Fast paced, non stop action. Reads like an adventure game. I liked it. a lot. ( )

A world-wide treasure hunt is underway, and various countries are hunting down sacred relics that, when combined and utilised correctly, are thought to bestow upon their wielder mystical powers, the relics linked to the ancient wonders of legend - the Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, and so forth. A small coalition of minor countries, led by ex-soldier Jack West Junior, are trying to prevent the major countries from obtaining these powers in any way they are able.

"Seven Ancient Wonders" (Or "Seven Deadly Wonders" for those in the US") is a rather interesting, and rather odd, mish-mash of genres. Reilly combines action and adventure with military fiction for starters. There's some SF thrown in, too, with some near-future military technology in use, but other parts of it (particularly the treasure hunt and the powers associated with the treasure) is pure fantasy writing. Such a combination does indeed sound preposterous, but all of this works together quite well.

If you are reading this book for action (and that's the main reason you would read it) Reilly does manage to cram a lot in - raiding ancient treasure sites, all sorts of fights between various military forces, lots of traps and counter-traps, lots of intrigue, and lots of conspiracy theories too. It's all extremely preposterous stuff (if this is not plainly clear from the first page or two), but all of this is quite exciting stuff. The plot is consistent, and Reilly doesn't mind killing off some of his supporting characters, either, which makes a nice change from everyone being near-invincible.

The writing deserves some discussion, as it is quite polarising in terms of whether a reader likes Reilly or not. Reilly tends to get rather excited about what he is writing, and it shows in his writing style - there are plenty of exclamation marks! Reilly also loves to use the italicise key when writing and has a tendancy to CAPITALISE WORDS. If the situation demands it (and it often seems to) Reilly will COMBINE ALL OF THESE FOR GOOD MEASURE!!!) Apart from that, Reilly's language is fairly simple, too - short, sharp, simple words. You aren't going to be extending your vocabulary here. Although I might seem somewhat dismissive of Reilly's writing style, all of this manages to convey the excitement of the plot and keep on making you turn the next page.

I also appreciate the plethora of diagrams that Reilly uses, particularly how he often incorporates them into the plot. They also make a handy reference to work out the setting for the action that occurs within the books. Not that Reilly does a bad job in conveying setting (on the contrary) but it helps to work out the flow of the story.

How I've described the book honestly makes it sound like a literary trainwreck - a mix of genres, low-brow and somewhat unintelligent writing, but then, "Seven Ancient Wonders" isn't a particularly intelligent book. What it does manage to do, and do quite well, is be an exciting read. Think of it as junk-food reading - it's not nourishing in any way, but it is quite enjoyable stuff. ( )

I have to say this book is a great modern day treasure hunt and very fast paced that I enjoyed reading right up to the last page brilliant ( )

What a trainwreck, truly exercised my eyebrow this one. The main character is such a Marty Stu, the bad guys are an American team and a "European" team, despite the fact that the good guys have Europeans on their side.

If the Capstone can't be returned to the Great Pyramid of Giza there will be catacalysm and doom, and the country who can put a soil in a right place and say the right things will gain power over the world for a thousand years.

There are some parts that are quite amusing but mostly it's a frenetic race to collect the tokens with cardboard characters. I've played some role-playing games that stunk with more believable characterisations. ( )

An easy read, with a fair amount of information alongside the plot; enjoyable as I get a hit of adventure combined with one of my favourite subjects - archaeology and ancient history. ( )