Naturally, all the powerful nations of the world are eager for their country to be responsible for finding and replacing the capstone on the pyramid. Most of the world expects either the Europeans or the Americans to secure this august prize, but some smaller countries have banded together, each supplying one adventurous, capable person to represent them. The nations involved include Ireland, Spain, Israel (which has two representatives, one Israeli, and one Arab), Canada, and Australia.

The head of the Australian delegation is Jack West, Jr. who has the combination of skills necessary to carry out the task of securing each piece of capstone which presently is located in the other six wonders of the world. Curiously, the group is to be assisted by a ten-year-old girl named Lily who has the ability to read and translate ancient languages.

The moment of Tartarus is twelve noon on March 20, 2006, only six days away when the first mission to the Colossus at Rhodes begins with a meeting of the contingent in the Sudan. The group has prepared well for their missions but time is of the essence since there are five other wonders to visit. In addition, the contingents from Europe and the United States are in on the competition and will stop at nothing to try and thwart West’s ragtag delegation. Jack must also play diplomat to keep his Israeli and Arab members on somewhat friendly terms. To make matters even more difficult, Jack has the distinct impression that there is a spy in their midst as the other contingents seem to have access to information that only he should have. The race is on and there are no holds barred.

Seven Deadly Wonders is an excellent example of the thriller subgenre of mystery fiction. The stakes are high and the outcome has an impact on each and every person in the world. Action abounds as one calamity begets another. The heroes, although they incur their share of fatalities, seem to possess superhuman capabilities in scaling walls, exiting aircraft in unusual manner, and inflicting grievous harm on their rivals.

Anyone not willing to suspend an ample measure of disbelief should probably pass this book by. Technology has advanced a great deal in pinpointing the location of other living beings and in enabling people to protect themselves, but I think not as far as the author allows his characters to do so.

What is quite interesting to me as an American is to see other countries portrayed as the “good guys” and the Americans as less than honest aggressors. The Americans are bullies with precious little regard for morality. It is a humbling experience. The Europeans are not much better, while the Arab and Israeli have more than a touch of humanity about them. Whether this is an accurate representation of the attitudes of these respective nations is one for each individual to decide.

The opening scenes of the book read like a video game represented in print. There are ample drawings to help the reader visualize the scenes the author is describing. As one obstacle is overcome in the quest for a specific piece of the capstone, another looms ahead just as one might proceed from one level of a video game to the next. As the book progresses there are so many violent action scenes that the plot almost begs to be made into a movie script.

The author takes a few pot shots at Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code but this novel is not really the same type of thriller at all. Although it is based on historical fact it does not delve deeply into the history. It is much more a race to see who can get the prizes to the appropriate place first and fulfill the conditions necessary to be blessed in the future.

--Andy Plonka