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As someone who really did not like the last book after returning to the series after a long break, TOIL is less aggregious with toned down commentary on the church and modern politics and pop culture references. Reilly knows what he likes and writes for people who like it. He can describe his own images as long as you don't overthink the science behind it all.
Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush. My thoughts on the series - Spoilers below. I did mark this higher as to not spoil anything for friends, but honestly, I got frustrated waiting for them to finish. I introduced a friend of mine to Matthew Reilly recently and they've been excited to finish the series alongside me. I was red in the face embarrassed about it while reading this. I'm not sure if he ran out of time or ideas or is struggling personally but it's a severe step down in quality for him. What is normally an exciting one day read turned into a month long challenge. Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.The first few books of the Seven were good. They balanced action with interesting pseudo-historical events that were well thought up and creatively done. Not just a stretch where you walk past history and destroy it because putting the hero in contrived peril every second chapter is a cool thing to do.
Distances itself from the claim of birth family (his Mom is alright, but his father is a psycho and daughter adopted) in favour of chosen family of friends and mentors of different generations. An underlying current is that it is choices that matter, not the family or privileges you're born into. But the road will be hard. For this is a maze like no other: a maze of mazes. Uncompromising and complex. Demanding and deadly.
Customer reviews
Following rejections from all the major publishers, Matthew self-published Contest in 1996, printing 1000 copies. He produced a big-budget-looking novel which he sold into bookshops throughout Sydney, one shop at a time. When I was directing my movie, Interceptor, I literally had a thousand things on my mind every single day. I’d delivered The One Impossible Labyrinth, I was shooting the movie, managing a hundred people, living away from home – so I knew that as sure as night follows day, I was going to lose or forget my keys. So I bought this keyring clip that loops around your belt and then you hang your keys from it. Well. It was a lifesaver. The books are all high adventure with some mythology thrown in. The mythology is real mythology sometimes looked at from a different perspective. I’ve long been impressed by the author’s ability to blend fiction and reality and he does it so well. Again I looked up some of the historical places mentioned and they do exist, and they are as stunning and interesting as Reilly makes them out to be in the books. I really wanted to enjoy this book. I really wanted this to be a redeeming point on the series. A return to form from the first few novels. From Ice Station most of all, one of my favourite books of all or the Tournament which i feel was his best work, because it wasn't action porn. It wasn't trying to be the literary form of Michael Bay.
Heart-stopping moments. Tense battles. Epic puzzles. Dramatic deaths. All brought together by that insane, way-over-the-top action that we know and love as the signature of Matthew Reilly. I've finished the series. I've now read everything that Matthew has written. I've loved a lot of it.
From the creator of No.1 Netflix thriller INTERCEPTOR
Now he faces one last race - against multiple rivals, against time, against the collapse of the universe itself - a headlong race that will end at a throne inside the fabled labyrinth.
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