Review: “Scarecrow” By Matthew Reilly (Novel)

Well, due to hot weather at the time of writing, I was in the mood for an ultra fast-paced “easy reading” thriller novel. So, naturally, I reached for the second-hand copy of Matthew Reilly’s 2003 novel “Scarecrow” that I’d found online shortly after I finished enjoying Reilly’s “Area 7” a few weeks earlier.

Although this novel is the third novel in Reilly’s “Scarecrow” series – following “Ice Station” and “Area 7” – it can technically be read as a stand-alone novel. However, some scenes and a few brief references will both matter more and make more sense if you’ve read the previous two novels.

So, let’s take a look at “Scarecrow”. Needless to say, this review may contain some SPOILERS.

This is the 2010 Pan Books (UK) paperback edition of “Scarecrow” that I read.

The novel begins in London with a cabal of the richest and most powerful men in the world holding a secret meeting. They have compiled a list of fifteen names – including special forces soldiers, spies and terrorists from a variety of countries- and have put out the word to the international bounty hunting community that they will pay $18.6 million for the head of any person on that list.

Meanwhile, US Marine Captain Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield is on a plane to Siberia. The Russian government has asked for US help in dealing with a group of terrorists who have taken over an abandoned Cold War gulag/missile silo and are threatening to launch a missile from it. There is no word from the previous two US special forces teams that have been sent in to storm the compound. Worst of all, the radio suddenly goes down.

When Schofield arrives, he finds the bodies of the other two teams… and no terrorists. It doesn’t take him long to realise that he’s walked into some kind of trap. After all, his name is one of the ones on the list!

One of the first things that I will say about this novel is that it is a gloriously cheesy, ultra fast-paced and gleefully “over the top” thriller novel that was a lot of fun to read 🙂 However, it differs from the previous two novels in the series in a way which means that it doesn’t always feel quite as suspenseful or unique as “Ice Station” or “Area 7” do. Even so, this is still one hell of a thriller novel and it can easily put even the most spectacular modern action movies to shame.

So, I should probably start by talking about this novel’s thriller elements. As you would expect, this novel contains a lot of blisteringly fast and extremely spectacular set-pieces that are also backed up by several different types of suspense (eg: time limits, dangerous situations, Schofield literally being hunted etc..), lots of grittily brutal fight scenes and the kind of gloriously contrived high-stakes 1990s-style conspiracy theory plot that wouldn’t be entirely out of place in a Pierce Brosnan “James Bond” movie (or possibly even this awesome old computer game).

Like with Reilly’s other “Scarecrow” novels, all of this results in the kind of ultra-intense, compelling thriller story that will make pretty much every other thriller novel that you’ll read seem “slow paced” by comparison. It is like reading the kind of action movie Hollywood could only dream of ever making.

Like other books in the series, it is also as gloriously cheesy, stylised and “over the top” as you would expect – including everything from hilariously melodramatic nicknames for the bounty hunters (eg: “The Demon”, “The Black Knight” etc…), a few gloriously badass one-liners, numerous explosions, a shark pit, random sci-fi tech/weapons and other such things that are just brilliantly fun to read about – if you can suspend your disbelief. And, yes, you really need to suspend you disbelief to enjoy this novel. Trust me, it is well worth it 🙂

However, as mentioned earlier, this is probably my least favourite novel in the series so far. Why? Well, it has to do with the story’s scale and scope. One of the great things about the previous two books is that they each mostly take place within a single location (eg: An Antarctic research station and a secret desert base). Not only does this add a lot of extra claustrophobia, suspense and tension to these two novels, but it also means that the reader has a chance to really get to know the locations – deepening their immersion in the story, whilst also allowing Reilly to surprise them in all kind of ways.

On the other hand, “Scarecrow” takes place in a wide variety of different locations across the globe. Whilst I can see that Reilly wanted to make this novel “more spectacular”, this also means that it loses what made the previous two books so unique. In other words, this novel reads a lot like pretty much any other novel in the genre at times. For example, if you’ve read any of Clive Cussler’s modern co-written books (such as his “Oregon Files”, “Numa Files” etc… novels) or anything like that, then this Reilly novel won’t seem all that different. Yes, it’s still a really gripping thriller novel, but it just feels a bit less unique than the previous two books thanks to it’s globe-trotting plot.

In addition to this, the novel is a lot more of it’s time than I’d expected. Although the main plot still has some of the innocent 1990s-style silliness that you’d expect from this series, it is both a lot more “topical” and, like many other things from the early-mid 2000s, a bit “gloomier” and “edgier” than previous books in the series too. When this is at it’s best, it allows for a genuinely shocking plot twist or two, it allows Reilly to play with the reader’s expectations a bit and also to add a little bit of extra emotional depth to the series too.

On the other hand, this “edgier” tone also leads to some very predictable and overwrought “dramatic” moments. Likewise, some parts of this novel haven’t aged as well as Reilly’s “Ice Station” or “Area 7” and will probably come across as a bit “politically incorrect” when read today. Some of this is probably due to the historical context (eg: the fear and conservatism of the early parts of the “War On Terror”) and the rest can probably be attributed more to clumsiness than malice (eg: a cringe-worthy phonetic accent during one scene, some two-dimensional characters etc…), but it is still a novel that hasn’t aged entirely well.

