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Seven Wonders
Written by the New York Times bestselling author Ben Mezrich, Seven Wonders is a globe-trotting thriller in the vein of The DaVinci Code—rife with historic secrets, conspiracies, intrigue, and a whole lot of adventure. When the reclusive mathematician Jeremy Grady goes missing, it’s up to his estranged brother Jack to find out why. His search leads him on a far-flung journey—from Brazil, India, Peru, and beyond—as he unravels the mystery that links the Seven Wonders of the World, and discovers that Jeremy may have hit upon something that’s been concealed for centuries. With the help of scientist Sloane Costa, they discover a conspiracy to hide a roadmap to the Garden of Eden—and the truth behind a mythological ancient culture.
With a heart-pounding pace and panoramic backdrops, Seven Wonders is an electrifying read, and will be the first in a trilogy.
With a heart-pounding pace and panoramic backdrops, Seven Wonders is an electrifying read, and will be the first in a trilogy.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2014
51 people are currently reading
2227 people want to read
About the author
Ben Mezrich
55 books1,470 followersBen Mezrich has created his own highly addictive genre of nonfiction, chronicling the amazing stories of young geniuses making tons of money on the edge of impossibility, ethics, and morality.
With his newest non-fiction book, Once Upon a Time in Russia, Mezrich tells his most incredible story yet: A true drama of obscene wealth, crime, rivalry, and betrayal from deep inside the world of billionaire Russian Oligarchs.
Mezrich has authored sixteen books, with a combined printing of over four million copies, including the wildly successful Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and sold over 2 million copies in fifteen languages. His book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal – debuted at #4 on the New York Times list and spent 18 weeks in hardcover and paperback, as well as hit bestseller lists in over a dozen countries. The book was adapted into the movie The Social Network –written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher – and was #1 at the box office for two weeks, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 including best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin. Mezrich and Aaron Sorkin shared a prestigious Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay as well.
With his newest non-fiction book, Once Upon a Time in Russia, Mezrich tells his most incredible story yet: A true drama of obscene wealth, crime, rivalry, and betrayal from deep inside the world of billionaire Russian Oligarchs.
Mezrich has authored sixteen books, with a combined printing of over four million copies, including the wildly successful Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and sold over 2 million copies in fifteen languages. His book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal – debuted at #4 on the New York Times list and spent 18 weeks in hardcover and paperback, as well as hit bestseller lists in over a dozen countries. The book was adapted into the movie The Social Network –written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher – and was #1 at the box office for two weeks, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 including best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin. Mezrich and Aaron Sorkin shared a prestigious Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay as well.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
March 4, 2021
For the first half of the book i wondered whether it was a three star or four star read. The writing was only a three star level but the plot of investigating the seven modern wonders of the world I was fascinated, at first. Perhaps having visited most of them (save Petra) even before the 2007 vote i was titallated by the inclusion of these world heritage sites in a novel of intrigue and mystery. However by the second half it was apparent there would be little character development and the plot settled into a repetitive pattern of quickly find the item (that hundreds of years of others investigating never found), fend off some menace (snakes, crocodile, spiders, woman with a knife...) and move onto the next location. The section on Chichen Itza was particularly troublesome with the continuing misuse of the word "Mayans" for the Maya. Mayan is the language; it is Maya language. The people are the Maya (not the Mayans). From there the book became a predictable drudge of (uninteresting) hero quickly overcoming all obstacles (at the last moment). Perhaps Mezrich suffers from not being capable of making the transition from non-fiction to fiction writer. Ronald wright's "Gold Eaters" is another example.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
However Mr, Wright knows better than to call the Maya Mayans.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
However Mr, Wright knows better than to call the Maya Mayans.
May 5, 2015
I won a copy of Seven Wonders from Goodreads First Reads.
I dove into what seemed to be an Indian Jones/DaVinci Code type of adventure. Jeremy Grady, an MIT genius with social disabilities on the Asperger scale, discovers a mathematical connection between the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World and the Modern Seven Wonders of the World. Someone kills him before he can begin to fathom its significance. Enter his twin brother Jack, an anthropologist with a penchant for doing “stupid” things. Not being one to ignore a mystery or a challenge, Jack sets out to find out who killed his brother and why.
Along the way, he encounters Sloane, a socially inexperienced botanist who discovers an ancient plant in the ruins of the Coliseum. She accompanies Jack because she needs to resurrect her career.
Their trek takes them from one modern day wonder to another, as if on a round-the-world scavenger hunt, where they uncover the next section of golden snake and pictogram clue with far too much ease. What are they seeking? Is it possible that the Amazons truly existed?
Our heroes, of course, do encounter villains. We are introduced to Jendari, Vika, and other female would-be assassins. They seem to anticipate every move made by Jack, Sloane and the two graduate students. But they are foiled at every turn.
The story held my interest for perhaps the first half of the book. But somewhere along the middle it bogged down. Yes, the description of each wonder was magnificent. Yes, there was a bit of drama as Jack and Sloane raced to beat Vika and her warriors to the site of the next clue? But it lacked depth. The plot felt rushed. Actually, it felt like a book that wanted to be a movie. The reason I didn’t see Indiana Jones was because of the snake scenes, and this book also had too many snake scenes! It just became too predictable, and by the time I got two-thirds of the way through it, I had pretty much lost interest.
It was an interesting concept with a promising start; it just failed to deliver, in my opinion.
2 stars
I dove into what seemed to be an Indian Jones/DaVinci Code type of adventure. Jeremy Grady, an MIT genius with social disabilities on the Asperger scale, discovers a mathematical connection between the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World and the Modern Seven Wonders of the World. Someone kills him before he can begin to fathom its significance. Enter his twin brother Jack, an anthropologist with a penchant for doing “stupid” things. Not being one to ignore a mystery or a challenge, Jack sets out to find out who killed his brother and why.
