Mar 04, 2008 01:22 PM
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This was the first Mathew Reilly I read and it was recommended by a friend who had gone to the extent of rating this book MILES AHEAD of the Da Vinci Code. Even though the two books are entirely different, Let me rmake an attempt to review the book in the said comparative context.
Let me start by saying that I do not remember to have read any book which is so fast paced like this- in fact, "fast" is not enough to describe its pace, super sonic or "mach" wud be better description.
Book starts with a treasure hunt and ends with it- well that is what its really about- a massive treasure hunt undertaken by 3 groups to fnd the seven pieces of capstone that once adorned the cap of the great pyramid of Giza some 2500 yrs ago!
Author describes very intricate designs of caves and underground caverns and traps set by Egyptians where they had hidden the seven treasure pieces. This description is helped by many sketches and drawings withoutwhich it wud have been difficult to understand whats happening. Author's Imagination runs wild as one of the teams unearths (literraly) the long lost hanging gardens of Babylon where one such piece is hidden.
I would not go on to describe the plot further as I feel I have revealed enough already. Now, coming back to the comparison between Da Vinci Code and This book here is how it goes:
I feel that the Code is more connected to reality than the Seven Wonders. It also may be better researched historicaly. Both authors use imagination ( thats why they are Fictions), however code connects better .
Seven wonders is definitely " more action oriented" than the Code. The competing teams use modern day gadgetary and weaponry and some are really futuristic.( An example wud be a "wobbler" -an electro magnetic device which deflects bullets by creating a magnetic field ! Another one is the plane the "good " team uses- it is a boeing 737 which can fly at supersonic speed (?), which has retrofitted back thursters that make the plane stand motionless in mid air (helicopter ??) and with all the ultramodern missile pods and ammunition and anti radar armoury , the damn plane can land almost on any flat groud (???) Imagine visualizing a boeing landing on a dried lake bed in a desert! I am no aviation expert but I know this- the essence of modern figther aircraft is its light weight and maneuverability. Imagine a boeing 737 dodging and chaffing stinger missiles fired from F 16s!!!! ANd what a name they have chosen for this flying wonder- HALICARNASSUS ( I am not sure I spelt it correctly- might add some more S)
The plot has some characters with superhuman abilities too. The children of a African oracle( warlord or tribe leader) knowing by birth how to read a ancient language that people could not decipher in 2000 yrs! Moreover, this special knowledge seems to have been bestowed on them by the virtue of their bloodline. ALso, I might as well mention the central character's( a typically macho commando) falcon bird which is so well trained ( read well brained) that it saves the masters life by committing actions which will be difficult for humans also to think off -cutting ropes, turning anti switches in traps in the nick of time and eating an eye of the opponent to render him disabled ! Maybe author cud have brought some reality in it by making the current time frame as 2050 etc. While it is difficult to digest all this is happening in 2006, however, we wud tend to believe the future more easily.
I would finaly say that both are good books but the thrill they give the reader are entirely different.
However Seven wonders is a must read-dont worry u will not waste MUCH time- I promise u that.
And a ending remark to my friend who recommended the Seven wonders to be a Miles ahead than the Code- WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT THE SEVEN WONDERS GOBBLES UP THE MILES MUCH FASTER THAN THE CODE, BUT ULTIMATELY , THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED MAY BE LESS.
