Seven Deadly Wonders

Title: Seven Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Genre: Fiction, Adventure
Rating: 3/5

According to legend, every 4,500 years a terrible solar event occurs which can bring about the end of the world. However, there is a Golden Capstone for the Great Pyramid created by the Egyptians that averted this catastrophe the last time. Now, a team of soldiers from seven small nations have come together in order to retrieve the missing capstone pieces from their hiding places within the ancient wonders of the world and save the planet.

I nearly gave up on Seven Deadly Wonders when I first started reading it. I found the multitude of diagrams a little insulting, like someone decided the reader couldn't understand the picture Reilly was painting with words so they put actual pictures in. More importantly, the writing didn't feel polished at the beginning. Luckily, as the book progressed, the writing smoothed out.

I really enjoyed all the historical information weaved throughout the book. Things like who'd built the pyramids at Giza and descriptions of the other ancient wonders. Some of it I already knew, some of it I'd forgotten and some of it I'd never learned but it all appealed to the classicist in me, though I realize that not all of it was based on fact.

Characterwise, I found Lily adorable. She was raised as naturally as a child could be by eight soldiers, an archaeologist and his wife. They let her grow into her genius and she loved them for raising her. As for Jack West, the group's leader, he's a little too perfect in some ways. And with his metal arm, he's a little like Indiana Jones meets the six-million dollar man. Luckily the rest of the characters balance him out well.

Overall, I'd recommend Seven Deadly Wonders to anyone looking for a fun and exciting read. It's not perfect but it is good.