Reviews

Seven Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly

altlovesbooks's review

3.0

*SHOOM*

I don't read a lot of action thrillers. Most of them read as being really formulaic to me, and I can't seem to turn my brain off enough to just enjoy the ride. This one especially reads like Indiana Jones had a fling with (Inter)National Treasure, and brought their child up like Lara Croft. The team is a ragtag group, each hailing from a different small(? Under-represented? Not the US or EU?) country, each awesome at literally everything. No, seriously, everything. The hero, Jack West, manages to be especially awesome at literally everything. Time gets all wibblywobbly as our team of heroes manages to circle the globe in just a few days, but that's okay because everyone manages to be right where they should be at exactly the right moments.

I sort of enjoyed the ride, but not because it was action-packed thriller material. I moreso enjoyed it for the camp. The constant comic book noises (BAM! ZOOM! WOOSH! SHOOM!) were especially amusing, and Lily's "SWEAR JAR!" was kind of endearing, actually. But the rest? I dunno, I can't suspend my disbelief enough to accept a lot of what happened.

Can we all just agree that Horus is the real star of this?

kbaj's review

4.0

This is by no means a historically or politically accurate novel, but it is super fun to just read as is. Not for a minute was I convinced that any of the history was true or the superhuman feats and escapes were possible, but once you accept that this is not intended as a 100% credible story, it's pretty fun. It gets right to it in the beginning, so the names and motives are hard to straighten out, but the team bonding is a nice touch. The plot twists are not terribly difficult to foresee, but who cares. It's just enjoyable to relax and read on.

menfrommarrs's review against another edition

3.0

[b:The 39 Clues |36173106|The 39 Clues #1-11|Rick Riordan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504430667l/36173106._SY75_.jpg|57788120] with violence and profanity. Clever traps.

Weird to have the Americans play the villains!

calzister's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jannem's review

1.0

The story: Trap, another trap, running, trap, another trap, bad Americans chasing good guys, trap, gunfights, more traps. Oh no, more bad Americans, running, traps, traps, more running, gunfire, another trap.

Got a bit boring after the first fifty pages, but I had to see if it got better. It didn't.

belleannaxoxo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sam_ayem's review

4.0

Definitely a solid action novel. Reilly's writing style is rather simplistic, but nevertheless very effective for this type of book. I enjoyed the breakneck speed of the book - Reilly never lets the reader take a breath before plunging into the next adventure.

zu94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

hollyford19's review against another edition

5.0

This was so much fun! 4.5 stars

redheadtreefrog's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Let me start this review by saying that the whole using-archeology-as-a vehicle-to-travel-to-cool-places-and-have-amazing-adventures-that-are-fraught-with-dangers-- is like my all time favorite trope. Plus, I've always been fascinated by the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. And then you throw in some underdogs, a sweet kid, and a loyal pet?!?! Come on! Like, there was no way this was going to be anything but a 5-star for me.

I will say that I tried the audio version of this last year and DNFed it because even though the action sequences were great, it was hard to follow. (Lots of characters, each from a different country, and each with 2 call signs..) But the printed version has a bunch of maps and diagrams and different fonts for manuscripts and such. Made it much easier to follow.

I couldn't put it down. And now I want to read the whole series.