Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: The One Impossible Labyrinth: Jack West Jr, Book 7

Top positive review

Triumph and tragedy

Reviewed in Australia on 12 October 2021

Matthew Reilly's epic journey culminates in the most spectacular fashion. With epic battles, truly evil villains, complex challenges, this is a dangerous and deadly race to stop the end of the world. Jack West and his team, utilise their training, historical knowledge, strength and reliance on each other to fight the evil that is destroying the world. Fast-paced, filled with explanatory diagrams and amazingly detailed historical insights from the map on the skull of Imhotep to the new theory on the Trojan horse, this book was an amazing read. Matthew Reilly thank you, I had to read this in one day! Thoroughly recommend this novel.

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Ian Crane

More restraint than the last one

Reviewed in Australia on 20 October 2021

After almost 20 years Matthew Reilly concludes the Jack West Jnr saga with one last run through the wringer. Oddly for the grand finale, The One Impossible Labyrinth is the most constrained, linear and somewhat rushed book of the seven that is tightly written well edited but seems to lack the scope of the previous novels.

The story bounces from one maze to the next and... That's it. Basically one long conclusion that ties up all the loose ends it's a satisfying enough ending if not somewhat predictable.

The deaths in the book are earnt given the length of the series, however Reilly almost revels in the torture porn at odds with the general humour and light action in the rest of the story.

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.

On the one hand Reilly explains everything on the other any science behind the final revelation is cursary at best and the story would have benefited from even more time at the end explaining how Earth ( and the moon ) came to be, who the civilisation actually was that actually seeded everything and some of the science behind the magic.

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.

The author smartly avoids bashing Jesus/Christianity and the Church in this one without his own opinions coming through for a change.

A great series, but I'm glad it's over.

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From Australia

Kristy

lacklustre finale

Reviewed in Australia on 12 October 2021

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Despite being a fan of the series, disappointed by this book. It’s just meh. Pacing is off, characters seem different, reacting differently than expected, story… too many ‘unbelievable’ moments…Miss the high stakes and ‘wow’ moments of earlier books

5 people found this helpful

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Brynno

It's sad how bad this was.

Reviewed in Australia on 12 November 2021

Clunky, rushed and a bit blah. I'm really sad about how this one turned out. I've been a devoted fan of the author since the late 1990's but this was probably the hardest book to finish I've ever read. It honestly reads like a teenaged first-timer wrote it.

I got the impression the purpose of the book was to tie up loose ends so the author can move on to other projects.

The flash-backs answered un-asked questions from previous books but they were erratic and not really necessary.

The action was rushed, superficial and a bit dull, which truly pains me to say. I got a little tired of people dying only to find they have miraculously survived. The author has proven he's better than that, he doesn't have to rely on cheesy plot devices for thrills.

Why are scenes from just a few pages ago summarised so often? I just read it, I understand what's happening. This isn't a TV show, I don't need a 'Previously, on OIL'.

I've never left this author a negative review before, even after the weird teen-sex and rape themes of The Tournament so it's sad to say but I'm glad this series is over. Hopefully whatever Matt writes next will be because he wants to, this felt like he wrote it because he was obliged to.

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From other countries

Russell Stoewe

Well, it's an ending...

Reviewed in the United States on 19 April 2022

Verified Purchase

Over the course of this series (and, really, all his work), Reilly's writing has become more comical and less developed. I'm glad I was able to finish Jack West Jr's story, and I'm also glad that it's finally over.

The story is convoluted and the action over-the-top in a way that forces you not to suspend belief but simply shrug and read on.

Most paragraphs are one sentence long. The cliff-hangars are telegraphed so obviously that you just speed read to the plot point that you saw coming from 20 pages earlier.

I'm considering revisiting Ice Station, the first book of Reilly's I read and thoroughly enjoyed, to see whether my literary palate has matured or Reilly's writing has declined. It has to be one of them... because I can't recommend this series to anyone now that it's finally done.

5 star		73%
4 star		19%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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