In terms of the characters, although you shouldn’t expect in-depth characterisation from a Matthew Reilly novel, there was a little more characterisation here than I’d expected. Most of this, of course, focuses on Captain Schofield – and the novel uses the corny narrative trope of using other characters as tools to give him a bit more depth. Whether it is another character that shows what he’d have turned into if his past was slightly different, a tragic death that allows him to express his emotions (in an incredibly melodramatic way) or scenes that cause other characters to tell him how great he is, this isn’t exactly subtle or nuanced characterisation, but it is a welcome change and it adds a little bit more depth to his character.

As for the writing, it is a Matthew Reilly novel 🙂 In other words, it is one of the best “badly written” novels that you’ll ever read. Like with Reilly’s other thriller novels, this novel’s highly informal and ultra fast-paced third-person narration breaks all sorts of stylistic rules and yet still remains incredibly readable and compelling throughout 🙂

The writing style is, at the same time, both incredibly immature and yet sophisticated enough to keep the story flowing at a hundred miles an hour. This is really difficult to describe well, but Reilly’s writing style is a “love it or hate it” kind of thing that you’ll either really enjoy or which will make you throw the book across the room. And, with the exception of a few egregious mistakes (such as the phonetic accent I mentioned earlier), I really enjoyed the writing style in this book 🙂

In terms of length and pacing, this novel is excellent as always 🙂 Although it is a fairly hefty 524 pages in length, this novel moves so quickly that it feels like reading a much shorter novel 🙂 Likewise, this is a very well-structured thriller novel that never gets boring or really slows down too much either 🙂

All in all, this is a gloriously cheesy and “over the top” thriller novel that will also make most other thriller novels seem “slow-paced” by comparison. Yes, it lacks the brilliantly unique claustrophobic suspense of the previous two books in the series and it also hasn’t aged entirely well, but – these things aside – it is still a very compelling and enjoyable thriller novels that fans of authors like Clive Cussler will probably enjoy 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a four.

Review: “Area 7” By Matthew Reilly (Novel)

Well, I was in the mood for another thriller. And, after enjoying Matthew Reilly’s “Ice Station” a few weeks ago, I thought that I’d take a look at the other Reilly novel I happened to spot in a second-hand bookshop in Petersfield last year. I am, of course talking about Reilly’s 2001 thriller novel “Area 7”.

Although this novel is technically a sequel to “Ice Station”, it’s a fairly self-contained novel that can be enjoyed without reading “Ice Station” first. But, if you’ve read “Ice Station” first, then you’ll see a few familiar faces again and get slightly more out of a couple of moments and small sub-plots.

So, let’s take a look at “Area 7”. Needless to say, this review may contain some SPOILERS.

This is the 2002 Pan Books (UK) paperback edition of “Area 7” that I read.

The novel begins with a lecture transcript that discusses the role and history of the office of the US president, before showing an extract from a conspiracy theory magazine about the mysterious death of a US senator called Jerry Woolf.

Then, the story jumps over to Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. A former general called “Caesar” Russell is due to be executed for murder and treason. His last request is to watch the inauguration of the new president on TV and whilst he watches it, he muses about a scheme to secretly implant microchips into the hearts of important people. After this, he is taken to another prison and executed via lethal injection. However, a few minutes after his body is taken away, he is secretly revived using a defribrillator and hyper-oxygenated blood.

A few months later, several experimental plasma warheads are found hidden and fully armed in several major airports. Meanwhile, in the Utah desert, Marine Captain Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield is accompanying the president on a helicopter tour of several secret underground military bases in the desert. When the group arrive at Area 7, they are greeted by the elite masked commandos of the Air Force’s 7th Special Operations Squadron.

As the President descends into the base, Schofield and the other marines wait around in the hangar above. Schofield then notices that the troops from the 7th have suddenly taken up offensive – rather than defensive- positions around all exits from the hangar. Seconds later, they open fire on the marines and a battle ensues. Meanwhile, the President watches a demonstration of a new vaccine designed to protect against a bio-weapon. But the demonstration is suddenly interrupted by a video broadcast by Caesar, saying that he has taken command of the base…

One of the first things that I will say about this novel is that it was a hell of a lot of fun to read 🙂 Yes, it is little slower to really get started than “Ice Station” was but – after about the first 80-90 pages or so – it’s nothing but grippingly thrilling non-stop spectacular ultra-fast paced action 🙂 Like with Clive Cussler & Graham Brown’s “Zero Hour“, this novel is one of the best action movies that you’ll ever read 🙂 Yes, it probably isn’t going to win any literary awards, but if you want a book that is like an incredibly fun 1980s-90s action movie “turned up to eleven”, then this one is well worth reading 🙂

As action-thriller novels go, this one is really well-constructed – with a brilliant mixture of suspenseful mini-cliffhangers, cool gadgets, tense time-limits, claustrophobic underground scenes, several competing groups of villains, multiple plot threads, acrobatic stunts, large and small-scale drama, spectacular open-air chase scenes, numerous fast-paced combat sequences (including gladiatorial combat, helicopter duels etc… in addition to the usual gun and fist fights), spectacular set pieces and one of the best uses of Chekhov’s Gun that I’ve seen in a while too (seriously, when you see everything on the fourth floor of the facility, you’ll know what I mean).

