The Six Sacred Stones

Infobox Book |
name = The Six Sacred Stones
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = 1st edition cover
author = Matthew Reilly
cover_artist =
country = Australia
language = English
series = Jack West Jr.
genre = Thriller novel
publisher = Pan MacMillan
release_date = flagicon|AUS Official : 23 October 2007
flagicon|USflagicon|UK 8 January 2008
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 506
isbn = 978-0743270540
preceded_by = Seven Ancient Wonders
followed_by = The Five Greatest Warriors due to be released christmas 2009

"The Six Sacred Stones" is a recently released novel by acclaimed Australian thriller novelist Matthew Reilly. It is a sequel to "Seven Ancient Wonders" (released as "Seven Deadly Wonders" in the United States of America). The novel was released on 23 October 2007 in most bookstores in Australia (though some stores released it later later (1 November)) and was released in January 2008 in the US and UK. [cite web
title = Official Matthew Reilly Website
url = http://www.matthewreilly.com/reillyblog/07_13.htm
publisher = Matthew Reilly
accessdate = 2007-10-14]

Plot introduction

The novel features the return of Jack West Jr, the Australian ex-SASR hero of "Seven Ancient Wonders", as he embarks on another global treasure hunt. Many of the other main characters from "Seven Ancient Wonders" reappear. West's team includes 'Wizard', 'Princess Zoe', 'Stretch', 'Pooh Bear' and Jack's falcon Horus, as well as other newcomers. Jack's father, Jack West Sr., features as an antagonist.

Plot summary

In Seven Ancient Wonders, Jack West Jr. leads a team of international soldiers and spies on an impossible mission against the might of Europe and the United States. The mission involves a worldwide search for pieces of the missing capstone of the Great Pyramid of Giza, ending with the heroes placing the assembled capstone on the top, and a ritual being performed which grants Australians invulnerability for what is supposed to be 1000 years. Six Sacred Stones is a continuation of this.A mysterious ceremony in an unknown location has triggered a catastrophic countdown that will climax in the destruction of all life on Earth. Jack's team need to find and rebuild a legendary ancient device known only as the "Machine", which would save the world from Armageddon. The only clues to its location, however, are held within the fabled Six Sacred Stones, long lost in the fog of history. And so the hunt begins ...

Introduction:

On Easter Island, the geographical opposite of the Great Pyramid of Giza, seven men utter a chant unused for 4500 years. This serves to nullify the power of the Tartarus ritual (which West performed to grant Australian's invulnerability at the end of "Seven Ancient Wonders" . A message is sent out by one of the men:

The Power of Ra has been nullified. Kill one of them tomorrow…

On the 21st August 2007 (the day after the Easter Island ritual was performed) an Australian soldier working in Iraq named Stephen Oakes was ambushed in his military truck. His body was found riddled with hundreds of bullets.

Synopsis:

The book starts with Max Epper (the Wizard) in a tomb in China with his research partner, Yobu "Tank" Tanaka. They search the walls for symbols and find one for the Mystery of the Circles and Laozi's Philosopher's Stone. The Mystery of the Circles (as pictured on the title) has not been decoded. They then find a script on the wall that predicts the coming of Ra's Destroyer and it mentions the Sa-Benben or Firestone, the top piece of the capstone from Seven Ancient Wonders. They realise they do not have much time before the return and they must lay the first pillar soon so they start taking photos and send it to Max's friend Chow and who sent them to Jack West Jr. The Chinese then arrive, kill Chow and capture Max and Tank.

The book then cuts to Jack West Jr's house in the Sandy Desert Australia. Lily, now adopted by Jack has a friend over for the holidays, Alby Calvin. As Jack follows Wizard's instructions to get out, Chinese paratroopers assault the farm. Jack, Lily, Alby, and two other guests, Zoe and Sky Monster outrun the Chinese with the black book and Firestone and get on the Halicarnassus, Jack's plane stolen from Saddam Hussein in 1991, and fly to the Burj Al Arab tower in Dubai. They then meet by Sheik Anzar al Abbas and his entourage. Then the whole gang returns with the exception of Fuzzy the Jamacian. West then briefs them that the end of the world is nigh.

