Sunday, 8 February 2026

Seven Ancient Wonders (Matthew Reilly)

  1.  I know everything is exaggerated - with historical half truths - and subject to literary artistic  licence but I like the premise of this book 
  2. Lots of diagrams makes it interesting too
  3. It just reads like a movie - you can skip some of the action and not miss much
  4. Oracle and volcano, and traps in the Sudan is a bit like Indiana Jones
  5. 8 nations not allied to Old Europe or America and who don't want the powers to get powerful
  6. The relationship between Lily and Jack West Jr / Huntsman
  7. Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 ancient wonders, was 40 storeys tall and shorter than the Great Pyramid by 29m
  8. The state of Carthage approximated modern day Tunisia ..phoenicians
  9. Good imagination.. first Rhodes in Sudan and then a hidden inlet in Tunisia's coastline for the lighthouse 
  10. Bit unrealistic to assume imhotep vi was so good at traps that they lasted for 2000 years including retaining volcanic lava
  11. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus - octagonal pilars
  12. Invading Guantanamo Bay - so random
  13. Matthew Reilly says cuba leases a small chunk of the south eastern coast to the us for the obscenely low rent if $2000 in gold per year - and it's true. There is a feud over it in which Cuba refuses to cash in the cheques
  14. SAS folklore
  15. Lost me when they went on about obelisks 
  16. Analysis of ancient geography, even if there are fictional elements, is pretty cool eg Iraq
  17. Interesting take on the hanging gardens of Babylon being on a stalactite
  18. Hatshepsut's Mortuary temple in Luxor
  19. Revenge against Judah for Doris
  20. I would be honoured to call you friend
  21. Daddy
  22. Australians not aggressors or warmongers..
  23. The world map isn't really used.. only the left side is
  24. Great Sandy Desert, Death Valley
  25. Better than the Tournament but chaotic. You don't really need to pay much attention and can even skip the action parts. Satisfying in its own way if you like action but there's not much substance to it. 
  26. 3.3/5

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