''Seven Ancient Wonders'' (''Seven Deadly Wonders'' in the United States) is a book written by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n author

Matthew Reilly Matthew John Reilly (born 2 July 1974) is an internationally bestselling Australian action thriller writer.
". Retrieved 10 ...

in 2005. Its sequel, '' The Six Sacred Stones'' was released in the autumn of 2007. The final novel in the series (book 7), ''The One Impossible Labyrinth'', was released in Australia on October 12, 2021.

Plot

Around 4,500 years ago, the

capstone __NOTOC__ Capstone may refer to: Architecture * Keystone (architecture), also known as a capstone Brands and enterprises * Capstone Investment Advisors, a US investment management firm * Capstone Partners, an investment banking firm * Capstone P ...

upon the summit of the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years ...

absorbed the energy released by the Tartarus Rotation (a monstrous

sunspot Sunspots are temporary spots on the Sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area. They are one of the most recognizable Solar phenomena and despite the fact that they are mostly visible in the solar photosphere they usually aff ...

that occurs every 4,000–4,500 years), and saved the earth from major flooding and catastrophic weather. This capstone was later divided up by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

with one piece hidden in a booby-trapped location within each of the other seven wonders of the world. If and when they are reunited and replaced on the capstone during another solar event, they can bring 1,000 years of peace or power for the nation which possesses them. In 2006, seven days before this sunspot is again due, the pieces are still divided, and three teams are trying to reunite them: Two for their own gain; one from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(representing the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

); and the other is CIEF, the Commander-in-Chief's In Extremis Force (an American force covertly representing the power of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

). The third team is an alliance of a group of 'small nations' called the Alliance of Minnows (consisting of members from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and later

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

), led by Jack West Jr, trying to reunite the capstone for nobler reasons. This team and the European team each also possess a child—one of the only two people who can read the " Word of Thoth", a special hieroglyphics system used in the booby-traps. (The other person is her twin, Alexander, who is being brainwashed by the Vatican.). West's team gains and loses a capstone (which is the head of the

Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes (; ) was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to ...

) to the CIEF but manage to escape and then reach the hiding place of two more pieces at

Hamilcar __NOTOC__ Hamilcar (, ,. or , , "Melqart is Gracious"; , ''Hamílkas'';) was a common Carthaginian masculine given name. The name was particularly common among the ruling families of ancient Carthage. People named Hamilcar include: * Hamilcar th ...

's Refuge on the coast of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. There they again lose their gains to the CIEF, and again escape. They then spring Mustapha Zaeed, the world's foremost authority on the Capstone and the Seven Wonders and a known terrorist, from Guantanamo Bay, who leads them to two more pieces. After separating the team, the "Coalition of the Minnows" is devastated through kidnap and death. The survivors escape to the

Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. They were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of tree ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, but are there apprehended by an Israeli strike team. West is forced to lead the Israelis to the piece, but the Americans arrive, execute the Israelis, capture the piece and trap West and his team. Jack is presumed dead. The European contingent escorts their hostages to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

with a lone Piece—taken from

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

—and, in attempting to capture the CIEF's five pieces, lose the St Peter's piece (as well as Epper and Lily) to them. The CIEF team then goes to Hatshepsut's Mortuary, and—with the aid of the measurements from the Paris Obelisk—finds the last piece in the

tomb of Alexander the Great The tomb of Alexander the Great is attested in several historical accounts, but its current exact location remains an enduring mystery. Following Death of Alexander the Great, Alexander's death in Babylon, his body was initially buried in Memphis ...

. Taking the whole Capstone to the Giza pyramid on the day of the rotation, placing Alexander in the chamber beneath it to ensure the ritual works. However, Jack West and his team's plane return to stop them. Judah tries to carry out the ritual, but Alexander crawls out to save himself from death, unwittingly ensuring its failure and del Piero's death; then, Lily crawls in willingly, and Zaeed carries it out successfully. West, however, has ensured a twist to who has world dominion by replacing the earth inside with some from central Australia. West's team then wins the battle and he finds that Lily has survived by (unlike Alexander) going into the chamber ''willingly''. The epilogue takes place three weeks later, with Wizard and Zoe accompanying Lily across Central Australia, before reuniting with West.

Characters

* Jack West, call-sign: Huntsman /

Woodsman Woodsman (also, woodsmen, pl.) refers to the title of competitors participating in competitive timber sports. Woodsmen participate in various events that replicate real skills used by lumberjacks while cutting down trees and preparing the woo ...

* Professor Maximilian T. Epper, call-sign:

Caster A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved. Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, t ...

, Wizard,

* Lily 'West' (Daughter of Oracle of the Siwa Oasis Egypt, adopted by West at the end of book), Call-sign: Eowyn,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

* Captain Zahir al Anzar al Abbas, call-sign:

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

/ Pooh Bear,

* Sheik Abbas, Pooh Bear's father. * Lieutenant Enrique Velacruz, call-sign

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

/ Noddy,

(killed) * Sergeant V. J. Weatherly, call-sign

Witch Doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor), or witchcraft doctor, is a kind of magical healer who treats ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is often misunderstood, and they could more accurately be called "anti-witch doctors ...

/ Fuzzy,

* Sergeant Zoe Kissane, call-sign

Bloody Mary #REDIRECT Bloody Mary {{redirect category shell, {{R ambig{{R from other capitalisation{{R unprintworthy ...

/ Princess Zoe,

* Corporal Liam Kissane, call-sign

Gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

man / Big Ears,

(killed) * Ernest 'Ernie' Q. Sheperd II, call-sign Sky Monster,

* Lieutenant Benjamin Cohen, call-sign

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

/ Stretch,

''The Six Sacred Stones'' (Sequel)

Matthew Reilly has written a sequel to this novel, titled '' The Six Sacred Stones''. It was released on 23 October 2007 in most bookstores in Australia, but some stores released them later (1 November). It was released on 8 January 2008 in the US and UK. Like its predecessor, the main character of the novel is Jack West Jr.

References

External links

MatthewReilly.com
- homepage of author {{Matthew Reilly 2005 Australian novels Novels by Matthew Reilly Australian thriller novels Macmillan Publishers books

Plot

Characters

''The Six Sacred Stones'' (Sequel)

See also

References

External links