Ancient Wonders to Sacred Stones, Action and adventure is near

The sequel to the Seven Ancient Wonders by Australian author Mathew Rielly has lived up to the expectations of the readers once again. Again Jack West Jr. goes on a mission to save the world. The plot of the novel however is not stunning as such. Its just an action packed adventure that is bound to keep the readers occupied. The author has created a stunning and clever character but has failed to give Jack West Jr. the uniqueness he deserves and has in the end ended up with the Australian version of  Hollywood’s very own Indiana Jones.

Mathew Reilly who was born in 1974 is clearly the kind of person who has grown up watching lot action movies, and has added a lot of those elements to his literary works as well. The book is a combination of action, adventure, a lot of archeology and some fictional history. However the whole combination is not quite satisfying as the experience gained by the reader after faithfully reading over six hundred pages is that of a movie. This could be something some readers consider apt for a book; still it fails to make a mark on the reader even though the rush felt while reading could contribute to the whole reading experience.

There is quite a handful of characters in the novel and at times its easy to get them mixed up. Characters are not unique nor are they developed and shown using all the right ways. Bottom line is that they all speak in the same way, from the sixty year old Max Epper to the twelve year old Lilly.

In terms of setting the novel has no particular location; they wander from city to city from mainland China to Dubai the reader travels with Jack West Jr. and his elite team. The quest due to its nature helps Jack make a lot of new enemies which the author uses as a opportunity and at times an excuse to add in action sequences. There is quite a heavy and large body count in terms of violent death (mostly of anonymous soldiers). Yet a good and entertaining picture is painted perfectly.

After five hundred pages most readers might be wondering how Jack West Jr. is going to pull this one off, well he doesn’t. No he doesn’t die, like the books predecessor there a sequel where all your remaining questions will be answers. That’s the catch and a clear cheap marketing trick or it’s just that Reilly’s just got too much to say.

The overall rating of the book goes down quite low due to the fact that it’s a typical one time reader and fails to captivate the minds of the readers like some of the other competing books in the same genre. On the contrary, Mathew Reilly has done a splendid job in producing pure entertainment for his audience provided they have enough time on their hands.

Book details

Author:                Mathew Reilly

Title:                    The Six Sacred Stones

Genre:                 Action/ Thriller Novel

Publisher:            Pan Macmillan

Publication date: 23 October 2007

Prequel:               Seven Ancient Wonders

Sequel:                The Five Greatest Warriors

Pages:                  578