Reviews

Six Sacred Stones, the sequel to Seven Ancient Wonders, takes us on the next whirlwind adventure of Jack 'Huntsman' West Jr and his motley crew of incredibly intelligent scientists, mathematicians, army-trained combat fighters and genius children, one of whom is his adopted daughter. Simultaneously setting out from the Sichuan Mountains in China and outback Australia, they race around the world in the attempt to beat the powerful and greedy elite factions of the Chinese, British, American, Japanese and Arabian governments who wish to use the power of the sacred stones for their own benefit. What West's team knows and the others don't is that in successfully redistributing the rare artifacts to their rightful places at the ancient sites they will be saving the world, and as such our team alone is working for the greater good. Jack West Jr is all you could ask for in a hero. Think MacGyver meets Die Hard's John McClane. Fast, efficient, brave and intelligent, he possesses the ability to decipher archaic codes and riddles, wrestle crocodiles, evade ancient booby traps and ensure the safety of his team and daughter all at the same time. From the first novel we see the return of Lily, Wizard, Pooh Bear, Stretch, Tank, Sky Monster and Zoe, plus new allies Astro and Vulture. Unfortunately, not everyone is as they seem, and as certain presumably trustworthy cohorts start double-crossing Huntsman's team, we learn never to trust anyone when the prize is so high. This novel is classic Matthew Reilly. Fans of the author's work will enjoy this book immensely. Fast- paced and action-packed, this story can be enjoyed by anyone wishing for a few hours of escape and a dose of pure entertainment. Also, it is the perfect book for teenage boys finding it hard to locate adult novels that have a high level of entertainment and a language level suitable for young adult readers. Those who haven't read the first installment in the 'Ancient Wonders' series shouldn't be put off reading it-it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel as it gives the reader enough back story to understand what is going on and who the characters are. All up, this is a highly enjoyable read and a compelling sequel to yet another successful series by one of the best Aussie authors writing popular fiction today. Anna Hood is a bookseller at the Avid Reader bookstore in Brisbane

The wildly imaginative Reilly has taken inspiration from comics, video games, movies, thrillers and Code-style puzzle novels to create this rocket-fueled sequel to his 7 Deadly Wonders. After completing a 10-year mission to acquire the Golden Capstone of the Great Pyramid from what's left of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Jack West Jr. has retired to the Australian outback to raise his adopted daughter, Lily. Jack's pal, Professor Max T. Epper, known as Wizard, has discovered that the Dark Sun, a mysterious heavenly body, is due to emerge in nine days, triggering the Apocalypse. Ultimate disaster can only be averted if someone can locate the six legendary Pillars, cleanse them with the Philosopher's Stone and insert them in the 6 Vertices, thereby causing the Great Machine to power on and negate the fatal blast from the Dark Sun. If anyone can perform these Herculean labors, it's Reilly's resourceful hero. A pervasive tongue-in-cheek quality (one that extends to the low tech-looking maps and illustrations) will help readers find this outlandish adventure thrilling. (Jan.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

In this sequel to Seven Deadly Wonders, Reilly increases the tension and the threat to produce another winner. Jack West Jr. and his team thought they had saved the world, but it turns out they only delayed the coming destruction. Now they must travel the globe again, recover six stones, and place them in a certain sequence in the "Great Machine." The team must split up in order to guarantee success in this epic quest, but their every move is being watched, and traitors with their own agendas have infiltrated the teams. Can they save the world again? The interwoven combination of action and mythology in the narrative makes for the perfect winter beach read. One warning: this is definitely the second book in what will be a trilogy, and saying it ends on a cliffhanger doesn't truly convey the desperate desire for the next book in hand when the last page is turned! For all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/07.]-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

"The wildly imaginative Reilly has taken inspiration from comics, video games, thrillers and Code-style puzzle novels to create this rocket-fueled sequel to his 7 Deadly Wonders...A tongue-in-cheek quality (one that extends to the low-tech looking maps and illustrations) will help readers find this outlandish adventure thrilling." -- Publishers Weekly
"[T]his fast-paced, international adventure will keep you turning pages...just sit back and enjoy the ride." -- Elizabeth Willse, The Star-Ledger
"The 6 Sacred Stones is a pedal-to-the-metal literary ride, so hold on tight." -- Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen
"Matthew Reilly novels should come with health warnings on the cover. [T]he non-stop life-threatening action from enemies using guns, missiles, poisons, machetes and martial arts against Reilly's heroes is not for the faint-hearted. It's a wild ride." -- Ray Chesterton, The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
"The age-, sex- and race-balanced team from Reilly's 2006 thrill-a-second novel 7 Deadly Wonders returns, still under the management of handily bionic and super resourceful Australian Commando Jack West...[A] video game in print." -- Kirkus Reviews
"In this sequel to Seven Deadly Wonders, Reilly increases the tension and the threat to produce another winner. The interwoven combination of action and mythology in the narrative makes for the perfect winter beach read." -- Library Journal
"Whisking you through wave after wave of nonstop action on a cloud of exuberant improbabilities, Reilly really makes you feel like a kid again; it's a blast." -- Booklist