It’s all been building to this, the climax of the Jack West Jr saga.
And what an ending.
Matthew Reilly has taken our every emotion and has twisted them into knots expertly in the build up to the final climax.
All the plot threads that have been unravelled finally come together and are tied together into one big finale.
I shall miss the yearly appointment with Jack West Jr but I can’t wait for Reilly’s next book.
A brilliant end to the saga.

Please note, The One Impossible Labyrinth is the final book in the Jack West Jr series. If you haven’t read the previous six novels then this is not the place for you. There will be minor spoilers.

THE END IS HERE

Jack West Jr has made it to the Supreme Labyrinth.

Now he faces one last race – against multiple rivals, against time, against the collapse of the universe itself – a headlong race that will end at a throne inside the fabled labyrinth.

AN IMPOSSIBLE MAZE

But the road will be hard.

For this is a maze like no other: a maze of mazes. Uncompromising and complex. Demanding and deadly.

A CATACLYSMIC CONCLUSION

It all comes down to this.

For it ends here – now – in the most lethal and dangerous place Jack has encountered in all of his many adventures. And in the face of this indescribable peril, with everything on the line, there is only one thing he can do.

Attempt the impossible.

In a break from tradition, this review is going to be short and sweet. If you’re here, then chances are good you’ve read the rest of this series. This is the final book in a set of seven for goodness sake. You’re already a Jack West Jr fan. You’re a sucker for Matthew Reilly’s blend of frenetic action inspired chaos. You know we are firmly in the realms of good guys versus bad guys, and you love it.

So, what do you need to know? It’s simple really. The globetrotting chase that has been going on since Seven Ancient Wonders reaches an epic conclusion. Of course, the fate of the world is in the balance. (When it comes to Jack and crew, isn’t it always?).

There are also some nice little chapters that fill in the gaps in Jack’s formative years. These insights go a long way to explaining how he became the man that he is. Even at a young age, he was always sticking up for the little guy. There is little doubt that Jack West Jr is cut from the same cloth as Indiana Jones, Jack Reacher and Nathan Drake. They are that rare breed, the indomitable hero who will never ever back down.

It might be hard to believe but do you know we have been reading Jack’s adventures since way back in 2005. We’ve been on quite the wild ride with Jack. I, for one, am gonna miss him*. I guess we’re all going to have to find a new action hero whose larger than life exploits we can all enjoy. I’m sure Matthew Reilly is working on something new as I type. Maybe it’s time for Shane Schofield to make a return?

The One Impossible Labyrinth is published by Orion and is available now.

My musical recommendation to accompany The One Impossible Labyrinth is the soundtrack to Red Notice by Steve Jablonsky. There is a sense of urgency in the music that is a perfect partner to the pace of the novel.

*No, you have something in your eye.

Epic ending to an epic series! Absolutely fantastic and entirely lived up to expectations. Action packed to the gills and fast paced from start to finish. This is what I expected of Matthew Reilly and he most definitely delivered. I’ve read this series over the last 16 years and I’m definitely going to read them all again! Spoil yourself and read all 7 books for the entire exciting story. Just amazing!

Thank you Netgalley.

Let's start off with the main bit of information, this is the 7th book in the series, and ends the adventures of Jack West. So if you haven't read any of the previous books, you HAVE to read all of them first as they all link up.

Matthew Reilly has pulled off the impossible (no pun intended) tying up all loose endings from previous novels and finishing with a bang. The authors style of writing is non-stop action, and I have been a fan of his since I picked up his first novel Contest all those years ago.

Trying to review these novels by giving a synopsis is very difficult as to provide context to this book I would need to spoil earlier novels, and I don't want to do that as it would ruin the readers experience. However, essentially the main character Jack West is someone who is drawn into adventures that have mythical and historical elements woven into the story. Based on the way they are written the author has done a lot of research into these elements, but also thrown his own spin in to them so that they align with his plot.

If you love action novels with humour, thrills and surprises, I would highly recommend you start the series so you can reach this final book and be reading it until the early hours like I did!

