Book Review - 7 Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Category Book Reviews
I recently received an advanced reader's copy of the book 7 Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly. If you want to suspend belief for awhile and go on an Indiana Jones-style adventure, this is worth a few hours...
A celestial event called the Tartarus Rotation is due to occur in 2006, something that happens once every 4500 years. Legend has it that whoever places the Capstone on the Great Pyramid at the proper moment can perform one of two rituals to either rule the earth for 1000 years or ensure world peace for that time. True to form, the United States is trying to be the winner in this sweepstakes, along with a European coalition. Trying to stop either side from gaining control is a small federation of seven nations, led by Jack West of Australia. Everyone is looking for the seven pieces of the Capstone which were hidden by Alexander the Great in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Leading each group is a set of twins who were born as "oracles" to interpret the clues as to where the pieces could be found. West's team only needs to get one piece to keep either side from ruling the world. Unfortunately, every time his group locates a piece, guess who shows up to take it away?
Forget character development... It's not there. Don't look for a slow plot build-up. You're off and running on page 5. Most of the cliffhanger situations (literally!) and special high-tech equipment is past the bounds of "that *could* work". Imagine Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code, all stoked up on caffeine, and you start to get the idea of the pace and plot. The writing style might also put you off. There's an overabundance of exclamation points, italics, ellipses that join the start of one sentence...
... to the end of the next one, usually revealing a surprising event! Lots of maps in there, too. Gotta make sure you know where everything is and how tricky the ancient mazes can be. Imhotep III was one devious guy.
Now having said all that, I still liked the book. It's mind candy, pure and simple. Every page turn presents another situation that should kill the entire lot of them, but all the important people continue to pull through. While it won't be mistaken for serious literature, it would make a cross-country plane ride feel a little shorter...
I recently received an advanced reader's copy of the book 7 Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly. If you want to suspend belief for awhile and go on an Indiana Jones-style adventure, this is worth a few hours...
A celestial event called the Tartarus Rotation is due to occur in 2006, something that happens once every 4500 years. Legend has it that whoever places the Capstone on the Great Pyramid at the proper moment can perform one of two rituals to either rule the earth for 1000 years or ensure world peace for that time. True to form, the United States is trying to be the winner in this sweepstakes, along with a European coalition. Trying to stop either side from gaining control is a small federation of seven nations, led by Jack West of Australia. Everyone is looking for the seven pieces of the Capstone which were hidden by Alexander the Great in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Leading each group is a set of twins who were born as "oracles" to interpret the clues as to where the pieces could be found. West's team only needs to get one piece to keep either side from ruling the world. Unfortunately, every time his group locates a piece, guess who shows up to take it away?
Forget character development... It's not there. Don't look for a slow plot build-up. You're off and running on page 5. Most of the cliffhanger situations (literally!) and special high-tech equipment is past the bounds of "that *could* work". Imagine Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code, all stoked up on caffeine, and you start to get the idea of the pace and plot. The writing style might also put you off. There's an overabundance of exclamation points, italics, ellipses that join the start of one sentence...
... to the end of the next one, usually revealing a surprising event! Lots of maps in there, too. Gotta make sure you know where everything is and how tricky the ancient mazes can be. Imhotep III was one devious guy.
Now having said all that, I still liked the book. It's mind candy, pure and simple. Every page turn presents another situation that should kill the entire lot of them, but all the important people continue to pull through. While it won't be mistaken for serious literature, it would make a cross-country plane ride feel a little shorter...
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Comments
Posted by Cas At 22:22:07 On 08/05/2007 | - Website - |
I love Matthew Reilly's novels, his best Temple and Contest, but the Shane Schofield books and this new one just don't cut it. He tries to make himself like Clive Cussler and Michael Crinchton, but he's not them. He literally takes their writing styles and butchers them for all they're worth. Sometimes for the better but no... He's been losing it and I think it's going to continue. If he pulls another 7 Deadly Wonders, he's going to kill his books, and that would bring a tear to my eye. He has potential but he needs to get some things straight.
Anyway, after reading 7 Deadly Wonders it gets a:
5.5 out of 10. If it's the best it is: 6/10 but no more.
Posted by Jermaine At 17:07:43 On 08/02/2006 | - Website - |