The Three Secret Cities (Jack West, Jr.) Mass Market Paperback – November 26, 2019

I didn't know what I was in for when I started this series years ago but I sure am glad I found it!! These books usually hook me so bad that I'll read the entire thing in one day and this one was no different. Mr. Reilly picks up, with a little refresher, from the book before and then jumps right into this book. However, I will say that I did need many tissues through this one. Many serious events occur with characters that will definitely leave you in shock and awe, not to mention seriously affect future books. MUST READ!

I've read every one of Reilly's novels over the years as they were published, and bought The Three Secret Cities when it appeared in a selection in my Kindle. Pretty much a knee jerk reaction purchase since I had forgotten how awful The Four Whatever was that preceded it. All along, I thought Reilly's work would mature with him, but The Three Secret Cities proved to be a big juvenile step backward; it is so difficult to read that I gave up at the start of Part IV, about 35% in. Shallow character development and goofy character names make it difficult to remember who these characters are when successive titles are issued a year or two apart. Ex Machina twists force the reader to exclaim, "Oh hell no!" at an already unbelievable plot line. Descriptions so weak that Reilly relies on poorly executed two dimensional drawings to set the physical stage. And the signature "italics for emphasis" . . . The reader wonders if he's reading a young adult action thriller written by a hyper imaginative but inexperienced young adult author. I can't recall what the Kindle edition cost me, but it's only money and I've wasted some before this. But it's the two evenings' worth of time that bother me - at halfway to 130 I'll never get those precious hours back.

I won’t give plot points and just say this book is filled with the usual Jack West and team adventures but it also pulls at the heart strings.When I started reading Mr. Reillys books years ago I knew he was gifted but man he continues to amaze me.Great interaction with the characters, surprising emotional twists and some nice understanding of why Jack is Jack. Can not wait for the next one!My only thing I wish is that Mr. Reilly would do is write longer and faster lol, because waiting for the next book is a killer.

Mister Reilly, you’ve done it again. You had me on the edge of my seat trying to ride out the roller coaster of a story.As the end approached, I was waiting for the “Back to the Future ... to be continued “ ending. You didn’t disappoint of course. I was sadden by the last few chapters but accepted them, yet you snatch even that away! Now I can’t wait to see what happens next!Only complaint would be I wish there was more details about the cities. There were plenty leading up to it, but it felt rushed in the middle.Well, until the next volume hits the shelves, I’ll be awaiting your next stand alone novel that comes out in a few months!

If you've read the other four books, you know what you're getting here. Another great rollercoaster ride with Jack and his team, with help from some special friends along the way.

However, the ending seemed rushed and incomplete - I was looking for the finish. This is a part A book and seems we will have to wait for part B. Yet the end of part A didn't resolve like a mini-endingIn other words - I like the continuation of the four royal houses, but it didn't seem like this book could have stood on it's own. Yes I appreciate that the fans will pick up this book easily, however the ending didn't resolve, just left us hanging in a bad way

I absolutely adore Matthew Reilly's books. If you like non-stop roller coaster action this author is for you. If you are one who nitpicks every little thing and unable to suspend belief, take a pass. This is good old fashioned fun. Reilly isn't as prolific as some authors but I look forward and devour every new book he releases. One of my favorite authors of all time.

There is no way to describe the feelings and emotions I have after reading this epic saga in the Jack West Jr. series. I have been reading Reilly novels since I was in elementary school, and each one that comes out I can't put down. MR has gone above and beyond in every aspect in making this great novel. After reading all the prequels in this series, you are invested to a degree that you feel like you're there, and that you personally know the characters.This book ranks up there with the all time Reilly greats, and I will be anxiously waiting for the next chapter in Jack's life.

Where to start? I have read all of Matthew Reillys novels and this is by far the worst. Ill judged and poorly written it is extremely disappointing.When Reilly was at his best with Ice Station & Temple the writing was much more adult and in depth. I rank Ice Station as being one of my favourite books ever. However this is truly awful. Childlike script and a lack of depth.Having read 4 Legendary Kingdoms again prior to this, I was hoping it would be a little more grounded this time. How wrong can you be.I will not spoil anything but the destruction of a tower block in New York City and the terrorist incident outside of the Houses of Parliament are completely ill judged and were hard to read considering recent atrocities in both places. All I could think was ‘how has anyone signed off on this’.I think that Reilly has a team around him now who can not say ‘No’ to his woeful writing. I am aware he has had many personal battles. But this is extremely poor and truly laughable. I won’t be reading any more of Reillys work. He has gone downhill at a rapid pace. Sorry.

(spoiler included) If you're buying this book, then I assume you've read all the prior books in the series and know what to expect, which is a lot of crazy, unbelievable and fast moving action scenes. You get all the familiar characters and some other characters from Matthew's other books - The prior book, the four legendary kingdoms, had scarecrow, and now the three cities has Aloysius Knight. There are a few deaths too, which I feel were a bit pointless and doesn't change the storyline much.My niggle is that the kindle version is £11, but currently you can get the four legendary kingdoms at £0.99! I don't know how Amazon is pricing these books but it feels very overpriced. If you can wait a few weeks, I think the price will come down.Bring on the next novel, the two....?

I love Matthew Reilly's books (even if he does have a habit of killing off my favourite characters) and I enjoyed this book as it is well researched (I love the way he uses modern day to explain ancient histories myths and legends) but I read his books for the action and adventure, the unbelievable escapes and never ending bullets but found the fight sciences a bit few and far between in this book. I was wondering at one point if there was going to be any heros left for the next book.I did enjoy it but think I will have to buy a box of tissues before I purchase the audio book to add to my collection.

This book wrecked me. It had all the heart pounding action, body clenching angst but also the heart breaking sorrow that other books had. I don’t know if Jack West Jrcan pull this back in time. Every time the team thought they were a step ahead they were firmly placed teo steps back!As usual, Matthew Reilly produces a fantastic adventure that left me feeling throughly emotionally wrung dry. I had remembered how invested I had become in these characters but hadn’t realised just how emersed in this story I was. Parts of the book had me genuinely in despair but the small seed of hope is planted right at the end.Can Jack and the team really survive and reign vicious this time? I can not wait for the next book to find out! I’m going to read all of his other books again till I get my next Jack West Jr fix.

Have read all of Reillys books but certainly no more. He's gone from adventure books that were gripping to books that made you go "hmmm really?" To this piece of absolute drivel. Childish, idiotic, unbelievably absurd by any standard. Almost as if it were written by a child. How the publisher has the nerve to release such a work of idiocy is beyond me. Avoid at all costs.Ireally did try to get through it but have up less than halfway through. If I could have given zero starts I would.