I was provided a free ARC copy of the book by NetGalley and the publisher in return for my honest review.

What in the world am I going to obsess over now???? I've flipping lived the adventure along with Jack, Zoe and the rest of the crew. I've raced around the world, learned more history and mythology than I did at Uni and had all this play in my head!

There is action, adventure, WTF moments, tears and more than once I shouted "What the hell, Matthew????!!!" The labours of Jack West are more fantastical than anything Hercules attempted.

And as usual, no one is safe. I loved that the epilogue kind of gave us a glimpse of what goes on after the world is saved, the action quietens down and the world goes on.

This is the one series of books I've been able to get my teenage son to read and he'll come up to me afterward and say "This is the best movie I've ever read!" lol

Sad to say goodbye but they went out with a heck of a bang.

The Jack West Jr series reaches it's conclusion, and fans will not be disappointed to find it ends with a Bang, not a whimper. And there are a lot of Bangs, along with Reillys trademark Booms, diagrams and Whooshes. Like the preceding 6 books this is one heck of a high-octane ride.

These books have always been tremendous fun, and this is no exception, but at its heart are a core group of people. While the baddies can be a little one-dimensional and caricatured, our heroes are all so loving written they, and the relationships between them, feel all so real, and it's impossible not to root for this group.

This is an excellent, hugely satisfying end to Jacks adventures - Reilly doesn't disappoint!

This is book #7 and the final book of the Jack West Jr series. I was super lucky to receive an early review copy for this book and I couldn’t wait to get started on it! I’ve read all of the books since the beginning, starting with the Seven Ancient Wonders and I would definitely recommend reading the books in order as past events are mentioned. This series is fantastic and I’ve been waiting a long time to finally get to the end of Jack’s story. I feel quite sad that it’s all ended but shall look forward to maybe a new series to take over from this one!

The book begins straight from the end of book #6. Jack is at the Supreme Labyrinth, ready to save the universe from the Omega Event. Of course, he’s not the only one in the running to win the race, and there are lots of baddies for him to contend with. He’s accompanied, in one way or another, by his band of loyal followers – Zoe, Lily, Alby, Stretch, Sky Monster and Pooh Bear, to name but a few. The story gets into the action immediately and we’re treated to lots of heart-stopping moments and pulse racing battles from almost the first page. Of course, there are some violent and gruesome moments throughout, but it’s all written in the context of all the books in the series.

The book is filled with history, mythology and lots of facts and figures. Several times throughout the book I’ve put the book down and thought ‘could that be true’, ‘is that really there’ or ‘did that really happen’ and the amount of research into ancient sites and history must really be applauded. Yes, I know the storyline is just a little over the top and there are lots of things which are impossible but I just don’t care! Jack West Jr is a definitely a legend and one which I will certainly miss. I have waited eagerly and yet dreaded this last book, knowing that there is now nothing to look forward to except going back to the beginning and starting all over again!

High octane, fast paced, mind blowing and absolutely captivating, this was such a fantastic end to an absolutely amazing series. If you haven’t read any of the Jack West books yet, then what are you waiting for! A-maze-ing!!

A supremely satisfying ending to one of my favourite book series, so much so that I may just go back to the beginning and read them all again!

The One Impossible Labyrinth by Matthew Reilly

I'm a huge fan of Matthew Reilly's thrillers (some are among my favourite books) and The One Impossible Labyrinth feels momentous as, after a fair few years, it finishes the Jack West Jr series and our hero's endeavours to save the universe. It's all action from page one, immediately following the previous book which had a very irritating cliffhanger of an end, so don't read this without reading that one first. The writing is energetic and surprisingly emotional - this is fundamentally a novel about love, family and friendship, with a lot of puzzles, monsters (human and otherwise), traps, with everything on an epic scale. As usual, there are lots of illustrations to chart the labyrinth. Not my favourite of the series - it's a bit too full on and jumps about as the race speeds up, but I think this was probably inevitable now that we're at the end. I'm interested to see where the author heads next. He's written some stunning standalone thrillers (sometimes featuring the same characters). I'd love another of those. 3.5 stars rounded up.