Books with author Matthew Lilly

In ancient times, a Golden Capstone was placed atop the Great Pyramid at Giza during a rare solar event called the Tartarus rotation. Once every 4,500 years, a superhot sunspot - the Tartaus sunspot - aligned itself with Earth and caused immense worldwide flooding and sun-scorching. It is said that when the Capstone sat atop the Great Pyramid, no such flooding or solar damage occurred. And, according to legend, whosoever places the Capstone on the pyramid at the next Tartarus Rotation will gain absolute power over Earth for the next 1,000 years.In 2006, the Tartarus Rotation will come again, but the capstone is nowhere to be found.With the fate of global dominance hanging in the balance, nearly every world power sends forth its troops to locate the Capstone. Among them are the United States, the European Union, Israel, ruthless terrorists, and one other unusual force: a coalition of seven smaller nations that have decided that the capstone is too powerful for any one country to hold.So they band together against all odds and send an eight-man team to take on all the great forces in the chase. Led by an Australian super-soldier named Jack West, Jr., the team includes a Canadian professor, two crack Irish commandos (one of whom is female), a Spanish paratrooper, a Jamaican soldier, an arab commando, and a daredevil New Zealand pilot. And with them always is a little girl named Lily, the ten-year-old daughter of the Oracle of Siwa - one of only two people in the world who can decode an ancient text that leads to the Capstone.This stalwart group embarks on a global journey filled with booby-trapped mines, stupendous ancient wonders, gigantic evil forces, and adventure beyond imagination.

“The first noteworthy treatment of its subject—and a definitive one at that...Fascinating narrative threads proliferate” (The New York Times Book Review). The most authoritative biography—featuring dozens of rarely seen photographs—of film legend Bruce Lee, who made martial arts a global phenomenon, bridged the divide between Eastern and Western cultures, and smashed long-held stereotypes of Asians and Asian-Americans. Forty-five years after Bruce Lee’s sudden death at age thirty-two, journalist and bestselling author Matthew Polly has written the definitive account of Lee’s life. It’s also one of the only accounts; incredibly, there has never been an authoritative biography of Lee. Following a decade of research that included conducting more than one hundred interviews with Lee’s family, friends, business associates, and even the actress in whose bed Lee died, Polly has constructed a complex, humane portrait of the icon. Polly explores Lee’s early years as a child star in Hong Kong cinema; his actor father’s struggles with opium addiction and how that turned Bruce into a troublemaking teenager who was kicked out of high school and eventually sent to America to shape up; his beginnings as a martial arts teacher, eventually becoming personal instructor to movie stars like James Coburn and Steve McQueen; his struggles as an Asian-American actor in Hollywood and frustration seeing role after role he auditioned for go to a white actors in eye makeup; his eventual triumph as a leading man; his challenges juggling a sky-rocketing career with his duties as a father and husband; and his shocking end that to this day is still shrouded in mystery. Polly breaks down the myths surrounding Bruce Lee and argues that, contrary to popular belief, he was an ambitious actor who was obsessed with the martial arts—not a kung-fu guru who just so happened to make a couple of movies. This is an honest, revealing look at an impressive yet imperfect man whose personal story was even more entertaining and inspiring than any fictional role he played onscreen.

It is the biggest treasure hunt in history with contesting nations involved in a headlong race to locate the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 4500 years ago, a magnificent golden capstone sat at the peak of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was a source of immense power, reputedly capable of bestowing upon its holder absolute global power. But then it was divided into seven pieces and hidden, each piece separately, within the seven greatest structures of the age. Now it's 2006 and the coming of a rare solar event means it's time to locate the seven pieces and rebuild the capstone. Everyone wants it from the most powerful countries on Earth to gangs of terrorists ...and one daring coalition of eight small nations. Led by the mysterious Captain Jack West Jr, this determined group enters a global battlefield filled with booby-trapped mines, crocodile-infested swamps, evil forces and an adventure beyond imagining. 'More action, hair-raising stunts and lethal hardware than you'd find in four

In the world of the near future, people travel everywhere in cars that hover four feet above the ground. This brilliant new technology has brought with it the invention of a new super-fast, super-dangerous, competitive sport ...hover car racing. Part race-car driver, part fighter pilot, all superstar: Jason Chaser is a champion hover car racer. But now he's pitted against the best young racers on the planet - with the ultimate prize at stake!

