Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly

Whenever something new comes along and is immediately hugely popular, a rash of imitations floods the market soon afterwards. It’s natural that after the huge sales it created that Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” should be one such thing and the idea of setting a thriller novel around a historical background of some kind is taking hold. Despite my reluctance to read the book that started it, on the basis that everyone seems to think I should, the basic idea is one that appeals to me and so I read and was let down by “The Rule of Four” and then stumbled across “Seven Ancient Wonders”. The Great Pyramid at Giza was once topped by a golden capstone, which ...  Read the complete review

Boy's Own adventures of varying description are very much in vogue at the moment. With the global phenomenon that is "The Da Vinci Code", it's hard not to be swallowed up by the insatiable desire for labyrinthine subterfuge and world-wide intrigue. Not that I've read the aforementioned book by Dan Brown but "Seven Ancient Wonders" by Matthew Reilly did catch me eye recently. I'm not sure whether it was the exotic book cover featuring an artistic pyramid with an all-seeing eye within or whether it was the synopsis that proclaimed about ancient secrets being unlocked and adventures beginning. Whatever it was, I decided to delve into the world of the ...  Read the complete review

I have just returned from an adventure of a lifetime... Well not exactly an adventure but that’s how it felt after reading the last page of a remarkable 535 paged book, titled Seven Ancient Wonders written by Matthew Reilly. I left this story feeling excited and very exhausted, because you get the feeling that you are part of the story, it grabs you by the collar and pulls you along with it like a rush of adrenalin. The Story. In ancient times there was a magnificent 9 foot high, Capstone that stood at the peak of the great pyramid at Giza, The Egyptians called it Benben. Shaped like a pyramid it featured the eye of Horus and also had mysterious ...  Read the complete review

It was a while ago that I read this so this will be based on what has stayed with me. All of the author's books seem to follow the same pattern, hero against unbelievable odds in unbelievable situations. The action is fast and jumps all over the place with disaster being avoided by much use of the "just then/suddenly/ etc" escape route. His books lack any of the historical background that make Dan Brown et al interesting, Reilly just seems to make everything up (well duh, its fiction...but at least Brown gives the semblance of having done a bit of historical research) and his pacing is just frantic making you turn the pages and not think about what ...  Read the complete review