a harsh but fair teacher and generally ticks every cliche box.
But the joy in this book isn't in the plot, though that does exactly what it's supposed to. It's in the action and the sport itself. The races and tracks are brilliant, using familiar parts of the world to bring it all to life.
And the action is wonderful. To call it fast paced just doesn't do it justice.
Reilly's use of paragraphs and sentence structure is
nothing
short
of
Genius!
He uses spare, sparse language that conjures up just enough of an image for you to fill in the blanks. He loves figures, overwhelming stats just to hammer home how extreme everything is.
This book isn't for people who like their scifi serious, nor is it for anyone looking for the next great piece of literature. It's for anyone who wants pure, joyful escapism, shorn clean of cynicism and grumpiness.
For me, that's the highest praise.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
Sorry, in keeping with Mr Reilly's style of writing, I felt the capitals were deserved.
I've read all of his books and loved the early ones. Sorry, I know that's a cliche, but I've really been disappointed with the most recent series, the five something or others, the six thingamejigs and so on. I stumbled on this book without being aware of its existence and my love for Matthew Reilly has been rekindled.
I believe there are certain emotions that the written word is particularly effective at stirring. Pure adrenaline rush is not one of them, nor the kind of excitement that has you clapping your hands and giggling foolishly. This book had me doing both of those things on a regular basis.
It follows a pretty classic storyline of a young boy who gets the chance to race, in superspeed cars, against the world's best. Along the way he attends race school, deals with the bully, makes friends, has a harsh but fair teacher and generally ticks every cliche box.
But the joy in this book isn't in the plot, though that does exactly what it's supposed to. It's in the action and the sport itself. The races and tracks are brilliant, using familiar parts of the world to bring it all to life.
And the action is wonderful. To call it fast paced just doesn't do it justice.
Reilly's use of paragraphs and sentence structure is
nothing
short
of
Genius!
He uses spare, sparse language that conjures up just enough of an image for you to fill in the blanks. He loves figures, overwhelming stats just to hammer home how extreme everything is.
This book isn't for people who like their scifi serious, nor is it for anyone looking for the next great piece of literature. It's for anyone who wants pure, joyful escapism, shorn clean of cynicism and grumpiness.
For me, that's the highest praise.
March 30, 2012
I'm very tempted to give this book five stars, but I'm not sure I can give a young adult audio-book like this such a high rating.
Eleven CDs kept me entertained while I was on the road for work this week. Matthew managed to keep me wide awake despite the long drives. On many occasions I found myself holding my breath and gripping the steering wheel, hoping that Jason and The Bug were okay.
Hover Car Racer is essentially Matthew Reilly for tweens and teens. He makes sure that every teen angst and tragedy befalls Jason Chaser, to the point that you hate all the bad guys for being so mean. Yes, I'm probably too old to be calling characters meany-pies.
This isn't really a book for adults, despite how much I enjoyed it. My wife found it a little too childish in language use for her liking, were I was able to ignore that issue, as the pace rocketed along. As such, give this to any young boys you have in your family, especially if they aren't big readers. Hover Car Racer is likely to be one of those books that hooks kids on reading.
Eleven CDs kept me entertained while I was on the road for work this week. Matthew managed to keep me wide awake despite the long drives. On many occasions I found myself holding my breath and gripping the steering wheel, hoping that Jason and The Bug were okay.
Hover Car Racer is essentially Matthew Reilly for tweens and teens. He makes sure that every teen angst and tragedy befalls Jason Chaser, to the point that you hate all the bad guys for being so mean. Yes, I'm probably too old to be calling characters meany-pies.
This isn't really a book for adults, despite how much I enjoyed it. My wife found it a little too childish in language use for her liking, were I was able to ignore that issue, as the pace rocketed along. As such, give this to any young boys you have in your family, especially if they aren't big readers. Hover Car Racer is likely to be one of those books that hooks kids on reading.
May 31, 2025
Review 36. Hover Car Racer by Matthew Reilly
Page Count : 432
Matthew Reilly is one of my favourite authors and Hover Car Racer is probably my favourite of his books.
Described as Formula 1 meets Quidditch, this is an amazing book, full of action and racing action. The characters are great.
Yes, this book might be for young adults, but I tell you what, I love reading it and never get bored of it.
If you like high speed sports (like Formula 1 racing) then this book will 100% be for you as the sport in it (Hover Car racing) is basically a futuristic, environmentally friendly version of Formula 1 racing.
It's a very easy book to read and would make a fantastic film or tv series.
This book originally was released as 3 separate books, but this version is the omnibus edition.
I recommend this book to any speed nuts out there who like reading.
5*
*****
Page Count : 432
Matthew Reilly is one of my favourite authors and Hover Car Racer is probably my favourite of his books.
Described as Formula 1 meets Quidditch, this is an amazing book, full of action and racing action. The characters are great.
Yes, this book might be for young adults, but I tell you what, I love reading it and never get bored of it.
