Jake Atlas and the Keys of the Apocalypse

Jake Atlas #4

by Rob Lloyd Jones

JAKE ATLAS: TOMB ROBBER, TREASURE HUNTER, TROUBLEMAKER
This fourth riveting Jake Atlas adventure takes Jake and his family to Rome, where they uncover the secret history of a Roman legion sworn to protect four mysterious keys. The keys hold back a force that wiped out a lost civilization – now, Jake and his family must find them to stop it from returning. Their mission leads them to the edges of what was the Roman empire – to a volcano in Morocco, Hadrian's Wall and an island in the Middle East. There they are forced to team up with their enemy, the People of the Snake, to stop a power that threatens to destroy half the world. But the closer Jake grows to the group that were once his enemy, the further apart he and his family drift. And as he approaches the end of his quest, he's faced with a terrible choice – save the world or save his family!

Genres: Adventure

300 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2020

About the author

Rob Lloyd Jones was born in San Francisco but grew up in London. He studied Egyptology at University where he learnt hieroglyphics, and often goes on digs with the Egypt Exploration Society. He is a senior editor at Usborne, for whom he has written over thirty books – mostly historical non-fiction, but also adaptations of classics such as JEKYLL AND HYDE and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Rob is also a volunteer reading helper at a primary school in Clerkenwell and wrote episodes of the children’s TV show ‘Bernard’s Watch’ for Carlton Kids. He lives in south London with his wife Sally, and 14-month-old son Otis.

Reviews

[Cat Strawberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, another brilliant and exciting adventure and what an amazing ending! Having travelled to several locations around the world, the latest adventure sees Jake and his family heading to Italy, more specifically the ruins of ancient Rome, to discover the truth about some mysterious artefacts. But things don’t go according to plan and when something happens to his parents Jake and his sister Pandora are left alone to work out the secrets of an ancient Roman army.

This book has been so compelling to read and just like the others in the series it was easy to get into right away with a fast moving plot throughout. Jake and Pan, short for Pandora, must hurry to discover the truth in order to fix what has gone wrong but with the People of the Snake not far behind, and something else even more sinister after them too, they really are against the clock. It’s so exciting to read, the action never stops with Jake and his family, and later with him and Pan, heading from one location to the other spanning more than just area this time, more than just ancient Rome. This novel in the series finally pieces together exactly who the People of the Snake are why they have been after the things Jake and his family have been trying to save and the mystery takes on an interesting turn.

I did enjoy the story as a whole, and I enjoyed how Jake grew as a character in this particular book. He does go through quite a transformation towards the end and I did enjoy this growth, although I did miss a little bit of the humour that goes on between Jake and his parents which wasn’t so prominent in this book, compared to the first three. As I said though, on the whole and I did enjoy the story and was surprised by everything that was happening with the extra mysterious threat that Jake and everyone is facing, I also liked how the story comes back to take place in Great Britain.

The book doesn’t have anything offensive in it and is just so compelling to read, I couldn’t tear myself away from the pages, needing to read the next chapter right after the previous one. On the whole I really did enjoy this book, it wraps up so many things in the series so well, and I did enjoy the ultimate ending to the story. It did feel a little rushed towards the ending though, and I would have liked to have known what was happening on a ccertain island, but that last scene at the end had me so emotional I couldn’t help but smile so much when I finished reading this! It’s made me want to start re-reading the whole series again from the beginning (even though I’ve only just finished this book!).

I would recommend the Jake Atlas series for anyone who loves an adventure story set in different ancient locations around the world, a sort of Indiana Jones meets Mission Impossible stlye book due to all the high tech gadgets they use. I’d definitely recommend beginning with the first book ‘Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake’ before reading through the others but when you get to the ending of this forth book you won’t be disappointed and even though I don’t know if any other books will appear in the series, part of me really wants to know what will happen now that a certain deal was achieved, and I really wish I could keep reading this adventure series forever!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one lost me. Although I am a keen fantasy read, the evolution of the fantasy element in this series matched my loss of interest... and that ending!!! WHAT?!?!? Not my cup of tea.
Overall, I enjoyed the series enough that I will recommend it to fans of adventure stories, but the ending left me wanting and disappointed.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Final part of the series and a lovely read for young kids.

[Aditya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to sound offensive and for anyone who hasn't read the first 3 books of the series, this is not a review for you.

I very much enjoyed the first 3 books of the series as they were filled with adventure, thrill discovery, and everything in between. I had grown to understand the characters and formed a bond with them. But this book has fallen way short of my expectations due to the ending. The ending is so rushed through and it is even worse seeing that this book is meant to conclude the series. I was expecting another adventure Jake will have to go through at the end to save his family one last time . . . but no, the last bit which is meant to symbolize the saving of Jake's family, finding the secret door, trapping the God happened in the background over the span of 1 chapter. I expect one last book from Rob Llyod to conclude this amazing journey and to fulfil his creation.

Please don't take this as a hate review, I absolutely loved every Rom Llyod book on the Jake Atlas series. I am sure someone who read all of them will definitely be disappointed by this book's ending.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the previous book in this series, (the third), Jake finally begins to realise that his 'smash and grab' approach to life, adventure and doing the right thing may not be the best way of working. He starts to realise that there are people in the world who have a spiritual attitude that supercedes the here-and-now utter excitement approach.
This turns the four-part series from being (just) an exciting reads for kids, particularly boys, to being something that may give the readers a wider view of life.
And then along comes this fourth book, which continues to allow Jake to cause chaos until he finally realises that his approach could lose him his family for good, and leave him utterly alone. After a huge climax in the book we have another thirty or more pages where Jake finally discovers more of who he actually is; he matures quite unexpectedly.
This is probably not how most readers will want the book to end (even though there have been plenty of adventure sections written by an author at the top of his game), but it's true to the character he's created, and is more satisfying than we expect.

[annabel⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series but the ending was just not good a all! Could have been a lot better.