A dauntless young hero.An army of brutal monsters.An impossible quest.Journey to the mountain ...The only unguarded entrance to Troll Mountain is the abandoned kingdom of the hobgoblins.With no other route available to them, Raf and his newfound friends, Ko and Düm, enter the dark, dank world of the hobgoblins.But is it truly abandoned?IN THIS, THE SECOND OF THREE SERIALIZED EPISODES, MATTHEW REILLY TAKES YOU ON HIS WILDEST RIDE YET: A HEADLONG QUEST TO THE DARK HEART OF THE KINGDOM OF THE TROLLS.

From Australia's favourite novelist, author of the Scarecrow series and the Jack West Jr series with new novel The Three Secret Cities out now. A dauntless young hero.An army of brutal monsters.An impossible quest.Journey to the mountain ...Raf's mission to Troll Mountain is in ruins.Having penetrated the mountain, only to be caught in the act of stealing the fabled elixir, Raf must now face the trolls' champion in a fight to the death.As the trolls gather to watch the fight, Raf watches them closely. If he can somehow survive this fight, his mission may not be over.The final battle for Troll Mountain is about to begin.IN THIS, THE LAST OF THREE SERIALIZED EPISODES, MATTHEW REILLY TAKES YOU ON HIS WILDEST RIDE YET: A HEADLONG QUEST TO THE DARK HEART OF THE KINGDOM OF THE TROLLS.

A true story about why we sabotage ourselves, feel overwhelmed, set aside our dreams, and lack the courage to simply be ourselves... and how to start choosing happiness again! Are you happy? It may be the wrong question. Most of us think we are relatively happy, while at the same time knowing that we could be happier -- maybe even a lot happier. Ordinary people and the finest philosophers have been exploring the question of happiness for thousands of years, and theories abound. But this is not a book of theory. Resisting Happiness is a deeply personal, disarmingly transparent look at why we sabotage our own happiness and what to do about it. Are you overwhelmed? Do you procrastinate? Do you sometimes feel like you are your own worst enemy? Are you ignoring your dreams? Have you lost the courage to truly be yourself? Do you feel that your life lacks meaning and purpose? Do you find yourself avoiding the real issues in your life and focusing on the superficial? We all experience these feelings and doubts from time to time. But do you know what to do when you experience them? In this fascinating book, Matthew Kelly, uses his signature combination of the profound and the practical, to help us understand why we feel these things and how to rise above them. Breaking through resistance, Kelly tells us, is essential to becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves and living with passion and purpose. What is resistance? It's that sluggish feeling of not wanting to do something that you know is good for you. It's the inclination to do something that you unabashedly know is not good for you. It's the desire and tendency to delay something you should be doing right now. It is resistance that stands between you and happiness. In these pages you will learn not only what it is, but how to recognize and conquer it in your own life.

[Read by William Dufris]The Golden Capstone atop the Great Pyramid at Giza offered protection from the global flooding and scorching sun that occurs every 4,500 years due to the Tartarus Rotation solar event. But Alexander the Great broke the Capstone into seven pieces and hid them in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Now, in 2006, another Tartarus Rotation is due, and whoever places the reconstructed Capstone on the pyramid in time will gain absolute earthly power. Everyone wants the Capstone -- from the most powerful countries to terrorists -- and one daring coalition of eight small nations who think that no single country should possess such awesome power.

From the hottest action author on the planet, now comes the fastest story ever told ...Imagine twenty fighter jets racing around twisting, turning aerial track, ducking and weaving and overtaking at insanely high speeds, and you've just imagined a hover car race. In the world of the near future, man travels everywhere in vehicles that hover four feet above the ground. Inevitably this brilliant new technology has inspired the latest super-fast, competitive sport of hover car racing, whose feted superstars inhabit a glamorous world of wealth, celebrity and extreme danger. They are the hottest ticket in town. This is the story of Jason Chaser, a young newcomer from the Australian outback, as he battles for the respect and recognition he can only gain in the international circuits through his courage and death-defying exploits on the track.