Along the way, he encounters Sloane, a socially inexperienced botanist who discovers an ancient plant in the ruins of the Coliseum. She accompanies Jack because she needs to resurrect her career.
Their trek takes them from one modern day wonder to another, as if on a round-the-world scavenger hunt, where they uncover the next section of golden snake and pictogram clue with far too much ease. What are they seeking? Is it possible that the Amazons truly existed?
Our heroes, of course, do encounter villains. We are introduced to Jendari, Vika, and other female would-be assassins. They seem to anticipate every move made by Jack, Sloane and the two graduate students. But they are foiled at every turn.
The story held my interest for perhaps the first half of the book. But somewhere along the middle it bogged down. Yes, the description of each wonder was magnificent. Yes, there was a bit of drama as Jack and Sloane raced to beat Vika and her warriors to the site of the next clue? But it lacked depth. The plot felt rushed. Actually, it felt like a book that wanted to be a movie. The reason I didn’t see Indiana Jones was because of the snake scenes, and this book also had too many snake scenes! It just became too predictable, and by the time I got two-thirds of the way through it, I had pretty much lost interest.
It was an interesting concept with a promising start; it just failed to deliver, in my opinion.
2 stars
August 6, 2014
Awful book. An interesting though cliche concept was totally ruined by horrible execution.
Issues:
Descriptions of characters and scenes that were often jumbled and all over the place.
Awful puns/jokes to end some chapters led to me literally face palming, sometimes with the book in my hand--luckily it was paperback. But seriously these jokes really interupted the any thrill
Dashia, a character in the book says and does near to nothing through the entire 314 pages. Not sure why she is even in the book.
Why is Jendari stating at one point that her operatives are to observe and report and allow jack to proceed, and then send operatives to steal the items found and wield knives in the physical theft attempts that could stab and kill jack had he not been lucky enough to bounce the right way on the bus? Inconsistent narrative.
The whole father-son thing was stupid and added little to the plot because in the end, Jack nearly followed in his fathers footsteps even though he continually portrayed his father as not a great guy.
The dead brother was probably the most interesting character in the whole book and he was killed in the first chapter.
What was the deal with the giant diamond on Jendari's back?
I would not recommend this book.
Issues:
Descriptions of characters and scenes that were often jumbled and all over the place.
Awful puns/jokes to end some chapters led to me literally face palming, sometimes with the book in my hand--luckily it was paperback. But seriously these jokes really interupted the any thrill
Dashia, a character in the book says and does near to nothing through the entire 314 pages. Not sure why she is even in the book.
Why is Jendari stating at one point that her operatives are to observe and report and allow jack to proceed, and then send operatives to steal the items found and wield knives in the physical theft attempts that could stab and kill jack had he not been lucky enough to bounce the right way on the bus? Inconsistent narrative.
The whole father-son thing was stupid and added little to the plot because in the end, Jack nearly followed in his fathers footsteps even though he continually portrayed his father as not a great guy.
The dead brother was probably the most interesting character in the whole book and he was killed in the first chapter.
What was the deal with the giant diamond on Jendari's back?
I would not recommend this book.
December 15, 2014
I love a good conspiracy thriller, especially those featuring secret societies and ancient civilizations. However, the characters were flat, the book was overly descriptive in the wrong areas, and I quickly lost interest.
No one else has mentioned in their comments, that I've seen anyway, that there are some odd errors that irritated me. In a better book, I would have ignored them. Examples:
*"ice floe" not "ice flow"
*Borneo is an island of the Malay Archipelago, and is not in Africa.
*I'm not an anthropologist, but I'm pretty sure those who are don't use the term "Eskimo" anymore.
*Sherpas live in the Himalayas, not the Andes. People living at high altitude may have physiological similarities, but they are not Sherpas unless they are part of that distinct ethnic group.
There probably would have been more things that bugged me had I read further but I gave up just after they destroyed part of the Taj Mahal without feeling guilty or getting caught.
No one else has mentioned in their comments, that I've seen anyway, that there are some odd errors that irritated me. In a better book, I would have ignored them. Examples:
*"ice floe" not "ice flow"
*Borneo is an island of the Malay Archipelago, and is not in Africa.
*I'm not an anthropologist, but I'm pretty sure those who are don't use the term "Eskimo" anymore.
*Sherpas live in the Himalayas, not the Andes. People living at high altitude may have physiological similarities, but they are not Sherpas unless they are part of that distinct ethnic group.
There probably would have been more things that bugged me had I read further but I gave up just after they destroyed part of the Taj Mahal without feeling guilty or getting caught.
October 15, 2014
My introduction to Ben Mezrich was with The Accidental Billionaires. A very impressive book that was well executed. With this installment in his catalog, "Seven Wonders," I was pleasantly surprised. An engaging story that is reminiscent of the Indiana Jones Sages. Well written, there is plenty here for fans of the genre, I liked the flow of the plot and character development and if rumors are true that a screenplay is in the works, this promises to be a block-buster when it hits the big screen.
The main character, Jack Grady, a thrill seeking field anthropologist, when learning of the murder of his twin brother, Jeremy Grady, a nerdy mathematician, sets out on a mission to discover the truth. What happens next is an epic quest to reveal that truth, one that he could have never imagined. The first clue is the ancient ivory spear that was used in the murder. With that, we're off around the world with stops in Brazil, Egypt, China to Peru. I liked the way Mezrich weaves the seven wonders of the world into the plot with the seven divided segments of the golden snake. Of course, there is a beautiful woman with brains, Sloane Costa, a botanist that teams up with Jack on this harrowing journey.
Combining elements of history, mythology, archaeology, and classical literature, this is a remarkable yet believable tale that is intriguing, suspenseful, and exciting. I for me can't wait to see this made into a movie. Truly, a modern day adventure story.
