Temple

Great book. So great I read it twice!

How can I convey the flavor of this action-thriller without giving away any plot details? Imagine all three Indiana Jones movies rolled into one film, and imagine that film was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by John Woo. Throw in the action sequences from _Commando_, _True Lies_, and _Eraser_, and the world-domination plots of your five favorite James Bond films. Then give it six cups of coffee and a steroid injection. This book has all the stuff you want in a great adventure: a precious Incan idol, a four-hundred-year-old manuscript (with its own adventure tale), caimans, giant black cats, Nazis on jet skis, and a secret weapon that could destroy the earth. There are reluctant heroes, countdowns to doom, cliffhangers, fistfights on conveyor belts, daring rescues, hairbreadth escapes, lots of corpses (including some with exploded heads), many levels of treachery and double-dealing, and a sentence that begins, 'Somehow, they had managed to get past the urine-soaked skulls'. It's wildly, delightfully, exuberantly implausible. And it's _great_ adventure. All I can tell you without spoiling anything is this: Will Race is a linguist, and some military types want to enlist his help on a secret project. Of course he agrees, at which point the adventure begins and never lets up until the very last page. If you start this book, be prepared not to do anything else for a while. And make sure you read it someplace where you won't be embarrassed to have people overhear you saying 'Nawwww!', 'Whoa!', 'No way!', and 'Yee-haw!' Way cool and lots of fun. Oh, and if you're one of those girlyboys who whines about 'character development' and $@#%! like that, you are most definitely looking at the wrong book.

Matthew Reilly's second book, "Temple", is part Indiana Jones, part James Bond, part Clive Cussler hero, and part Tom Clancy hero. Other reviewers have deemed this a "fun" read and I whole-heartedly agree. The novel is not deep on character development, but that doesn't seem out of place here.The novel hits the ground running with the massacre of monks at a monastery. The novel continues at a quick pace for the next 500 pages and never lets up. There are many twists and turns, surprises, double agents, etc. By then end, the reader wonders who is the more prominent villain in the grand scheme of things. Many mysteries abound ranging from creatures inside the temple, the history of the sought idol, why everyone wants the idol, etc.Unfortunately, it's difficult to go into much detail as there are a number of surprises the reader must discover for himself/herself. If you're a fan of Clive Cussler, James Rollins, or Tom Clancy, this is a "must-read". While there is little to no character development, the non-stop (and sometimes very far-fetched) action will keep the reader enthralled for many hours.

In the constant sarch for new authors to read, Matthew Reilly is my newest. Having seen his new hardcover on the stands, I opted to look for one of his earlier books in paperback to start and see if I liked his style. Well I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact I am impressed. This book had a great story line and constant action, that had me reading till late into the night and morning. The story, which revloves around a language specialist who's been co-opted to Peru to look for a rare Incan idol, is fast-paced and full of interesting ancillary side stories and action. The combination of archaeological mystery with a Clive Cussler/Dirk Pitt story-line is always a winner with me; assuming it is well written and does not labor on fine points. The really best part of this story was that just as I thought it was over, it picked up yet again as the story moved on to another conclusion. I think you'll enjoy this book and hopefully his others as well.