The One Impossible Labyrinth by Matthew Reilly

Publisher's Synopsis

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.

My Review of The One Impossible Labyrinth by Matthew Reilly

The One Impossible Labyrinth is the culmination of 7 of the most intense action-packed thrillers ever conceived starring Jack West Jr, a hero who is so selfless it hurts. The fate of the entire universe rests on Jack’s shoulders and his ability to defeat numerous evil enemies while also solving the most cunning riddles, traps and conundrums. It’s here that we find out once and for all what it’s all about.

It wouldn’t be a Jack West Jr thriller without a ridiculously tight deadline, racing against the most evil of opponents with only the slimmest of slim chances of succeeding. And as the grand finale of the series, all of those things are dialed up to 11 (to steal from Nigel Tufnel). 

As Jack and his crew enter the labyrinth they only have 3 days before the omega event and the ensuing Singularity takes place. That’s 3 days to save the world!

As has become customary, right from the off the threats to Jack, Zoe, Lily, Eastern come thick and fast. He’s up against 4 other teams racing through the labyrinth and they play dirty. As usual they’re starting well behind the other teams and they’ve rushed to get to the labyrinth so they’re woefully short of important information about how to beat the traps and pitfalls within the maze. 

Being the final book of the series, Reilly has thrown all of the obstacles, life-threatening tricks, and well-imagined technology at Jack and the gang in a bid to outdo all of the high-octane moments that preceded The One. Although it was endlessly entertaining and filled with last-gasp moments, I was aware of all of the tricks of the past, so very little felt new or improved and most surprises were kind of expected.

A concerted effort to tie the entire series together is made with references to events that took place in The Seven, The Four and The Three at times when one or another of the main characters were experiencing great emotional stress. And that’s one of the differences in The One compared to the rest of the series, there are far more moments of reflection, regret and remorse in this one than in all the others combined. Stands to reason I suppose.

We also get to learn more about Jack and his team of heroes, which was a nice touch after 6 books worth of backs to the wall action in which they somehow prevailed. Back stories fill in how some friendships were formed and are also used to explain why Jack is so motivated to always do the right thing.

Ultimately, as well as leading us through the mother of all labyrinths, including a devious final maze and race to the final throne, The One Impossible Labyrinth does a great job in both cleaning up some loose ends and tying the entire crazy, epic, action masterpiece together. I came this far, I allowed myself to be led to one cliffhanger after another and I was accepting of the fact that, no matter how impossible the odds of survival was, Jack is always going to find a way. And, I’ve got to say, I was well entertained.