The main character, Jack Grady, a thrill seeking field anthropologist, when learning of the murder of his twin brother, Jeremy Grady, a nerdy mathematician, sets out on a mission to discover the truth. What happens next is an epic quest to reveal that truth, one that he could have never imagined. The first clue is the ancient ivory spear that was used in the murder. With that, we're off around the world with stops in Brazil, Egypt, China to Peru. I liked the way Mezrich weaves the seven wonders of the world into the plot with the seven divided segments of the golden snake. Of course, there is a beautiful woman with brains, Sloane Costa, a botanist that teams up with Jack on this harrowing journey.
Combining elements of history, mythology, archaeology, and classical literature, this is a remarkable yet believable tale that is intriguing, suspenseful, and exciting. I for me can't wait to see this made into a movie. Truly, a modern day adventure story.
Want to read
June 2, 2014I won a copy on Goodreads Firstreads.
October 25, 2022
I'm really conflicted on this book. If you read a book to like the characters, this book isn't for you. There is NO character development and honestly the characters are overall kind of pointless to the book. They could have been left nameless with no backstory and the book would have been exactly the same. But I did enjoy the overall idea of the story. I thought it was really interesting and if it had literally even one in depth character, I would have loved it.
September 28, 2018
Imagine this, your genius mathematician twin brother has just died, a brutal death. He was murdered in cold blood after he made a mathematical discovery about the seven ancient wonders of the world and stumbled across the secret to unimaginable treasures. His murderers, well, you have no idea who they are. You’ll most definitely go and seek revenge, right? Here’s the thing, you haven’t seen or talked to him in who knows how long, it could even be years. Knowing that, would you still search for answers? Jack Grady did. The main protagonist for the book Seven Wonders by Ben Mezrich, the Indiana Jones like anthropologist undergoes a life changing journey that is filled with action, adventure, and mythology that gives more detail than many movies of the same genre.
What are your strengths?
I never really get hurt often, I’m smart and I know the way humans function and think because I’m an anthropologist. Because of this I gain an advantage over most of my opponents and get out of many hairy situations. Once I find out something, even just a sliver of information, I will relentlessly try and figure out the answer. I am also an archaeologist, so I know my way around many places around the world because I have been to those places many times in my lifetime. You will never encounter me slouching around, especially now that my adventure has to do with my brother’s death and the Seven Wonders of both the ancient and modern world.
What are your weaknesses?
Weaknesses are never really an issue for me, although there are definitely a few flaws that I posses. Starting off, I never really knew my brother, and I was usually a loner. Knowing this, one can infer that I don’t work well on a team, particularly in intense and suspenseful situations. I had said one of my strengths was relentlessly working to discover answers, which I am, but that sometimes is one of my greatest flaws. Because of that trait, I sometimes try way too hard on things. This leads to me getting way too deep into things that I could not handle, almost getting me killed on multiple occasions.
What started your journey?
I didn’t know at the time, but my brother and I separately stumbled onto clues that could unravel secrets about the seven wonders of the world. We had no idea that the other found what they had found, which was a deadly coincidence. We also had no idea that these secrets were supposed to be kept secret, and uncovering them could mean death for us. Unfortunately, it did, and I was the lucky one. Jeremy Grady my twin and a genius at MIT was murdered and I wanted to find out why while also finding out what we had both discovered.
Why do you act the way you do?
I feel like I am a normal human being with normal ideas, habits and tendencies, but many might disagree with me. I act the way I do because of my professions. I have encountered many different landscapes and memorized them as an archaeologist, so I can move far ahead of the pack because I already know what to do, where to do it, and why. Also, I have been a very hard worker since childhood, which is where I started to memorize the many things that surrounded me. This memorization includes my work and environment that envelops me.
What is your relationship with your companion/companions?
Usually, I’m a lone wolf. I try my hardest to do be the best, but also do it by myself. This tactic has worked throughout my entire life so far, so well that I had distanced myself from my family and especially my brother. On my campaign though, I quickly realized that it wouldn’t work, so I teamed up with Dr. Sloane Costa, a fellow scientist and found many secrets while traveling from Brazil to Peru, most of Europe and even India. Our relationship was not that great starting out, but we found many times where we saw a piece of ourselves in the other. From then on our relationship grew and we turned out to be a great team.
What do you want that you are working towards?
I wanted to find out many things during this span of time. For example, I really wanted to find out who had killed my brother. Would any rational person kill for the sake of a secret? but , before even that could be answered, I needed to know… Are they even human?? Although I already know why he was killed, I wanted to physically see the reason he was killed. The treasure that was at the bottom of this complex labyrinth of dead ends, or if there was even a treasure at all. All in all I wanted to find out the secret or secrets that the seven wonders of the world held. This was no easy task, because of course there were many roadblocks along the way.
What/who is trying to stop you?
Throughout this adventure many people and things were in my way. For example, ancient Amazon warriors who are essentially a tall and ripped tribe made up of women are somehow hired by a greedy billionaire. There were also many natural roadblocks. Traversing the dense rainforests and arid deserts are usually berly a hassle for me, but the seven huge wonders of the ancient world are very hard to navigate which gave me disadvantages when I had to fight the Amazons. In the end though I prevailed and all my hardships paid off with all my enemies either parishes or giving up and running away.
What is driving you to not give up?
There are many factors that are driving me not to give up. One is the overall fascination of the topic. I’m an archaeologist, so the fact that I could investigate the Seven Wonders of both the Ancient and modern world truly makes me happy. I could see and make discoveries that no one has ever made before, and I would be go down in history as an amazing adventurer who found the most important discovery probably ever. Most importantly, though, the thing that kept me going the most was the thought of my brother and his own legacy. I didn’t want people to look at him as someone who died without a cause, so I finished my journey in memory of him.
How would you describe yourself?
