by Matthew Reilly

Simon and Schuster, January, 2006.
Hardcover, 400 pages.
ISBN: 0743270533

The Great Pyramid at Giza once looked even more fantastic than it does now. Today the sides are rough, but they were once were covered in white marble, which was all stripped off to build other buildings. At the top of the pyramid was a Golden Capstone, which allegedly protected Egypt from the Tartarus Rotation, a solar event that happens every 4500 years. The next Tartarus Rotation is due to occur in March, 2006, and without the Capstone to channel the sun's rays, the Earth will be subjected to global flooding and scorching heat. There is another legend about the Capstone: whoever recites the correct spell while standing by the Capstone during the Tartarus Rotation will gain 1,000 years of global domination for his country. The capstone was cut into seven parts by Alexander the Great (the last man to rule the globe) and hidden inside the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. With the balance of power on Earth at stake, the United States and the Vatican are both determined to find the Capstone and seize power. But there is a third group in the race for the Capstone: a coalition of eight smaller nations who think that no one country should have such power at its disposal. This third group is headed by Australian supersoldier Captain Jack West Jr., who was trained by U.S. Special Forces. Now, the race is on to find the pieces of the Capstone, avoiding all the ancient traps by the ancient architect Imhotep and trying to stay one step ahead of the other teams.

In the first Indiana Jones movie, there is an iconic scene where Indy is escaping from a booby trapped tomb. He's running as fast as he can as a giant stone ball is rolling after him, about to crush him into paste. Take that scene and multiply it by about 1,000 times and you get some idea of what the action in 7 Deadly Wonders is like. Ancient tombs, ingenious and deadly traps for grave robbers, breathtaking action scenes and dastardly villains keep this exciting adventure rolling along at warp speed. Jack West is a hardened hero with a soft spot for the little girl he rescued from the clutches of the power-hungry Jesuit Francisco del Piero and West's personal enemy, the backstabbing Colonel Marshall Judah. This is a classic, bigger than life adventure story that will appeal to fans of Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton and James Rollins.

7 Deadly Wonders is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the February, 2006 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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