This is my first book by this author, and I was not disappointed at all. I can totally see what all the fuss about the other series has been about. This book was definitely a page turner. I loved all the history in the book, and the whole vibe of the historical people and animals and places reminded me of the tv show Land of the Lost. A favorite show of mine. And then there was the whole competition thing. From the beginning it was in my head that maybe it was aliens. Then maybe it was futuristic humans. The book really keeps you pretty much guessing till close to the end when the qualifying competition is about to begin. There's a lot of great action in this, characters that you really are interested in and want to either see succeed, or get what they deserve. I will definitely be ready to read book two whenever it is ready, as I need to know what else these characters will need to fight and do to save themselves, and possibly Earth itself.