Well, as an archaeologist and an anthropologist I feel like I’m a very smart man. I, along with my deceased brother found the beginnings of secrets that have been kept for millennia. I also, after a grueling pilgrimage, found the answers to those secrets as well. Also, not to brag, but I am a very strong man. I never break a sweat unless in a life or death situation and even in that situation it’s minimal. I know the way people think and that gives me the upper hand in many occasions even when the aggressor isn’t technically human. I never give up which is a blessing and a curse, but turned out well in the end. Although, I’m not particularly nice, I can build up very good relationships with the right conditions.
What did you do before your journey?
Like I have said many times before, I am a scientist. My preferred fields are anthropology and archaeology which I have worked very hard on to master. I was studying the Amazonians at Princeton University when I was called to action. The studying that I did, though, helped me plentifully in the end and I’m glad that I did. Other than that, my life was uneventful because I liked being alone. I didn’t have many relationships and I was just focusing on me at the time
What are your strengths?
I never really get hurt often, I’m smart and I know the way humans function and think because I’m an anthropologist. Because of this I gain an advantage over most of my opponents and get out of many hairy situations. Once I find out something, even just a sliver of information, I will relentlessly try and figure out the answer. I am also an archaeologist, so I know my way around many places around the world because I have been to those places many times in my lifetime. You will never encounter me slouching around, especially now that my adventure has to do with my brother’s death and the Seven Wonders of both the ancient and modern world.
What are your weaknesses?
Weaknesses are never really an issue for me, although there are definitely a few flaws that I posses. Starting off, I never really knew my brother, and I was usually a loner. Knowing this, one can infer that I don’t work well on a team, particularly in intense and suspenseful situations. I had said one of my strengths was relentlessly working to discover answers, which I am, but that sometimes is one of my greatest flaws. Because of that trait, I sometimes try way too hard on things. This leads to me getting way too deep into things that I could not handle, almost getting me killed on multiple occasions.
What started your journey?
I didn’t know at the time, but my brother and I separately stumbled onto clues that could unravel secrets about the seven wonders of the world. We had no idea that the other found what they had found, which was a deadly coincidence. We also had no idea that these secrets were supposed to be kept secret, and uncovering them could mean death for us. Unfortunately, it did, and I was the lucky one. Jeremy Grady my twin and a genius at MIT was murdered and I wanted to find out why while also finding out what we had both discovered.
Why do you act the way you do?
I feel like I am a normal human being with normal ideas, habits and tendencies, but many might disagree with me. I act the way I do because of my professions. I have encountered many different landscapes and memorized them as an archaeologist, so I can move far ahead of the pack because I already know what to do, where to do it, and why. Also, I have been a very hard worker since childhood, which is where I started to memorize the many things that surrounded me. This memorization includes my work and environment that envelops me.
What is your relationship with your companion/companions?
Usually, I’m a lone wolf. I try my hardest to do be the best, but also do it by myself. This tactic has worked throughout my entire life so far, so well that I had distanced myself from my family and especially my brother. On my campaign though, I quickly realized that it wouldn’t work, so I teamed up with Dr. Sloane Costa, a fellow scientist and found many secrets while traveling from Brazil to Peru, most of Europe and even India. Our relationship was not that great starting out, but we found many times where we saw a piece of ourselves in the other. From then on our relationship grew and we turned out to be a great team.
What do you want that you are working towards?
I wanted to find out many things during this span of time. For example, I really wanted to find out who had killed my brother. Would any rational person kill for the sake of a secret? but , before even that could be answered, I needed to know… Are they even human?? Although I already know why he was killed, I wanted to physically see the reason he was killed. The treasure that was at the bottom of this complex labyrinth of dead ends, or if there was even a treasure at all. All in all I wanted to find out the secret or secrets that the seven wonders of the world held. This was no easy task, because of course there were many roadblocks along the way.
What/who is trying to stop you?
Throughout this adventure many people and things were in my way. For example, ancient Amazon warriors who are essentially a tall and ripped tribe made up of women are somehow hired by a greedy billionaire. There were also many natural roadblocks. Traversing the dense rainforests and arid deserts are usually berly a hassle for me, but the seven huge wonders of the ancient world are very hard to navigate which gave me disadvantages when I had to fight the Amazons. In the end though I prevailed and all my hardships paid off with all my enemies either parishes or giving up and running away.
What is driving you to not give up?
There are many factors that are driving me not to give up. One is the overall fascination of the topic. I’m an archaeologist, so the fact that I could investigate the Seven Wonders of both the Ancient and modern world truly makes me happy. I could see and make discoveries that no one has ever made before, and I would be go down in history as an amazing adventurer who found the most important discovery probably ever. Most importantly, though, the thing that kept me going the most was the thought of my brother and his own legacy. I didn’t want people to look at him as someone who died without a cause, so I finished my journey in memory of him.
How would you describe yourself?
Well, as an archaeologist and an anthropologist I feel like I’m a very smart man. I, along with my deceased brother found the beginnings of secrets that have been kept for millennia. I also, after a grueling pilgrimage, found the answers to those secrets as well. Also, not to brag, but I am a very strong man. I never break a sweat unless in a life or death situation and even in that situation it’s minimal. I know the way people think and that gives me the upper hand in many occasions even when the aggressor isn’t technically human. I never give up which is a blessing and a curse, but turned out well in the end. Although, I’m not particularly nice, I can build up very good relationships with the right conditions.
What did you do before your journey?
