The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders Series #1)

by Peter Lerangis, Torstein Norstrand (Illustrator), Mike Reagan (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062070401
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/05/2013
Series:	Seven Wonders Series , #1
Pages:	348
Sales rank:	696,644
Product dimensions:	5.86(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.16(d)
Lexile:	580L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Peter Lerangis is the author of more than one hundred and sixty books, which have sold more than five and half million copies and been translated into thirty-three different languages. These include the five books in the New York Times bestselling Seven Wonders series, The Colossus Rises, Lost in Babylon, The Tomb of Shadows, The Curse of the King, and The Legend of the Rift, and two books in the 39 Clues series. He lives in New York City with his family.

Editorial Reviews

Indiana teenager Jack McKinley has just discovered that he is a ticking time-bomb. Unless he solves the ancient mysteries of Atlantis, a rare genetic disorder will kill him within a few months. With this ultimate imperative staring him down, he begins a quest that will challenge his imaginative powers. Peter Lerangis's new fantasy series launch is bound to please readers of his two 39 Clues books.

In this action-packed first novel in the Seven Wonders series, Jack McKinley, an imaginative kid with a penchant for Rube Goldberg–style devices, is kidnapped and brought to a mysterious island. There he learns that he and three other 13-year-olds carry a rare, often fatal gene; if they survive, the gene will confer superpowers on them and mark them as distantly descended from Atlantis. That ancient kingdom, they discover, was destroyed when its rulers misused the enormous power they wielded. Jack and his new friends have been recruited to rediscover the lost repositories of that power, which are connected to the wonders of the ancient world, such as the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Their survival, though, is far from guaranteed. Lerangis, contributor to the 39 Clues series, has created a real page-turner, and while the characters are somewhat one-dimensional (particularly the adults), there’s a genuine sense of mystery and even a touch of grandeur to this tale. Lerangis aims squarely at the legions of Percy Jackson fans and hits his target. Ages 8–12. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

The Seven Wonders series debuts with a bang: 13-year-old Jack McKinley will die unless he can locate the magic Loculi containing the ancient powers of Atlantis. No time for lush descriptions of setting and insightful characterizations here. A belching barefoot giant who looks like a Viking appears on the very first page, and the action begins--a fast-paced, page-turning adventure that quickly takes Jack from Belleville, Ind., to what's left of ancient Atlantis. It turns out that Jack is a descendant of the lost civilization and has a rare genetic condition that will kill him unless he can tap into the island's powers. The problem is that when Atlantis was destroyed, its source of power was stolen, divided into seven containers and hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Finding the powers will not only save Jack's life, but also give him superpowers. Jack and his new friends Cass, Marco and Aly climb volcanoes, confront a griffin, enter a maze, find a waterfall that gives life to the dead and seek the Colossus of Rhodes. Jack, like his kindred spirit, Percy Jackson, is a good-hearted narrator, unsure of his powers but up to the challenges of his fated journey. Fans of Riordan, Rowling, and ancient myths and legends will welcome this new, if derivative opportunity for adventure and enchantment. (Fiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews