Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly [144]
It took some time, but it was great fun. I created symbols to match those of our own alphabet, plus rules for proper nouns and special symbols for certain objects (like the Great Pyramid, Alexander the Great and the Sun, for instance). If anyone has the time and the inclination they can translate all the Thoth references in the book back to English, but be careful, as in the novel, it gets harder, as more symbols are used, and sometimes not from left-to-right!
After the book has been out a while, I’ll put up the alphabet on my website, so that anyone who’s interested can see how it works.
With the exception of Jason Chaser in Hover Car Racer, Seven Ancient Wonders sees the introduction of your first Australian action hero. What made you decide to make Jack West Jr an Australian?
It suited the story. Simple as that. I’m often asked why the heroes of my other books are American and the answer is really the same: it suited those stories (it especially suited Ice Station).
With Seven Ancient Wonders, I wanted the hero specifically not to be American. He had to lead this little band of small nations against the combined might of America and Europe. And so I thought of an ex-SAS soldier from Australia. I also knew that the ending of the book required one country to be imbued with the power of Tartarus, and what could be more fun than Australia being the most powerful country on Earth and not knowing it? (I already think that, anyway!)
You mention The Da Vinci Codeby Dan Brown a couple of times in the novel. Have you read it? Did it influence you?
I have indeed read The Da Vinci Code and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I actually read it long before it dominated the bestseller lists—when I was touring with Scarecrow in 2003, I would recommend it to anyone who would listen!
That said, The Da Vinci Code wasn’t really an influence on Seven Ancient Wonders. The Indiana Jones movies were probably more of an influence. I wanted to create an Indiana Jones-type story, with booby traps and high adventure, but set in the present day. The reason I mentioned The Da Vinci Code in the book was really because that novel is now so globally known, if you do write a story about Catholic Church conspiracy theories or one which has a scene set in the Louvre, you should probably make a Da Vinci Code joke!
Seven Ancient Wonders features some pretty dastardly American villains! Is it an anti-American novel?
I hope it’s not interpreted that way. The Americans are just the villains in this book, that’s all. They want the power of Tartarus and so they go after it—they just do so a little more ruthlessly than our heroes!
The key to Seven Ancient Wonders was that the heroes had to be underdogs, underdogs battling the most powerful nation on Earth, and that at the moment is America. America has more guns, tanks and planes than the next dozen countries combined. For a bunch of little countries to go up against the United States is a big thing, a hard thing. And that, to my mind, makes for an interesting story.
I guess, like many others, I do question the new American ‘Imperialism’ under George W. Bush, but unlike others I don’t dislike America for it. It’s a lone superpower in a changed world. It has to figure out how to find its way, just like the rest of us. It will make mistakes. Unfortunately, any mistakes it makes will have a big impact on everyone else on this planet. It will also, it must be said, do much good.
I don’t know. I invariably find myself defending America when I’m out at dinner with friends. I have many American friends, and I work with some very clever New Yorkers and Los Angelinos. Smart people, all of them. I also firmly believe that America is a fantastic social experiment—a land of opportunity, where capitalism is king, and where 280 million people live in relative peace under the rule of law; not a bad achievement at all.
After all that, if some Americans think that just because I made them the villains of this book that I’m anti-American, then what can I do? I’ll just have to cop it and know