Like I have said many times before, I am a scientist. My preferred fields are anthropology and archaeology which I have worked very hard on to master. I was studying the Amazonians at Princeton University when I was called to action. The studying that I did, though, helped me plentifully in the end and I’m glad that I did. Other than that, my life was uneventful because I liked being alone. I didn’t have many relationships and I was just focusing on me at the time
October 18, 2014
This is a decidedly light National Treasure-esque thrillah starring adventurous, handsome dude Jack Grady who starts connecting some dots between the seven wonders of the ancient world and the all-new seven wonders of the world (note: Machu Piccu was recently and definitively dropped in favor of my girlfriend's ass). Jack meets up with a “bookish and beautiful” fellow adventurer, botanist Sloane Costa, and the two of them start trotting the globe chasing the mystery. Jack has to carefully disentangle himself and whomever else is around (usually Sloane) from nasty situations using (mostly) his Mighty Brain and a lot of luck. The story is replete with a doomed villain and a sinister company called Euphrates trying to leapfrog ahead of Jack. Positive people will see this as fun, fast-paced, globe-trotting adventure novel. Dour, unfun persons will characterize this as shallow, rushed, unbelievable, illogical, and unsustainable. VERDICT Both sides are right. It’s true that characters are shallow (some seemingly pointless), and that the only reason Sloane exists is so that Jack can either explain stuff (e.g., the rather pungent history of Why We Never Venture Directly Under the Colossus of Rhodes) or enjoy romantic sparks. And yes, Mezrich is busily setting up a franchise that has predictable, cinematic qualities, but hey on the flip side—everyone needs a bathtub read, this is it. Turn off your filter and relax for chrissakes.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
December 14, 2016
This book promised so much, but failed to deliver in so many ways. It was gripping in places but there was a severe lack of building tension when certain scenes demanded it. The whole journey seemed far too easy to be credible, though I did enjoy visiting the locations and found myself Googling to discover more. By far the biggest let-down, however, was the ending. It was as if the author began this book without having one in mind, and ended up with something that I found totally unsatisfactory. I had several better endings in mind before even reaching the final chapter. It could not have been any more empty and disappointing had the author scrapped the conclusion (the whole reason for the adventure) and instead gave us a few blank pages. A journey such as the one in this book should have some sort of pay-off, for the characters, and for the reader.
2.75 stars for the journey and for pushing me to explore the history of everything mentioned in the book.
2.75 stars for the journey and for pushing me to explore the history of everything mentioned in the book.
October 31, 2014
I was in the mood for a thriller, and had recently heard the author talk about this book at the Boston Book Festival, so picked it up. The premise sounded good: archaeological thriller with murder, secrets, history and the seven wonders (ancient and modern). And oh yes, Amazons, those women warriors of mythology. Sounds great right? Unfortunately not. The writing is so dang bad, that after 60 pages, I've decided to return it to the library stacks. Still looking for a fast paced thriller ....
Read
July 23, 2016"National Treasure on steroids"
October 27, 2014
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
The story begins when Jeremy Grady, a socially awkward MIT genius, finds that the Ancient seven wonders of the world and the Modern wonders are enantiomers of each other and present themselves mathematically in the form of a double helix. Even as he is musing on this discovery, he is brutally murdered. Enter his twin brother, Jack Grady, who is a field anthropologist and an Indian Jones-like explorer, to try and figure out the reasons for his brother’s death. He is usually joined by two of his graduate students as they travel the world to ‘raid’ ancient sites in pursuit of a degree. When he is informed of his brother’s death, Jack takes it upon himself to find out the reason for this by the simple process of stealing evidence from the crime scene. That he does not ask to look at security footage but simply rushes out to solve a thrilling puzzle that will in no way get him to his brother's murderer but surely ensure his tenure is something I worked out halfway through the book. In Rome, Sloane Costa, a botanist, evades guards and manages to get inside the Colosseum’s restricted area to discover an ancient vine that conceals a mural of Amazonian women and an artifact. This leads her on the trail of Jack Grady, the leading light on Amazonian culture and instead of just making a call she follows him half way around the world. Not just that, she then joins him and his graduate students in a mad dash all over the globe to desecrate the most important heritage sites around the world as the resident botanist. Her presence with them never really makes complete sense. That they are never caught or even spotted by any officials as they destroy protected property is only logical. That they manage to evade trained assassins time and again is also a matter of course. The only jarring note is that it seems their trip around the world is funded by their universities, which is just unbelievable. Can you imagine universities who as a rule weep when doling out money for a single light bulb actually funding an illegal treasure hunt? Anyway, as the chase moves from country to country like a global treasure hunt, none of them are really aware of what it is that they are chasing - and unfortunately neither are we. The villain is a powerful woman descended from a line of Amazons, or so we are given to believe, who instead of simply following orders from a faceless organization that seems to send secret messages to all its followers, goes rogue and decides to use her money to find everything even remotely related to the Amazons. Why the Amazons have to remain a secret is beyond my ken. And when the clues lead to the most improbable place of all and the even more improbable discovery there, that is the point when you realize that none of your answers are ever going to be answered.
The book meanders aimlessly through grandiose locations and fantastic premises and yet is never able to create a truly ‘aha’ moment. The most disturbing aspect of the book was the impunity with which the characters set out to destroy ancient artifacts in order to fulfill their ambitions. When professors who study history are so ready to destroy it, can we really ever blame the poor adolescent boys who carve lovelorn messages on monuments. It becomes tedious and boring very soon. The worst bit is not knowing what the characters are really chasing. How will solving an ancient puzzle find the murderer, unless you knew that he/she will be present at the end of the trail as the trophy. There is some extremely good guesswork happening all through the book and at times it is also hilarious – like in the end when all the pieces come together to form a sort-of centipede which when placed at the foot of a sphinx slithers into a hole like a live snake. The idea that the Amazons knew about the double helical structure of our DNA and decided to go to the trouble of painting murals and hiding brass clockwork tablets all over the world to hide the first perfect DNA falls spectacularly flat. Why hide it being the foremost question leaping to the mind? No explanations forthcoming by the way.