If you like high speed sports (like Formula 1 racing) then this book will 100% be for you as the sport in it (Hover Car racing) is basically a futuristic, environmentally friendly version of Formula 1 racing.
It's a very easy book to read and would make a fantastic film or tv series.
This book originally was released as 3 separate books, but this version is the omnibus edition.
I recommend this book to any speed nuts out there who like reading.
5*
*****
June 23, 2011
Its strange that you know how this book will end even before you start reading it but still it keeps you on the edge of your nerves. A super paced thriller which is fast even by Matthew Reilly's standards (if that is possible) You'll find yourself cheering for Jason Chaser; urging him to win race after race battling against all odds. The characters are absolutely lovable and you develop a special bond with them, especially Bug; my favorite character. The boy speaks only once in the entire book and yet he is the real superstar, a true side kick to Jason Chaser's hero. A classic underdog story which is way up there in the league with all 6 Rocky movies. A solid 5 out of 5 stars!!!
August 15, 2012
This is, without a doubt, my favorite Matthew Reilly book. It's a fantastic read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves adventure and a fast-paced plot that twists on every page!
July 22, 2025
What a fun ride. I can see why this was intended by Matthew Reilly as a chapter by chapter release. As with all his books I have read so far, once the action starts it very rarely lets up.
I loved this book, it was a wonderfully created world and sport. I would love to see this one eventually on screen. Every section will start with some build up and lead in, and then proceed into the action. The only issue I have with this story, is that our heroes are very young children, prodigy's, yes. But still very young and they are allowed to enter these incredibly dangerous, possibly lethal, races, and no one bats an eye. But then again, if it wasn't for this factor, I suppose the tension would not be nearly as high.
But the underdog vs the world, fighting hostile mysterious enemies and not always coming out on top is a classic for a reason, the characters were colourful, the sport well thought out and the villains are suitably villainous. With a few grey motives thrown in for good measure. If you've like his other works or like high octane action movies I would recommend this book.
I loved this book, it was a wonderfully created world and sport. I would love to see this one eventually on screen. Every section will start with some build up and lead in, and then proceed into the action. The only issue I have with this story, is that our heroes are very young children, prodigy's, yes. But still very young and they are allowed to enter these incredibly dangerous, possibly lethal, races, and no one bats an eye. But then again, if it wasn't for this factor, I suppose the tension would not be nearly as high.
But the underdog vs the world, fighting hostile mysterious enemies and not always coming out on top is a classic for a reason, the characters were colourful, the sport well thought out and the villains are suitably villainous. With a few grey motives thrown in for good measure. If you've like his other works or like high octane action movies I would recommend this book.
October 13, 2019
Matthew Reilly made you feel as if you were Jason. They way the book was written at stages you were anxious for Jason and the Bug then you were excited they made it. Reily makes this book feel the way the characters are feeling and care for and hate some of the characters. I liked the format how the different parts were like seperate stories but still stuck to the central plot of Jason needing to win the hover car races. I loved this book so much for the excitement it gives you.
April 13, 2025
Now this is a true Matthew Reilly book, its his full on action style put in a graphic novel. There were no dull moments, only that you were trying to keep up with the story in the book. I wish some characters got a little more resolution in the end but for this book it didn't really matter. I definitely recommend this read.
August 2, 2025
not a bad book, the illustrations are great, for me the only thing that let it down was sometimes the character designs made it difficult to tell who was who, especially distance shots and some of the women characters looked similar. 3 and half stars out of 5.
January 13, 2026
Not something I’d usually pick up but this was a fun read. I really liked all the descriptions of the races and how things we know today might look in the future. Super engaging and a quick read too!
August 15, 2018
Plenty of twists, turns and crashes as Jason 'Chaser' lives his dream of being a driver of the ultimate race car all at the tender age of 14.
Fun, action packed read.
Fun, action packed read.
December 31, 2020
Would read it again, didn’t see the twist at the end coming.
August 17, 2022
lots of thoughts but all i can think about is the line ‘hmm he thought’
August 18, 2023
car go brum
June 14, 2024
Still one of my favourite books of all time ❤️
April 14, 2025
I read this entire thing in an hour and a half, I have loved Matthew Reilly and his writing style since I was young and I can say I have never been disappointed by anything I have read of his. This book like the others is fast and action packed and gripping.. I will admit I guess the first twist but not the last
March 16, 2020
No criticisms for Hover Car Racer. Easy read and you fall in love with Jason's determination. A tiny bit predictable at times but overall thoroughly enjoyable.
January 2, 2025
This was a fun little read. I know it is aimed at a young audience but was still a nice little story. I do enjoy the variety of genres that Matthew Reilly is happy to play around with. This one about a young "Hover Car" Racer was good fun.
A good read for a lazy rainy day. Nice pacing of the story, characters were nice and simple - the outcome somewhat predictable but all in good fun.
A good read for a lazy rainy day. Nice pacing of the story, characters were nice and simple - the outcome somewhat predictable but all in good fun.
September 25, 2017
far better than i was expecting
August 10, 2025
skipped over some important details from the original book, recommend reading normal version first
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