THE THREE SECRET CITIES by Matthew Reilly is the fifth book in the Jack West, Jr series, and I'm very late to the party as this is the first book I read in the series. Luckily, it was a very easy book to get into since it all begins with a summarizing of what happened at the end of the last book, THE FOUR LEGENDARY KINGDOMS. The story in this book picks up right away with Jack, the winner of the Great Games, realizing the world is about the end, and he and his friends must stop it from happening. However, first they must find the "Three Secret Cities." It's not easy, especially because they have a lot of enemies that are out to kill or capture Jack, his family, and friends.

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Wow what a thrilling ride. I’m so glad I picked this up right after finishing The Four Legendary Kingdoms, because this helped me remember all the juicy tidbits before diving into another Jack West Jr story. This book gave me all the feels that I first felt when I discovered The Seven Ancient Wonders but it was also very emotional and exciting at the same.

The best part of this book is that the author decides to go back to the original formula of telling Jack’s story - a globetrotting adventure with a looming deadline. It picks up right after the ending of The Four Legendary Kingdoms and gives no time for Jack to rest before he is off to save the world again. There is a lot of hopping between places - New York to London, Italy to Greece, Venice to Venezuela and many many more. Our favorite crew gets separated into teams to discover the three secret cities, so we don’t see all of them together much. Reilly also manages to device some very new torture methods we haven’t seen before and I just want to tip off my hat to his imagination. We get the usual story of figuring out the locations of the secret cities, finding the immortal weapons, some daring escapes and puzzling through booby trapped avenues while racing against time to perform another ancient sacrificial ritual to save the world.

What makes this book extra special is the emotional pull throughout. We see some beautiful moments between Jack and Lily, Alby, Zoe and even Nobody and the other members of the crew. After this feeling of joy, the author decides that we have been happy enough and we are shocked to our core by the deaths of some key characters and I just couldn’t believe that they happened. It just made the story all the more real and every scene felt like the harbinger of more death. Coming to the action side of it, we have one of the most inventive rescue by a beloved character from Scarecrow and that scene just delighted the Reilly fan in me. As always, the author manages to interweave the story of many myths and legends but I absolutely loved the way he utilized the symbolism of Medusa’s curse and how he turned the legend of the Knights of the Round Table on its head. And that ENDING..... it almost killed me and then gave me just enough hope to hang on to.

This book is a dream for any adrenaline junkie reader and fans of Jack West Jr and I promise, you will be thrilled on every page. And if you haven’t read this series, but love a jet setting adventure, a relentless hero, lots of mythology and the end of the world looming - what are you waiting for... Just go ahead and start this series from the beginning. As for me, it’s going to be a long wait till 2020. ( )

I have now read 11 titles by Matthew Reilly. That is not because I admire his writing skill. Quite frankly, these days I often find myself cringing at the prose quality. I mean really, how does an author get away with using “a sh!tload of” as a descriptor?

Matthew Reilly does because he is the supreme teller of tall tales, and he's done it again with The Three Secret Cities. He takes historical fact, fable and myth and bends them entirely to his will. In Reilly’s version of our world, one that is often secretly at the brink of global disaster, no problem is impossible to solve with grit, determination and most importantly, the help of loyal friends with good hearts, that are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Read full review >> ( )

Matthew Reilly does it again! I'm not sure how he keeps on coming up with these cliffhanging chapters, globe-trotting adventures, and crazy predicaments.

Because the events at the end of the previous book didn't go as planned, the "kings" and Jack West Jr.'s team must fine three secret cities, three hidden weapons, and other secret locations so the world isn't destroyed. As with all of Reilly's books, you've gotta suspend belief and just enjoy the ride.

If you've not tried the Jack West Jr. series but are familiar with the Shane Schofield (aka Scarecrow) books, these are similar although not as fast-paced. They contain far more exposition in the form of secret ancient rituals, hidden booby-trapped locations, etc. They're still wildly fun books, but not quite at the breakneck speed of the Scarecrow books. ( )

Woohoo, what a ride! Matthew Reilly keeps the pedal to the metal in this latest installment of the Jack West, Jr. series. Picking up where “The Four Legendary Kingdoms” left off, “The Three Secret Cities” finds Jack with no time to recuperate from his trials of the last book, as he and his trusty cohorts are still racing against time to save the world.

Please note that you MUST read this series in order, starting with the first book in the series, or you will not understand what’s going on and will not enjoy the book.

I liked this book better than “The Four Legendary Kingdoms” because there was more plot. Whereas the previous book focused on the Great Games and therefore seemed like an endless series of superhuman trials without an overarching purpose beyond survival, this book is more like the earlier books in the series: Jack has a clear purpose, there are concrete steps to be taken in a particular order, and Jack and his team are sent all over the world to accomplish their goals.

Reilly shocks in this book, though, in what he allows to happen to various members of Jack’s team. There is also a pleasant surprise in this book that had me doing fist pumps. I will not say any more about any of this so as to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that fans of Reilly’s Jack West, Jr. series will not be disappointed. I can’t WAIT for the next book! ( )