The Two Lost Mountains

The stakes couldn’t be higher in bestseller Reilly’s over-the-top sixth thriller starring Jack West Jr. (after 2018’s The Three Secret Cities). In less than a week, Jack and his oddball team of adventurers, whose members have silly names like Pooh Bear and Sky Monster, must prevent the Omega Event, in which the universe will stop expanding and “collapse inward in an all-consuming rush, withdrawing into a singularity, destroying every planet, every star, every single thing in existence.” The frantic, predictable plot includes numerous perils, the destruction of religious landmarks, and the fortuitous discovery of a secret letter written by Albert Einstein that may offer hope for stopping the Omega Event. Reilly doesn’t sweat the details, such as explaining why Einstein made only one attempt to warn of the disaster-to-come, or how a nun survived being eaten alive by eight cannibals as long as she did before succumbing. Clearly, the complete suspension of disbelief is the order of the day. This is for devoted series fans only. (May)