In the bit about the visit to the Taj Mahal - even allowing for the artistic license given to all artists - after reading his description of India and Indians I was seriously worried whether I should believe anything else he wrote about the other places that his characters visited. Oh, I agree that Delhi is crowded, really hot, has dirty streets and lots of beggars but is that all that you can see. For one thing, he talks of men in ‘traditional Indian garb (of) flowing white, brown and gray shirts and pants tied at the waist’. I am at a loss to figure out what this ‘traditional garb’ is or where he found men dressed in it. Thankfully, he doesn’t call us snake-charmers – instead, he adds the twist of a rabid, 18-inch-long pet rat on a leash as compensation. We have been inured to Westerners referring to our beloved Lord Ganesh as the ‘Elephant God’ – he isn’t the God of elephants or an Elephant who is a God – but to refer to him as a ‘her’ just shows incredibly poor research. In this age of internet and information explosion to get such a basic thing wrong is just unacceptable and disrespectful. Especially when you are trying to mimic a writing style which was based on mingling fact, fiction and research. The author keeps referring to the loot of idols and jade Buddhas from ‘tombs’ in India, which is an alien concept since we did not build tombs or keep idols in them as far as I know.
So, in case you didn't figure it out as yet, I didn't like the book. I agree that it is a creditable effort but for the genre that it aspires to, it misses hitting a lot of spots.
I am truly sorry if the review seems too waspish, but it just seems to be flowing that way today.
The story begins when Jeremy Grady, a socially awkward MIT genius, finds that the Ancient seven wonders of the world and the Modern wonders are enantiomers of each other and present themselves mathematically in the form of a double helix. Even as he is musing on this discovery, he is brutally murdered. Enter his twin brother, Jack Grady, who is a field anthropologist and an Indian Jones-like explorer, to try and figure out the reasons for his brother’s death. He is usually joined by two of his graduate students as they travel the world to ‘raid’ ancient sites in pursuit of a degree. When he is informed of his brother’s death, Jack takes it upon himself to find out the reason for this by the simple process of stealing evidence from the crime scene. That he does not ask to look at security footage but simply rushes out to solve a thrilling puzzle that will in no way get him to his brother's murderer but surely ensure his tenure is something I worked out halfway through the book. In Rome, Sloane Costa, a botanist, evades guards and manages to get inside the Colosseum’s restricted area to discover an ancient vine that conceals a mural of Amazonian women and an artifact. This leads her on the trail of Jack Grady, the leading light on Amazonian culture and instead of just making a call she follows him half way around the world. Not just that, she then joins him and his graduate students in a mad dash all over the globe to desecrate the most important heritage sites around the world as the resident botanist. Her presence with them never really makes complete sense. That they are never caught or even spotted by any officials as they destroy protected property is only logical. That they manage to evade trained assassins time and again is also a matter of course. The only jarring note is that it seems their trip around the world is funded by their universities, which is just unbelievable. Can you imagine universities who as a rule weep when doling out money for a single light bulb actually funding an illegal treasure hunt? Anyway, as the chase moves from country to country like a global treasure hunt, none of them are really aware of what it is that they are chasing - and unfortunately neither are we. The villain is a powerful woman descended from a line of Amazons, or so we are given to believe, who instead of simply following orders from a faceless organization that seems to send secret messages to all its followers, goes rogue and decides to use her money to find everything even remotely related to the Amazons. Why the Amazons have to remain a secret is beyond my ken. And when the clues lead to the most improbable place of all and the even more improbable discovery there, that is the point when you realize that none of your answers are ever going to be answered.
The book meanders aimlessly through grandiose locations and fantastic premises and yet is never able to create a truly ‘aha’ moment. The most disturbing aspect of the book was the impunity with which the characters set out to destroy ancient artifacts in order to fulfill their ambitions. When professors who study history are so ready to destroy it, can we really ever blame the poor adolescent boys who carve lovelorn messages on monuments. It becomes tedious and boring very soon. The worst bit is not knowing what the characters are really chasing. How will solving an ancient puzzle find the murderer, unless you knew that he/she will be present at the end of the trail as the trophy. There is some extremely good guesswork happening all through the book and at times it is also hilarious – like in the end when all the pieces come together to form a sort-of centipede which when placed at the foot of a sphinx slithers into a hole like a live snake. The idea that the Amazons knew about the double helical structure of our DNA and decided to go to the trouble of painting murals and hiding brass clockwork tablets all over the world to hide the first perfect DNA falls spectacularly flat. Why hide it being the foremost question leaping to the mind? No explanations forthcoming by the way.
In the bit about the visit to the Taj Mahal - even allowing for the artistic license given to all artists - after reading his description of India and Indians I was seriously worried whether I should believe anything else he wrote about the other places that his characters visited. Oh, I agree that Delhi is crowded, really hot, has dirty streets and lots of beggars but is that all that you can see. For one thing, he talks of men in ‘traditional Indian garb (of) flowing white, brown and gray shirts and pants tied at the waist’. I am at a loss to figure out what this ‘traditional garb’ is or where he found men dressed in it. Thankfully, he doesn’t call us snake-charmers – instead, he adds the twist of a rabid, 18-inch-long pet rat on a leash as compensation. We have been inured to Westerners referring to our beloved Lord Ganesh as the ‘Elephant God’ – he isn’t the God of elephants or an Elephant who is a God – but to refer to him as a ‘her’ just shows incredibly poor research. In this age of internet and information explosion to get such a basic thing wrong is just unacceptable and disrespectful. Especially when you are trying to mimic a writing style which was based on mingling fact, fiction and research. The author keeps referring to the loot of idols and jade Buddhas from ‘tombs’ in India, which is an alien concept since we did not build tombs or keep idols in them as far as I know.
So, in case you didn't figure it out as yet, I didn't like the book. I agree that it is a creditable effort but for the genre that it aspires to, it misses hitting a lot of spots.
