Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

I think i need to read the previous books in this series to thoroughly appreciate this one.
It's fast paced and action packed, excellent world building but I think I missed the backstory and I was confused.
It's the book but me. Will try to read the rest of the series and re-review it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Do I really need to say that Reilly is back with a vengeance?
This has been building up over the previous five novels and starts with a bang and never lets up.
A rip roaring action thriller featuring once again, the lovable Captain Jack West alongside his band of family and friends, once again taking on all sorts of challenges on his way to try and save the world once again.
What makes this enjoyable is the story once more encompasses the previous novels and their content, proving what a master author Reilly is. He has planned this entire story out ever since the first book was published and it is now in the endgame, with one final novel to come.
Sit back and enjoy!

Please note, The Two Lost Mountains is the sixth book in an ongoing series. If you haven’t read what has come before then chances are the review below is going to contain minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

AN INCREDIBLE VICTORY

BUT AT A TERRIBLE PRICE…

Against all the odds, Jack West Jr found the Three Secret Cities but at a heartbreaking cost.

His beloved daughter Lily, it appeared, was slaughtered by Sphinx in a cruel ancient ritual.

TO THE MOUNTAINS AND THE FALL!

With his rivals far ahead of him, Jack must now get to one of the five iron mountains-two of which have never been found-and perform a mysterious feat known only as ‘The Fall’.

Although what is this object on the moon that is connected to it?

A NEW PLAYER ARRIVES

Amid all this, Jack will discover that a new player has entered the race, a general so feared by the four legendary kingdoms they had him locked away in their deepest dungeon.

Only now this general has escaped and he has a horrifying plan of his own…

Wow! So here we are, the penultimate novel in the Jack West Jr series by Matthew Reilly. It’s been one hell of a ride so far. The good news is there is no sign of that ride stopping yet. The Two Lost Mountains continues our story with the same breakneck narrative we’ve come to expect.

Events pick up immediately after the shocking cliff-hanger at the end of The Three Secret Cities. Just as well, those of us who have come this far would not have gone a step further without that particular revelation being resolved.

Like a modern-day Indiana Jones, our intrepid hero travels the world seeking out ancient civilisations and artefacts to unlock the secrets left behind. Jack and Indy are cut from the same cloth, the indomitable hero who steadfastly refuses to ever back down. The author does a great job of keeping Jack on his toes. There are large sections of the plot where Jack is playing catchup and Reilly has woven a growing sense of urgency into Jack’s actions. Slowing down now would lead to catastrophic failure. From a reader’s perspective, this is great. Jack is always on the move from location to location, from jaw-dropping event to jaw-dropping event.

There are moments where Jack does falter, but that is when the large cast of family, friends and allies come to the fore. Jack would be nothing without the people he surrounds himself with. Sky Monster and Rufus for the win! There is a particularly nice scene where Jack’s mother, Mabel Merriweather, explains to another character what lies at the core of our hero’s personality. What is the x-factor is it that keeps Jack moving ever forwards? I’ll not spoil it by telling you what she says but I can confirm Mabel’s explanation fits Jr to a tee.

Reilly’s writing is ultimately all about the action. This is a race to save or rule the world after all. The Jack West Jr novels are the literary equivalent of the Mission Impossible movies after they’ve been dosed with an extra adrenaline shot. When it comes to the best action thrillers, I think you just have to jump on in and experience the ride. Matthew Reilly is a master when it comes to upping the ante every single chapter. Just when you think you get to the point when you can take a breath something even more unexpected than before kicks off. I love the pure escapism of the writing. This is no holds barred explosive action that captures your attention and refuses to let you look away.

Over the last five books, we’ve come to love our heroes and hate the villains. Sure, the characters are a bit larger than life but that’s why they are so much fun. When Jack and co succeed we cheer them on. When they suffer a loss, we feel their collective pain. They are such a well-established group now that they feel like friends. The villains are also great fun, lots of moustache-twirling evil deeds and what have you. Reilly lets West’s foes chew the scenery at every opportunity. Dastardly monologuing and flashes of violent psychopathy always make for a jolly antagonist. The Sphinx is clearly unhinged but, just to make things that little bit more extreme, a new villain is introduced. To suggest they are the dictionary definition of a nihilist would be putting it mildly. As we hurtle towards the conclusion of the entire story, Mr West has some serious individuals that stand between him and saving humanity.

I’ll be honest, I’ll going to miss Jack when he is gone. For now, I can console myself that I get to relish The Two Lost Mountains and wait impatiently for the final book in this epic spectacle of a series.

The Two Lost Mountains is published by Orion and is available now. The One Something Something* is set to follow at a later date. This series has been about as action-packed as is humanly possible. I am sure we are in for quite the grand finale. I for one cannot wait.

Last year I was fortunate enough to see a superior action movie called Extraction. It stars a little-known Australian actor called Chris Hemsworth. It got me thinking about the possibility of Jack West Jr making the jump from book to screen. Who could they possibly cast in the lead? Anyway, my musical recommendation to accompany The Two Lost Mountains is the soundtrack to that film by Henry Jackman and Alex Belcher.

*This is the title placeholder the author uses in the interview at the end of the novel. If it is good enough for Matthew Reilly, it’s good enough for me.