Fuzzy's decapitated head is sent to West just as everyone is alerted that an airplane is about to crash into the building. Everyone escapes, including Jack, Stretch and Astro, an American Marine, who have to BASE jump from the top of the collapsing building. The attack was masterminded by a member of the Japanese Blood Brotherhood, over revenge for the humiliation of Japan by America in WWII.

The team then splits with Zoe, Lily and Alby heading to Stonehenge (a location of one of the sacred stones) and the rest including Scimitar (Pooh's older brother), Vulture (Scimitar's friend from Arabia) and Astro ) head to the Three Gorges region in China to rescue Wizard.

In China, Wizard is being held captive and repeatedly tortured. However, Jack and Stretch manage to take over the high speed train to the main prison, where Wizard and Tank were being transferred to. They are then chased by helicopters, but manage to take all out except for the biggest one, a Mil Mi-24 (nicknamed Hind) gunship. After the gunship lands to finish Jack, Stretch, Wizard and Tank off, Astro, Scimitar and Vulture ambush and capture the Mil Mi-24, leading to Jack and Wizard's escape. The group then goes to the tomb Wizard and Tank were originally at and go through the traps. They end up with the first of the sacred stones, The philosopher stone. Meanwhile, Zoe, Lily, Alby, and two new characters, Julius and Lachlan have gathered the information regarding the places and orders the pillars must be placed to save the world.

The story takes a turn to explore more about the past of Lily and Jack West.

Characters

Returning from Seven Deadly Wonders:
*Jack 'Huntsman' West Jr, protagonist (last seen falling into an abyss along with Switchblade)
*Horus, The Falcon.
*Lily West.
*Professor Max 'Wizard' Epper.
*Zoe 'Princess' Kissane.
*Sky Monster
*Benjamin 'Stretch' Cohen (captured and sent to Israeli forces for betraying them in the previous novel)
*Zahir 'Pooh Bear' Abbas (went to rescue Stretch)
*Sheik Abbas, Pooh Bear's father.
*V.J. 'Fuzzy' Weatherly. (killed by Jack West Sr)

New Characters:

Friends
*Albert 'Alby' Calvin, a friend from Lily's school.
*Lt. Sean 'Astro' Miller, a US Marine who represents America in Jack's team. Astro also appears in "Hell Island".
*Solomon Kol, a friend of Jack. (killed by Neetha)
*J.J. 'Sea Ranger' Wickham, Jack's brother-in-law.
*Lachlan and Julius Adamson, twins from Scotland, mathematical geniuses and former students of Wizard.
*Ono, a Neetha tribesman who aided Zoe and company.
*Dr Diane Cassidy, held prisoner by the Neetha for five years.

Enemies
*Jack 'Wolf' West Sr, Huntsman's father, head of American forces, the main antagonist
*Grant 'Rapier' West, Jack's half-brother.
*Paul Robertson, an American CIA agent.
*Iolanthe Compton-Jones, Official Keeper of the Royal Personal Records for the House of Windsor, allied with "Wolf."
*Yobu 'Tank' Tanaka, leader of Japanese Blood Brotherhood and a friend of Wizard
*Akira Juniro 'Switchblade' Isaki, US Marine who is loyal to Japan.
*Colonel Mao Gongli, a bloodthirsty Chinese commander.
*Rashid 'Scimitar' Abbas, Pooh Bear's older brother.
*Abdul Rahman 'Vulture' al Saud, the Saudi Arabian delegate, allied with the US and China
*The Neetha, cannibalistic tribe

acred stones

The Six Sacred Stones, also known as Ramesean stones, are six stones of different shapes necessary to save mankind. They are hidden in different places around the world and interact with the "sa-benben" (the top piece of the capstone) each in a different way.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.matthewreilly.com Official Matthew Reilly website]
* [http://www.matthewreilly.com/reillyblog/07-01.htm Blog featuring information on the novel]