I am truly sorry if the review seems too waspish, but it just seems to be flowing that way today.
November 4, 2022
I liked this overall and I think Justin Lin is going to make something really rad with the story, but I feel like this could have used more dialogue, either quips spoken out loud when characters are in solo situations, or some sort of inner monologue, instead there is just a little too much 3rd person omniscient narration. It’s nothing to quibble about, but it’s still there.
May 19, 2016
You know, this book I thought was going to be a solid two stars, and then I read the ending. Do yourself a favor and skip it. This is a terrible version of "The Mummy" or "The Mummy Returns" (Note: I love those movies, so call me crazy). The action is sub-par and at times unbelievable or unnecessary.
This book is a bogged down mess of random facts of History. It tears apart the action and destroys the character development. There was ZERO tension between the main characters to have engaged in a kiss at the end of this book. I'm going to venture a guess that Mezrich is gearing up to make a series of books because this had more unresolved questions than it did answers. Overall, this was disappointing.
Rule of thumb, you have to have a really, really interesting villian to give them a point of view and this character did not have that. Both she and Jack were just history lesson city. There was far too much attention paid to the history than there was to the characters. Sloane was pretty boring and there isn't really much known about her. There should have been an actual conversation between Jack and Sloane concerning Jeremy, but what we got was so dismal that it really asked, "why bother?"
Also, very predictable. And the Graduate students, why were they even there? They were both absent for much of the action and then sent home without any sort of mention in the ending of this novel.
This book is a bogged down mess of random facts of History. It tears apart the action and destroys the character development. There was ZERO tension between the main characters to have engaged in a kiss at the end of this book. I'm going to venture a guess that Mezrich is gearing up to make a series of books because this had more unresolved questions than it did answers. Overall, this was disappointing.
Rule of thumb, you have to have a really, really interesting villian to give them a point of view and this character did not have that. Both she and Jack were just history lesson city. There was far too much attention paid to the history than there was to the characters. Sloane was pretty boring and there isn't really much known about her. There should have been an actual conversation between Jack and Sloane concerning Jeremy, but what we got was so dismal that it really asked, "why bother?"
Also, very predictable. And the Graduate students, why were they even there? They were both absent for much of the action and then sent home without any sort of mention in the ending of this novel.
September 29, 2014
This is not a good book, an uninspired ripoff of books like The DaVinci Code. The lead character is Indiana Jones with a different name. The premise is both confusing (I'm still not sure what the brother could possibly have discovered that got him killed) and absurd, piling one coincidence on top of another. Artifacts have been hidden for centuries, yet two of them get independently discovered within days, and then the two finders meet up and find the remaining five within another week because a college professor has unlimited funds to travel around the globe. There's a really lame villain (she wants to cure disease and will kill anyone who gets in her way to do it), silly henchwomen (because they are a secret army of Amazon mercenaries), a shadow organization that is repeatedly discussed but plays literally no role in this story (though there's a hint that it could come back in the sequel that should never be written). I usually check Goodreads before I read a book, but I've read other books by Mezrich and this one sounded cool. That mistake cost me time that could have been spent reading something else.
October 21, 2014
Let me be clear: the one star rating means only that this is not my kind of book. Perhaps Dan Brown fans will eat it up--I'm just guessing based on what I've read. There's a conspiracy covering the whole world and thousands of years! Fortunately (I guess) for us, gonzo anthropology professor Jack wants to avenge the murder of his brother. Did nerdy Jeremy really find out something worth killing him for? Jack and his small crew of grad students, augmented by botany professor Sloane, who's made her own weird discovery in Rome, travel the world, just one step ahead of minions of an evil billionaire who--. Well, there's a lot of stuff that happens. Fine for those who like it, I guess.
November 1, 2014
I wish I could have suspended belief better throughout this book because it had a great premise. But the clues were so easily solved from one Seven Wonder (ancient and old) to the new, that I just couldn't really buy into this thriller. I liked the Amazon women theory. Author Steve Berry does a much better job with this type of thriller. I'm going to stick with him.
July 9, 2014
Loved the mystery and adventure of Seven Wonders.. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope Ben Mezrich has more adventures with Jack and Sloane for us in the future.
** received a copy from Goodreads Giveaways
** received a copy from Goodreads Giveaways
June 19, 2014
I read solely for enjoyment and I did not want to put this book down. If I could have stayed home from work to finish it I would have. The pace was fast and furious. I hope that Jack and Sloane have more adventures. Thanks for letting me read this advanced copy
August 1, 2014
Very well-done suspense. Look for my review on my blog.
September 1, 2015
Horrible book. Boring...
November 23, 2014
Good romping adventure in the Indiana Jones Genre.
June 10, 2020
Very fast read and fun story -- kind of a cross between DaVinci Code, Indiana Jones, and National Treasure. Twin brothers who are polar opposites -- Jeremy, the introverted computer science genius, and Jack, the athletic, adventurous anthropologist who has followed in their father's footsteps in traveling to remote corners of the globe for research. After Jeremy is murdered, Jack sets out to solve the mystery of what was on the flash drive that he apparently was killed for. Accompanied by Sloane, a botanist PhD scholar who studies ancient plants, they travel to the seven wonders collecting clues, solving riddles, and dodging danger along the way.
Not quite worthy of 5 stars -- have liked other books more than this, and also was disappointed by sloppy proofreading. I am a professional proofreader/copy editor so I often find a typo or two in most books I read but this one had four egregious wrong word errors! Whoever proofed this obviously doesn't follow the cardinal rule: don't rely on spellcheck because it doesn't read context and rarely catches homophone errors. All four major errors were homophones: the plant reproductive organ is a pistil (not pistol, a gun), ice floe (not flow), he caught sight of something (not site), and the bird had a sharp tail (not tale). And even if I wanted to be the know-it-all who points these out to the publisher, the website listed is invalid, and the parent company site is not user-friendly. They have links to all sorts of departments for copyright permission, sales, etc. but their suggestion that for general comments/feedback to "fill out the form below" is useless because there is no form below! Oh well, stll enjoyed the book tremendously.
