The Two Lost Mountains by Matthew ReillyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Holy crap.
This was all kinds of batsh*t insane.
WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the previous books in the series.
As we all know, the last book ended in a painful cliff hanger that led to an excruciating two-year wait. Thankfully, this book jumps straight into clearing things up for us - although, let's face it - chances are you had it worked out already.
This book begins in Russia, and it's quick to take on all kinds of trouble from a host of bad guys, meaning Jack is very much on the back foot from the beginning. Frustratingly, this book leaves him trailing further and further behind. Poor bastard.
I can't describe how painful it was for me that Jack was always so far behind. He's always been great at coming from the back to take the win but this book makes it feel almost impossible - the odds are just so ridiculously stacked against him.
This feels very much like an 'in-between' sort of novel; there's a lot of allusion to a labyrinth which was never going to make it into this book, so it feels like it spends a lot of time setting up that final challenge, rather than focusing the attention on the adventures of the lost mountains. It annoyed me a little, but only because I know I've got another wait before that conclusion which I know is going to be all kinds of epic. It also felt a little lacking in all the ancient puzzle-solving that I've enjoyed so much in the other books. The Lost Mountains of the title didn't actually feel that important to the whole progression of this particular episode.
Lots of planes and other vehicles which I always take with a grain of salt - these things don't hugely interest me but I really love the enthusiasm that comes through the writing. The creepy psycho statues are back, too, and are wreaking plenty of havoc.
The team is still split in all kinds of directions and I really miss them all working together. It adds to Jack's desperation that he seems to have to deal with so much of it by himself, but it does also give us some epic moments when characters come together again after a long and/or tense separation. But I'm very much looking forward to some serious teamwork in the last book.
Overall, I really enjoyed how crazy this adventure was, but it was also seriously fkn depressing. It was just so hard for me to read about how dire things looked for Jack at every single turn. So I guess the emotional factor messed with me a little too much to make it a 5-star. They've always been such fun novels but suddenly the drama is real and the consequences are too extreme and things just feel so damn helpless throughout this book. It hurt my heart.
Tell ya what, though. The final book is going to be all kinds of insane and I honestly can't wait. I am ready for everything in this series to come together like the most incredible tapestry ever woven. I AM READY.
...aaaaaand impatiently waiting. Again.
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