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A review by nonsensicaljourney
Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
3.0
True to form, Reilly's Seven Ancient Wonders is like reading an Indiana Jones movie - as a novel. Unlike his other books, this one is action-adventure, and there's less straight-up fighting and killing because it's about problem solving, riddles and puzzles. Reilly's action scenes go at breakneck speed when you're reading it, despite his overuse of ellipses (...), exclamation marks (!) and italics. Everything's a little bit over the top, but that's okay when you're watching an action movie and you don't expect much more.
I realise that I learned to write like this, and it's been an interesting exploration of everything I've learnt since I first read Reilly's books at 13. Don't use too many adjectives or adverbs, don't use two words when one will do, and don't! use! too many! exclamation marks! Nonetheless, Reilly's book holds up to some extent - he has a firm grasp on world politics at the time, and interestingly uses the place of Australia for his main hero. He also pulls the interesting trick of making the main characters into a little family. Unfortunately his characters are all a bit two-dimensional, and the only one who leaped off the page for me was Lily - ironically, the person who was doing the least LEAPING in this book.
I'm glad I read this book, particularly to reflect on the way my writing style has grown. Reilly's action scenes are masterful, but his plot and his characters let him down. You've really got to suspend your disbelief for a lot of the "history" in use. It's a bit of a mixed bag, ultimately - but if you're looking to read the equivalent of a fast-paced action movie with bits of Indiana Jones, bits of National Treasure, and bits of The Da Vinci Code, this is it.
I realise that I learned to write like this, and it's been an interesting exploration of everything I've learnt since I first read Reilly's books at 13. Don't use too many adjectives or adverbs, don't use two words when one will do, and don't! use! too many! exclamation marks! Nonetheless, Reilly's book holds up to some extent - he has a firm grasp on world politics at the time, and interestingly uses the place of Australia for his main hero. He also pulls the interesting trick of making the main characters into a little family. Unfortunately his characters are all a bit two-dimensional, and the only one who leaped off the page for me was Lily - ironically, the person who was doing the least LEAPING in this book.
I'm glad I read this book, particularly to reflect on the way my writing style has grown. Reilly's action scenes are masterful, but his plot and his characters let him down. You've really got to suspend your disbelief for a lot of the "history" in use. It's a bit of a mixed bag, ultimately - but if you're looking to read the equivalent of a fast-paced action movie with bits of Indiana Jones, bits of National Treasure, and bits of The Da Vinci Code, this is it.