Not quite worthy of 5 stars -- have liked other books more than this, and also was disappointed by sloppy proofreading. I am a professional proofreader/copy editor so I often find a typo or two in most books I read but this one had four egregious wrong word errors! Whoever proofed this obviously doesn't follow the cardinal rule: don't rely on spellcheck because it doesn't read context and rarely catches homophone errors. All four major errors were homophones: the plant reproductive organ is a pistil (not pistol, a gun), ice floe (not flow), he caught sight of something (not site), and the bird had a sharp tail (not tale). And even if I wanted to be the know-it-all who points these out to the publisher, the website listed is invalid, and the parent company site is not user-friendly. They have links to all sorts of departments for copyright permission, sales, etc. but their suggestion that for general comments/feedback to "fill out the form below" is useless because there is no form below! Oh well, stll enjoyed the book tremendously.
May 17, 2020
Is this Dan Brown-inspired? The characters and the the story lines are eerily similar. First off, you have Jack Grady who is an expert in the field of anthropology; a man of science. Then there's Jendari, the ultra rich philanthropist who plans to know the truth and further her advances. I think she can also pass as a Kevin Kwan character with her fashion sense and subtle extravagance. And there's Vika, the assassin from an Amazonian tribe; hired by who else but Jendari. And of course the ancient society that has secrets kept in each seven wonders. All these, plus the murder in the first chapter, although almost every suspense/ thriller novel would start with a crime scene.
Seven Wonders got great potential, but the execution was horrible. There could have been a lot of revelations with the Order of Eve, Mitochondrial Eve, and that of Euphrates Conglomerates. I was waiting for that but it never came. The only thing that kept me excited is their worldwide adventure. But even their travels are hard to keep up with. Then Jack and Sloane kissing in the end? They didn't even have chemistry to begin with. You can say I'm disappointed. Nice try though, Ben...
2/5
Seven Wonders got great potential, but the execution was horrible. There could have been a lot of revelations with the Order of Eve, Mitochondrial Eve, and that of Euphrates Conglomerates. I was waiting for that but it never came. The only thing that kept me excited is their worldwide adventure. But even their travels are hard to keep up with. Then Jack and Sloane kissing in the end? They didn't even have chemistry to begin with. You can say I'm disappointed. Nice try though, Ben...
2/5
July 3, 2021
Creative, plot-driven, a contemporary Indiana-Jones, with a Hollywood ending. Very, very little character development (I do love good character development) at the expense of "adventure", lots and lots of adventure. Lots of detail (so very much detail), I skipped some ... I'm not sure why it ended the way it did? There was no build-up to that moment, it wasn't explained nor substantive and was just sort of a "the end!" moment. A lot was left unexplained throughout and/or not developed enough to create credibility with the world-building. The Eve-driven plot would be timely in a movie now. The book was okay, I would definitely see the movie.
August 31, 2021
3/5 stars
It was action packed and the plot was super interesting but when it came to the final chapters and the fact that we didn't get any real answers as to why this whole thing started in the first place is what ruined the book for me.
The characters were fine but that scene at the end felt like it came from out of nowhere. Plus, at times I wondered what Sloane was doing there at all.
Overall the conclusion wasn't bad but the lack of explanation and the uninteresting epilogue didn't make up for it.
Read it if your in it for the details and the adventure but other than that don't read it.
It was action packed and the plot was super interesting but when it came to the final chapters and the fact that we didn't get any real answers as to why this whole thing started in the first place is what ruined the book for me.
The characters were fine but that scene at the end felt like it came from out of nowhere. Plus, at times I wondered what Sloane was doing there at all.
Overall the conclusion wasn't bad but the lack of explanation and the uninteresting epilogue didn't make up for it.
Read it if your in it for the details and the adventure but other than that don't read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2016
...what...the...actual...
This book has several inaccuracies. And I am just a normal/random reader, I am sure an expert would be able to point out more. The characters feel flat somehow, and the journey is too easy. How convenient that Jack has allies all over the world! I don't understand why and how Jeremy had to die. I mean, it was possible that he found out something that he shouldn't have, but he was killed soon after? It means that Vika has been there all along, monitoring his progress, which is unlikely.
So many questions left unanswered.
The premise is good, though.
This book has several inaccuracies. And I am just a normal/random reader, I am sure an expert would be able to point out more. The characters feel flat somehow, and the journey is too easy. How convenient that Jack has allies all over the world! I don't understand why and how Jeremy had to die. I mean, it was possible that he found out something that he shouldn't have, but he was killed soon after? It means that Vika has been there all along, monitoring his progress, which is unlikely.
So many questions left unanswered.
The premise is good, though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2020
I like techno thrillers and sci-fi so I impulsively picked this title up to read without knowing anything about the book or the author. It wasn't bad. It's basically a pretty implausible Indy Jones/National Treasure style story and I'm always good for those. The story follows a well motivated scavenger hunt that sends the heroes globetrotting to various famous architectural landmarks. It involves that time-honored plot-driver, the secret society. This one's not a water cooler talk-up, but you'll enjoy the ride while you're there.
January 22, 2024
It's unfortunate because I have liked Mezrich's nonfiction books quite a bit. It's clear that he wrote this with an eye toward selling the rights to Hollywood for another Archeological Adventure along the lines of Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, or The Mummy. Every scene was written to be easily changed into screenplay format. Instead of concentrating on the story and characters, he concentrated on how it would look on the big screen. Turns out that's just a way to make the characters cliche and the story cookie cutter. Oh well.
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