Action packed, good light reading, a summer blockbuster in your head, this book ends however in a cliffhanger. ( )

Wow! This is Matthew Reilly at his insanley fast paced nuclear best! Be warned Matthew Reilly unbelievers you will not like this. The pace is blistering the plot is crazy and the action is over the top.

I am the first to admit that with some shockingly cheesy dialogue, ridiculous "character explains the plot" internal monologues and infuriating hyperbole!!!!!!!!!!! (the italics and exclamation mark buttons on his computer must be worn down to nothing) and some grammatical short cuts (the author - not a character - describes something as f*****g huge! and the word "shoomed" is used for planes flying quickly or missiles being launched) there are some cringe worthy moments on this book, but for sheer hollywood blockbuster on the page entertainment it cannot be beaten.

I much preferred the Scarecrow novels to Jack West Jr but this really steps the turbo charged Indiana Jones style books up a notch. The pace of the novel is truly breathless with action sequences just delivered once after the other.

The section in the Congo with the lost Neetha tribe makes this book four stars on it's own.

This is a classic example of Matthew Reilly doing what he does best. ( )

Action! Adventure!

Honestly, I don't usually go in for this kind of novel unless pressured by friends or I am just watching some SF adventure, but I can see the appeal. More than that, even. The pacing is always great and while it's not *exactly* a serial adventure right out of the 30's, it has all the pulp feel you could wish for.

Ah! But what flavor of pulp is this?

It should be familiar to all you connoisseurs of conspiracy theories. The wilder, the better. You know, like the dark sun, (or planet, if you wish), the Nemesis that comes around to wreck havoc in the solar system on a regular basis.

Oh, and the world-healing power of crystals, too.

And let's not forget the theories that mankind has gone through many stages of high-tech societies and declines! I actually approve of that theory, and not that aliens uplifted us. So much can be buried so absolutely in so little time. I can believe that there could be many very advanced societies in the past. But wait! Reilly takes it further and connects the two and has our ancient ancestors doing their worst to save us future generations from the dark star.

As long as we go on a little adventure, of course. :)

So let's get the band back together! You've already got one stone!

Oh, and not tired of traps, yet? Good news for you! We've got lots of traps. Near-death escapes, captures, torture, and even MORE traps!

I think it's good fun. We're not really dealing with reality here. Especially with the caricatures of races or real evidence of connection between Stonehenge and the Pyramids... but screw it. Let's go along for the ride. I'm used to Science Fantasy as much as Science Fiction. This fits the former bill nicely.

The point is just to have fun, and this novel, IMHO is better than the first. It builds on everything we went through already and steps it up a few more notches. From Sun Flares to Dark Stars! What's next?

What a cliffhanger, too! Literally. lol

But that's expected in an *actual* adventure, right? ( )

5 stars and a favourite. ( )

Another rip-roaring read! Probably not quite as good as "Seven Ancient Wonders" (only because Jack wasn't in the entire book) but still fabulous. I loved the new characters that Reilly brought into this book, especially Solomon and little Alby, Lily's friend and maths genius, whom I feel in love with. ( )