Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises audiobook

Ever since I finished the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, I haven't been able to find a good alternative. There are some great middle grade series out there, don't get me wrong. But none of them had the same feel to it as PJO.Until now.This book had a lot of similar elements to PJO. The one stood out to me the most was its humour. Rick Riordan was able to infuse humour into his books even when things got tense. What's even better was that the humour did not come from one single "comic relief character." Peter Lerangis took a page right out of Riordan's How to Write a Fantastic Book Series and did exactly that. Every one of the characters was capable of delivering a funny punchline and that showed great versatility. I really love it when a character is more than just "The Hero", "The Clown" or "The Nerd." Because in some way, everyone has those characteristics within them. Jack, Marco, Aly and Cass all displayed those characteristics and it made the story much more believable. And the best part of all is that they all had equal opportunities to shine; although the story was told in Jack's perspective, all of them could be viewed as the main character.Another character I thought Lerangis delivered really well was Torquin. He is a large henchman to the Karai Institute. Stereotypically, the large henchman is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and is usually used as a comic relief. Sure, Torquin had his funny moments, but he also showed that he is just like you and me. He gets frustrated when he has to come in on his day off, he hates babysitting the kids, yet, he is smart enough to monitor the entire institute's surveillance system and can notice when things feel off. At times you feel bad for him, and then you realize you really hate his stubbornness. If you're not a fan of Rick Riordan (although that is impossible), there are other aspects of this novel that might appeal to you. Like in the 39 Clues, this book drew in historical elements and made me really interested in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I go gaga for anything about ancient civilization, which made my time in my time in my grade 11 history class oh so enjoyable. This book had puzzles and riddles that needed to be solved and fans of the 39 Clues series should definitely check it out.There was also another element of this story that I enjoyed and it reminded me a bit of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel series (by Michael Scott). But I will put this under the spoiler tag just in case you find it spoilery. (view spoiler)[I like how the children don't really trust Dr. Bhegard and the Karai Institute, just like Josh and Sophie with Nicholas Flammel. I think their suspicion is justified and I am curious to read on to see if any of them would turn against the professor. (hide spoiler)]One minor thing that I disliked about this book were the titles given to each chapter. I usually LOVE chapters with their own title, but only if they added to the mystique of what was about to happen. Some of the chapter titles in this book did the opposite; some (only some) of the titles kind of gave away what was about to happen in the upcoming chapter. Nothing major was given away or anything, but it still took away some of my excitement.P.S.: Totally adored the illustrations! They were an essential part to the puzzle solving. Excellent.

If you liked Percy, Annabeth, and others from PERCY JACKSON you'll like Jack, Aly and more as they go to Rhodes to get #1 of the 7 locotuses to save the 13 year old's lifes. This book is full of adventures ,big and small,scary and silly.Rebecca - 3rd grade

Review setelah baca ulang:Pengalaman orang baca buku memang mempengaruhi pendapatnya tentang sebuah buku ya, hahaha. Saya, setelah ngalor-ngidul di dunia gelap, berdarah-darah, kejar-kejaran, penghantuan, begitu baca kisah yang terang seperti buku ini, jadi rasanya melempem ahhahhaa. Emang dasar horor. Pendapat saya belum berubah banyak. Tapi ternyata saya menemukan hal baru, seperti review lainnya, memang buku ini kurang detail menggambarkan suasananya dan kurang detail juga dalam karakterisasinya. Trus ada yang cukup aneh juga ketika anak umur 13 tahun mengetahui istilah-istilah perfilman yang populer di tahun 90-an. Tapi mungkin saya yang terlalu detail hahaha... Bagaimanapun, buku ini tetap menyenangkan dibaca. Torquin rese banget ugh! Review lampau:Haduh kenapa buku ini gak dapet sambutan ramai? Padahal kocak dan seru banget! Seger bacanya. Terjemahannya juga okeh. Ada beberapa typo di bagian akhir but it's alright gak terlalu mengganggu. Buku ini seperti gabungan HIVE dan PJO. Ngana suka buku ini, untuk middle grade book, ini buku yang fantastis. Semoga lanjutannya diterjemahin segera. Eh, review pake bahasa indo ya... Hihihi biar ah... Kelemahan buku ini mungkin cuma satu: mereka semua masih 13 tahun! Kalo biasanya aku gak punya tokoh favorit, disini tokoh favoritku ada 4! Mulai dari Marco yg kocak, Cass yang penggugup, Aly yang geek, dan Jack yang rasional. Banyak candaan2 yang segar disini, juga banyak sarkasme ringan. Seneng banget bacanya ih. Jika kalian penyuka buku anak2 dengan mission impossible-nya, maka buku ini harus kalian baca! *nari ala kolosus*

I first became aware of Peter Lerangis during the Columbia Publishing Course's Book Workshop. He's written more than a hundred books for children and young adults, including entries in the popular series The 39 Clues. His new series, Seven Wonders, is obviously aimed at the Percy Jackson demographic of his fellow 39 Clues author Rick Riordan.THE COLOSSUS RISES begins with Jack McKinley getting sick, collapsing in the street, and briefly waking up in the hospital before coming to at a strange Academy. He and the other kids there have special abilities, but the price is that they'll die within the year. What comes next is a fast-paced adventure with plenty of puzzles to solve. Lerangis does a good job setting up the world and search for the McGuffins, so I hope future Seven Wonders books will develop the four kids more.My main complaint would be that Aly is the only girl. There are three boys - Jack, Marco, and Cass - why not two boys and two girls? There's no indication as to the kids' race. All four are thirteen, but I think this book will appeal most to slightly younger readers.

