Lost in Babylon

February 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-After finding the first Loculus and escaping Brother Dimitros and the other Massarym monks in the first book in the series, The Colossus Rises (HarperCollins, 2013), Jack McKinley and his friends could use a vacation. But they'll get no time off as Marco, the most athletic and headstrong of the Select, has vanished along with the Loculus, one of the keys to restoring the power of Atlantis and saving the lives of the four teens who share the G7W gene. Tracking Marco down will lead the group to their next mission, finding the Loculus hidden in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Their adventure will place them in the middle of an ancient civilization, introduce them to a new friend, and challenge their understanding of the motives and methods of the two secret organizations searching for the Loculi. Johnathan McClain's youthful voice captures Jack's wry sense of humor and moments of vulnerability. He deftly changes voices to distinguish characters, from the burly and terse bodyguard Torquin to the supportive and clever servant Daria in Babylon. Particularly entertaining is his portrayal of Professor Bhegad. McClain gives the leader of the Karai Institute a high-pitched, hyper voice that belies the secrets he's keeping from the Select. With a solid sense of pacing, McClain guides listeners through the many twists in the narrative. Much is left unanswered and a revelation at the end will leave fans anxiously awaiting the next title.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2013
In the second of the seven-volume Seven Wonders series, Jack McKinley seeks the second of seven stolen Loculi of Atlantis, magical orbs planted in each one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Jack, Aly Black, Cass Williams and Marco Ramsay are genetic time bombs, each having G7W, a gene that will kill them at age 14 if they don't find the seven Loculi. In The Colossus Rises (2013), they found the Loculus for flight in the Colossus of Rhodes, and now they're searching for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Jack's narrative, slow at first, becomes an Indiana Jones-style adventure into ancient Babylon. The foursome faces a giant lizard-monster, monkeylike creatures with lethal spit and a cloaked apparition with one shining eye. What they hadn't bargained for is a conflict over which secret organization they should be working for--the Karai Institute or the group of fanatic monks from Greece they encountered in the last book. The conflict adds complexity to the tale, and the final sentence holds a huge surprise, which will excite readers about the next installment even as it frustrates them. Seven Wonders Journal: The Select is available as an e-book prequel for those who crave more. New setting, same sorts of adventures will be the script for each volume, but fans will get hooked on the mysteriousness of it all. (Adventure. 8-14)

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December 15, 2013
Grades 4-8 I have this gene that basically cuts off a person's life at age 14. It's called G7W and all of us have it. So says our narrator, Jack McKinley, who, along with three other teens, is on a quest to find the second of seven magical orbs (Loculi) that together will provide a cure for their condition. This time they head through a wormhole to Babylon's Hanging Gardens for the second Loculus, but they face internal betrayal and doubts about the very organization that is keeping them alive. Time travel, number systems, ancient Babylonian history, long division, and monsters with deadly spit are just a few of the clever elements in this fast-paced, geek's dream of a book. Action keeps the plot hopping, with brief bits of character building that will bond readers to the young protags. Although this second entry in the Seven Wonders series can be read on its own, readers are still advised to begin at the beginning. Once discovered, it won't stay on the shelf for long.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)