The 6 Sacred Stones

Okay, so there’s this huge star revolving around the far edge of our solar system. It operates on a wave of light outside the range of human vision, so you can’t even see it, but take our word for it that it’s there. It’s the opposite of the sun; its evil twin, in fact.

Let’s call it the “dark star.” It’s not going to matter much since it’s set to unleash a ray of energy that will obliterate the earth, unless a team of adventurers can acquire half a dozen ancient relics and place them at specific points around the world in time. It’s a job for the up-for-any-challenge adventurers of Matthew Reilly’s 7 DEADLY WONDERS, now returning for THE 6 SACRED STONES.

If you’ll recall, that team is so cool, the members all have their own code names. There’s Tank, the Japanese guy; Wizard, the old professor; Sky Monster, their pilot; and Huntsman, their leader. He’s the guy with the metal arm. That’s right: the metal arm. This time around, they’re joined by some new faces, including an American Marine named Astro and a Saudi spy named Vulture. There’s also a little deaf black kid and a little girl, but don’t worry, because at least one of them has a working knowledge of C-2 plastic explosives.

Together and separately – half of them are always getting kidnapped, you see – they hop around the world, solving codes and ciphers to find out their next location, all under extremely sensitive deadlines. Nothing on the mission is easy, either; within the first quarter alone, there’s a car chase, a train pursuit, a 9/11-style disaster and a prison break.

Reilly certainly knows how to pack a lot of adventure into an adventure; witness the maze of death, the crocodiles, the frogmen, the suicide bombers, the deformed tribesmen, the “rape gang,” the falcon that can fetch guns, and many, many other surprises. And then there are the booby traps. Oh, yes, the booby traps; as with WONDERS, every locale – be it pit, pyramid or underwater city – is jerry-rigged with automatic crossbows, spikes and acid spills. And – awesomely, it should be noted – there are cool little maps and diagrams to drive that picture home.

Taking cues from the film franchises of INDIANA JONES and THE MUMMY, the exploits of our multicultural heroes are laden with incredible feats of derring-do, mind-bending puzzles and serial-worthy cliffhangers. Just about every page puts one of the characters into dire danger: “His eyes shot open – and he found himself lying on his back on a large slab of stone, at the base of a deep square-shaped pit, with his arms spread wide … and a large black man hammering a thick nail into his right palm!”

Over-the-top? Heck, it’s over over-the-top. The characters even realize that (“Although did you really have to throw him into the engine of a jet plane?”), but that’s exactly the point. This is high-tech escapist action, readymade for movie theaters – even the prologue is followed by a full-page title treatment. The only problem is that, as written, it would cost – I’m estimating here – $57 kazillion billion million trillion.

Globe-hopping scavenger hunts make for great fun, and Reilly again delivers. The only sticking point is ending with everyone stuck in situations of grave peril, with the fates not to be revealed for, oh, a year or two when the sequel comes out. Yep, although it’s not noted anywhere, STONES is really just half a novel. I’m getting tired of that kind of treatment, but hey: a freakin’ metal arm! –Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• 7 DEADLY WONDERS by Matthew Reilly

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