A chase through the Egyptian desert, a midnight ritual at the Stonehenge, a trip to the land of a mysterious cannibalistic tribe forgotten by time and six ancient stones that hold the key to saving the world from the rays of a Dark Sun. I don't know about you but this list on back cover seemed simply irresistible to me.
And Matthew Reilly lived up to my expectations. This is the story of Jack West Jr., his adopted daughter Lily, her friend Alby and his band of trusted friends - Zoe, Sky Monster, Pooh Bear and Stretch. The year is 2007 and the very existence of Earth is threatened by a planet, a dark Sun, hovering around the edges of our solar system. The problem, however, is not insurmountable. The secret lies in an ancient machine which must be powered by placing six stones inside it so that it can nullify the ill-effects of the dark sun's rays. And the times, as usual, is running out. What is making this more complicated than it already is that whoever sets each of these stones in the machine will be given a reward, thus every nation, from the House of the Sauds to China are in the race to acquire the stones. Plenty of stuff to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
There are a few gaffes though. e.g. on page 65, a line is mentioned 'I am Vishnu, the Destroyer of the World'. Unless there is a Vishnu in some other religion of the world, this line runs counter to the Hindu belief that Lord Brahma is the creator of the universe, Lord Vishnu sustains it and Lord Shiva destroys it. And while it is mentioned that during the hunt for the 1st pillar, Colonel Mao Gongli loses 9 men of his squad and one of them falls into a deep chasm (page 183), when Jack and his men arrive there they notice 9 body bags in all (page 185). I rather doubt the Chinese, who throughout the novel have considered their menn to be totally dispensible, would go to the extent of going to the bottom of the seemingly bottomless chasm to retreive a body of their dead man.
It was disappointing to find that the story doesn't end in this novel. I will have to wait to get my hands on the sequel to find out if Jack ever makes it out of the chasm 9of course he will!), if Alby is able to get out of the dark cave, if Pooh Bear is able to rescue Stretch from the Mossad and just what lies ahead of the team in their search of the 4 remaining stones.
Google tells me that the sequel titled 'The Five Greatest Warriors' was released in 2009. Unfortunately, I rather doubt that my library has it :-(
And Matthew Reilly lived up to my expectations. This is the story of Jack West Jr., his adopted daughter Lily, her friend Alby and his band of trusted friends - Zoe, Sky Monster, Pooh Bear and Stretch. The year is 2007 and the very existence of Earth is threatened by a planet, a dark Sun, hovering around the edges of our solar system. The problem, however, is not insurmountable. The secret lies in an ancient machine which must be powered by placing six stones inside it so that it can nullify the ill-effects of the dark sun's rays. And the times, as usual, is running out. What is making this more complicated than it already is that whoever sets each of these stones in the machine will be given a reward, thus every nation, from the House of the Sauds to China are in the race to acquire the stones. Plenty of stuff to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
There are a few gaffes though. e.g. on page 65, a line is mentioned 'I am Vishnu, the Destroyer of the World'. Unless there is a Vishnu in some other religion of the world, this line runs counter to the Hindu belief that Lord Brahma is the creator of the universe, Lord Vishnu sustains it and Lord Shiva destroys it. And while it is mentioned that during the hunt for the 1st pillar, Colonel Mao Gongli loses 9 men of his squad and one of them falls into a deep chasm (page 183), when Jack and his men arrive there they notice 9 body bags in all (page 185). I rather doubt the Chinese, who throughout the novel have considered their menn to be totally dispensible, would go to the extent of going to the bottom of the seemingly bottomless chasm to retreive a body of their dead man.
It was disappointing to find that the story doesn't end in this novel. I will have to wait to get my hands on the sequel to find out if Jack ever makes it out of the chasm 9of course he will!), if Alby is able to get out of the dark cave, if Pooh Bear is able to rescue Stretch from the Mossad and just what lies ahead of the team in their search of the 4 remaining stones.
Google tells me that the sequel titled 'The Five Greatest Warriors' was released in 2009. Unfortunately, I rather doubt that my library has it :-(
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