Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises - Hardcover

Lerangis, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062070401 ISBN 13: 9780062070401

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2013

Synopsis

New York Times Bestselling Series!

“A high-octane mix of modern adventure and ancient secrets. The Colossus Rises is Lerangis’s most gripping work yet. Young readers will love this story. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the Seven Wonders series!” —Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series

Percy Jackson meets Indiana Jones in master storyteller and 39 Clues author Peter Lerangis’s epic Seven Wonders series.

The Colossus Rises is the first installment of the bestselling five-book series chronicling the story of Jack McKinley, an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In a few months, he’s going to die—unless he finds seven magic Loculi that have been hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Young readers will learn all about the history and mysteries of the ancient world while savoring this unputdownable story from first page to last.

Read the entire Seven Wonders Series:

• Book 1: The Colossus Rises
• Book 2: Lost in Babylon
• Book 3: The Tomb of Shadows
• Book 4: The Curse of the King
• Book 5: The Legend of the Rift

About this title

About the Author

Peter Lerangis's books have sold more than 6.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages. His latest work includes the time-travel Throwback trilogy and the Max Tilt trilogy (a fresh take on Jules Verne adventures). He has had nine Titles include nine N.Y. Times bestsellers, including all five books of The Seven Wonders series, and The Sword Thief, The Viper's Nest, one-fourth of Vespers Rising, and The Dead of Night in The 39 Clues series. His work also includes the YA novels Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am (written with Harry Mazer and winner of the ALA Schneider Award and a Best Fiction for Young Adults book), Smiler's Bones (a N. Y. Public Library Best Book for Teens); the YA thrillers wtf and Lost Girls; the Watchers and Spy X series; and the Antarctica duo. He's also performed on Broadway, run a marathon, rock-climbed in Yosemite during a 6.1 earthquake, and, with his wife, sprouted and grown two sons in NYC. In his spare time, he eats chocolate. (For a longer bio, see peterlerangis.com/about-peter/bio/.)

From the Back Cover

Just one boy . . .

Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In six months, Jack is going to die.

Just one mission . . .

After Jack collapses in the middle of a busy street, he's whisked off to a strange hospital in a strange place. There are armed guards and weird kids and fantastic creatures, not to mention no parents, no phones, and no possibility of escape. The place is run by an odd professor named Bhegad, who tells Jack that what's killing him is a genetic trait inherited from the prince of a long-lost civilization. It's destroying Jack by making him too strong too fast. He'll need to stay strong, though—because it's up to him to save the world.

Just one problem . . .

That long-lost civilization sank when seven magic Loculi were stolen and hidden around the world. Now Jack and his friends must find the Loculi before they fall into the wrong hands. If they don't, they'll never be cured, that lost world will rise, oceans will be displaced, and life as we know it will pretty much end.

Seven wonders

No one ever asked Jack if he wanted to be a hero. He just has to be one. One kid. One mission. One big problem. The thrills begin in The Colossus Rises, the first installment in the newest adventure from master storyteller Peter Lerangis.

Reviews

Gr 6-9-A young teen who is descended from mythological beings and has extraordinary powers is trained in a secret facility with others like him. He finds himself on the run with a small group of his peers, battling other supernatural beings in a race to find a powerful artifact and avert disaster. Hmm, sounds familiar. This is not The Lightning Thief (Hyperion, 2005) and the mythology is the lost city of Atlantis rather than the Greek pantheon, but comparisons with the "Percy Jackson" series are inevitable. Unfortunately, this volume hardly measures up. Jack McKinley is just not as likable or believable as Rick Riordan's protagonist, and the supporting characters are flat. There are far too many deus ex machina moments needed to move the story along (e.g., Marco falling to his death but landing just close enough to a magic waterfall to not actually die). There is plenty of action throughout, and some of it is quite original (nearly dying under a mountain of flaming bat guano is certainly "fresh"), but it is not enough to make up for the uneven plot and weak characters.-Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Part Goonies, part MacGyver, part Percy Jackson, this big series starter is sure to please readers looking for underdog heroes and their unbelievable adventures. Jack learns he has a rare genetic anomaly that gives him a unique skill, but one that will cause his death if he doesn’t receive mysterious treatments at a secretive institute along with three other young teens. Marco, Aly, Cass, and Jack are deeply suspicious of the institute’s director and his troll–like thug, but rely on them for survival—when they aren’t too busy trying to escape. Together, their skills make them a formidable team, which serves them well on their quest to find the cure for their ailment, the parts of which are located at each of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, beginning with the heart of Atlantis. The teens’ talents mirror their obvious outward appearances, but they quickly develop the heart and personality of full characters. The tension of whom to trust and why keeps readers guessing, and the quick action, high stakes, and clever solutions make this a slam dunk. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lerangis scored big as one of the 39 Clues authors, and a six-figure marketing campaign signals that this is being positioned as a tent-pole franchise. Grades 4-8. --Heather Booth

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062070401
• ISBN 13: 9780062070401
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Norstrand Torstein, Reagan Mike
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368