So disappointed in this book - I only got about a hundred pages in and just couldn't continue. Used to be a big fan of Reilly's earlier books and the ultra-high concept fast paced thriller, but this just feels a like a caricature of those books. Characters are paper-thin, the plot is flimsier than that. A real shame, given how much fun his early books are.

I luuuurve this series so much. My history loving nerd half fights with the mythology loving nerd half of my soul but both come out happy!

Evan as you lose yourself in the non-stop, full-tilt, pedal-to-the-metal action, you can't help but soak up history and knowledge as you go.

There are great bug WTF moments along with huge sighs of relief throughout! The gang is pretty much back together (thankfully with Zoe getting in on the action this time!). There are resurrections, sacrifices, mystical bells and kickbutt nuns! Yes, nuns!!!!

From Gibraltar to the Kremlin, to France and Britain and further field, the gang is really in a time crunch. The brilliantly suave Aloysius Knight is back too. But there is one almighty cliffhanger - I admit I screamed a bit (okay a LOT). BUT there won't be such a big wat to the next book thankfully.

I don't care that it's not a work of "proper" literature or there is a ton of artistic licence taken. It's a brilliant story that sucks you in and spits you out in a dizzy tizz but with a huge smile on your face!

My theme tune for this book was "Sisters are doing it for themselves!"

I can’t believe this series started all the way back in 2005 with The Seven Ancient Wonders. We are now 6 books in and this storyline, series and characters are still as strong as ever! After each book, I’m genuinely disappointed it has ended, and find myself waiting almost years to pick up the story again. The author does, however, put an amazing amount of facts and details into these books, so really it’s no wonder that the research for this takes such a long time!!

This, the penultimate book of the series, begins more or less where the previous book, The Three Secret Cities ends. If you haven’t read the other books of the series, you may want to stop here and take yourself back to the beginning. However, this book can be read as a standalone story, if you don’t mind not understanding the references to those previous books!! Jack West Jr is a fantastic character – a cross between Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt – and he’s an all round super nice guy!! Despite being such a good husband, son, father, friend and person in general, Jack seems to attract the bad guys like moths to a light, and along with his loyal friends and family Jack has saved the world more times than I care to remember!!

The clock is ticking throughout the book, counting down to The Omega Event, which basically could destroy the world. The only way to stop it is to take the throne at the centre of the Supreme Labyrinth, but before you can even enter the labyrinth you have to complete an ancient ritual called The Fall, at one of the Five Iron Mountains. The locations of these mountains are unknown, and it’s up to Jack, Zoe, Lily, Alby, Sky Monster, Stretch, Pooh Bear, Hades, Iolanthe, Mae, Nobody, Easton, Aloysius and Rufus to find them before the bad guys do!! Of course, the bad guys are extra bad and Jack and his group are kept on their toes by mad monks, Knights of the Golden Eight and bronzemen, to name but a few.

To say the action was fast paced, high octane and heart-thumping would be an understatement. It barely left you time to catch your breath before you are rushed off to the next action-packed scene. The writing is a little gruesome at times, but as long as you don’t mind neck snapping and heads being blown off then you’ll be fine!! The weaponry and military grade tech are super-exciting, leaving you wondering where the line between fiction and reality is drawn (are there really planes and helicopters that big?!!). The storyline takes us on a whirlwind tour of Europe and Africa visiting places that you’ve heard of, but revealing secrets that are completely new! I loved the facts and figures not just for these places but for everything, giving that added bit of fictional magic to make the book completely unputdownable!!

This book does end on a cliff-hanger, but it does set up the story for the last book of the series. There’s no name for this book yet, simply The One Something Something, but if the previous 6 books are anything to go by it will be a fantastic end to a fantastic series. The Two Lost Mountains is filled with thrills, suspense, excitement and such sadness. It will take you to the edge, pull you back and then push you back there again…over and over again!! This author is not scared to pull out all the stops and leaves no holds barred, amazing you as to how far he is actually prepared to go!! He is definitely high up there as one of my favourite authors, and I cannot wait until the next and final part. Action, history, mythology, science – this book has it all!! Highly recommended!!

High octane, ridiculous, and full of wonder. Reilly continues to impress and amaze with these books.

One of my favourite things about this book, and its predecessor, is that Jack is scrambling to catch up. This is particularly clear here and definitely something that changes the fight in the books. It almost feels like he can’t possibly catch up to all the other factions.

One thing that for me made the book harder was that there were just so many competing forces. Sometimes that works, but here I felt it wasn’t quite working. With Jack being so behind as well, it really felt impossible.

It was also interesting for Lily to be out of play through the book, and to spend so much time with Alby, who is just excellent. However we did get a lot of there being two or three teams doing stuff, and that meant we missed out on seeing them all together :(

We also see Jack deal with loss and especially the loss of his guiding figures. That will be interesting for the final book, I think it’s really going to have an impact there.

I love that the action picked right up where three secret cities left off, despite the wait between books it really made it feel like they were much closer in release!

A note I’ve seen made is that this book focuses less on puzzle solving, which is true, but we still do get a focus on finding the sites themselves and what is actually going on.

The ending is madness. The whole book is basically building up to the labyrinth, which is sort of sad but fine (though I was so caught up I didn’t realise how close to the end I was to realise that the labyrinth was never going to be in this book). And the way the got there was hilariously improbable but also impossibly fun.

Honestly, the final book is going to be SUCH a wait. I know it will be amazing and just wish it was here already 😂