One Sentence Review: Picked this up on a whim just because it was so popular with the kids and found it to be a wholly diverting, fun bit of folly that won't make you think too hard but, by the same token, will never ever bore you.

I really wasn't sure if I was gonna like this book. I was pleasantly surprised. The characters are fun and full of adventure. The plot idea is interesting and not one that I have seen before. I really enjoyed reading about all the ways they dodge Torquin. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and I am interested in finding the answers so I will definitely be reading more of this series.

This was the first book in the Seven Wonders series and I have had it to read for awhile. My son (8 years old) and I ended up reading it together. It was a very fun and well done middle grade adventure fantasy. My 8 year old son and I enjoyed it a ton. There are, ironically, five books in the Seven Wonders series. The final book in the series, The Legend of the Rift, will release in March of 2016.Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with a desperate problem….he’s going to die any day now. Then he wakes up at the Karai Institute where he finds out he possesses a special gene that gives him superhuman powers...if he doesn’t die from it first. Jack, along with the other kids with this strange gene, need to find the seven loculi if they are going to cure their condition once and for all. The loculi just happen to be hidden in the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Thus starts a crazy adventure full of danger and magic.My whole family really enjoyed this book. It’s written in a snappy and witty style that moves fast, has some humor in it, and is exciting. The book features four main characters: Jack, Marco, Aly, and Cass. All of them have different abilities and strengths.I really enjoyed that the kids have to search out the Seven Wonders and deal with some interesting magical characters. We get to learn some of the history behind the Seven Wonders as well. Parts of the book have a tomb raider type of feel to them as well which I enjoyed.The book ends at a good spot and wraps up nicely.Overall this was an entertaining and fun adventure fantasy read. Fans of Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull will enjoy this series as well. I enjoyed the snappy dialogue and history and that the book moved at a fast pace The characters are easy to relate to and the story is engaging and interesting. My son and I will definitely continue with the series. This is a series that both middle grade readers and adults can enjoy together!

“Do you know the term deja vu? When you have this odd feeling I've been here before, even though you know you haven't? That feeling is considered to be a fantasy, too. But research shows that deja vu is a connection to something real—some past event that left an unanswered question.”It's been a year since I first read this one and now I finally decided to re-read it and then the next books because I already have the book two! I stumbled upon this book years ago and I really wanted it immediately because Rick Riordan's praise about the book was on the cover. At that time, I was head over heels with Percy Jackson and wanted to read a book that may be similar to it. The Colossus Rises really fits into that description. It was a book full of adventures and knowledge about ancient histories and all that made it very interesting.I like how Peter Lerangis tells the story of Jack McKinley and his adventures with his co-Select whom he found in Karai Institute. The adventures and secrets that were waiting to be untold was enough to get hooked into the story, but there was the funny side of the characters which made the book a lot more fascinating! I really love the character of Torquin though he was just a minor character. There's something so endearing about him.Yes! Definitely! You should read this one if you are looking for something light, funny and adventurous to read!

A friend let me borrow this book, and I enjoyed it! It did resemble Percy Jackson a little bit. I like the characters and their friendships (especially that the strong, funny and would be seen as "less smart" character, is actually smart too!). I think they were (as least the kids), pretty realistic, though they are a lot smarter than me, haha.The dialogue and action was great. I felt bad for the characters with the pain they had to endure (they are thirteen!! *hugs them*). The mystery/clue parts went a little over my head sometimes, but it was cool too. There is some sort of magic (that I don't quite understand yet, it reminded me of the Avatar last Airbender), and like I said, pain for the beans, a scary monster/animal or two, and I almost forgot, the book I borrowed had quite a bit of spelling errors/missing punctuation/ formating, but it said advanced copy or something, so I imagine it got smoothed out before publishing. (And it didn't bother me that much), but I think that that is about is it. :D

This was an exceptional middle-grade romp! The adventure and action are on par with Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series and has all of the wit and humor that tweens seem to radiate and appreciate. I'm glad that this was recommended to me and I'm excited to see what the rest of the series has to offer. Not only is this a good read for tweens who like fantasy/ adventure series, but it has plenty of references for older readers as well that I got a good laugh out of.Though I have compared this to Riordan, in this series opener the only thing that it lacks (by comparison) is the diversity and inclusiveness that I appreciate in Riordan's works and that I think needs that continued exposure for youth (and some adults too!)

One of the few books that really caught my attention. Peter Lerangis was one of my favorite author from The 39 clues. How could you not support him? This is literally of those series worth reading. I love how he keep in my mind the wonders and the build u of his characters. His writing style is well written and the conversation on his books are keen and in detailed. The first book is promising. I couldn't started the other books on this series since, I am fed up with other books. Its so distracting. Anyway, I gave this book 4 stars. Meaning IT IS GOOD. For those who are fans of Percy Jackson -- guess, what? You will love this one too.