Thanks to this immense variety of thriller elements, this is one of those rare thriller novels that can function at full intensity for most of the story without ever getting dull. And, in classic Reilly fashion, this novel is ludicrously and gloriously “over the top” in so many ways 🙂 The best way to describe this is to imagine a Michael Bay movie with absolutely no budgetary or practical limits whatsoever. Leaving aside the numerous spectacular explosions and gunfights, this also includes brilliantly clever location designs and numerous awesome set pieces that take place on land, air, water and… well, I won’t spoil it.

Whether you enjoy all of this or not will depend on how much you can suspend your disbelief. If you take a more “rational” or “realistic” view of this story, then it will seem extremely silly. But, if you can suspend your disbelief, then you’ll be rewarded with the kind of amazingly spectacular action-fest that, even almost two decades after it was written, can still easily surpass even the highest-budget Hollywood films. Seriously, if you want to see an example of how books can be better than films, then read this one!

And, continuing with the action movie theme, one of the cool things about this novel is that – although it was published in 2001 – it is actually more like a gloriously fun 1980s-90s action movie (think “Broken Arrow” meets “Die Hard”, but on steroids) than a more serious, topical and gritty 2000s one. A lot of this has to do with the fact that it was clearly written (and is set) before 9/11 happened.

Not only does this mean that there are a lot of spectacular aircraft-based scenes that would have probably been considered “too soon” if the novel was written a bit later that year, but the novel also deals with the topic of terrorism in a very pre-9/11 kind of way too – with the villains being various evil secret societies, fanatical right-wing groups etc… (with incredibly contrived evil schemes) rather than the religious extremist villains that would become more common in the genre later in the decade.

So, this novel is also a glimpse into the later parts of the more innocent age between the end of the cold war and 9/11 – where thriller writers couldn’t just use the news for inspiration and, instead, had to come up with unpredictable and creative plots for their stories. All of this results in a much more fun and “feel-good” thriller story than the gloomier, grittier and more “topical” thrillers that would characterise most of the 2000s.

In terms of the characters, they are the kind of stylised characters you’d expect in a story like this. Although there is a bit of characterisation for a few main characters and some of the villains, this is more of a plot-focused novel than a character-based one. In fact, in the author interview at the end of the edition I read, Reilly actually states: “I want to write about action and thrills and adventure, and if developing characters slow down the action, then developing characters get the chop!”

Still, there is just about enough characterisation here to make you care about what happens to the main characters. Plus, one amusing thing about this novel is that – although the US President is never explicitly named – from a couple of physical descriptions, the publication date and some references to the time period the story takes place in (eg: mention of a Playstation 2 and Jar Jar Binks, and the most recent other president mentioned in the opening segment being Bill Clinton), he is most likely based on G. W. Bush – which makes the parts of the novel where he gets to be a bit of an action hero absolutely hilarious to read in a cynically ironic way.

As for the writing, it is a Matthew Reilly novel from the 2000s. In other words, the third-person narration is written in a fairly informal and “matter of fact” style that – whilst it probably breaks numerous stylistic rules and is unlikely to win any literary awards – adds a lot of extra speed and intensity to the novel. Yes, if you’re new to this author, then you might find his writing style to be a bit corny, awkward and/or immature at times, but it works. Don’t ask me how, but it works! Like with Reilly’s later novel “Seven Ancient Wonders”, this novel is one of the most well-written “badly written” books that you’ll ever read.

In terms of length and pacing, this novel is really good 🙂 Although it is a fairly hefty 565 pages in length, these pages flash past at incredible speed – meaning it’ll take you as long to read as a 250-300 page book usually would. And, although the story takes a little while longer to really pick up speed than “Ice Station” does, most of this book feels even faster-paced and more gripping than that novel did. Seriously, if you want a lesson in good, consistently fast action-thriller novel pacing, then read most of this one 🙂

All in all, this novel was a hell of a lot of fun to read 🙂 If you want to read something that is even more spectacular than even the highest-budget action movie, then you’ll enjoy “Area 7”. Yes, it takes a little longer to really get started than I’d expected (and the writing style may put some readers off) but, if you stick with it, then you’ll be rewarded with a gloriously intense and over-the-top 1990s-style action-fest of a story 🙂 Just remember to suspend your disbelief before reading it though.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get at least four and a half.

Review: “Ice Station” By Matthew Reilly (Novel)

Well, it’s been about a decade since I last read a Matthew Reilly novel and I was in the mood for something fast-paced, so I thought that I’d take a look at his 1998 thriller novel “Ice Station”.

This was one of two novels in Reilly’s “Scarecrow” series that I found in a second-hand bookshop in Petersfield last year. Since I’d enjoyed the first three books in Reilly’s “Jack West Jr” series during the mid-late 2000s/early 2010s (although they were “so bad that they’re good”, they were still gripping enough for me to actually get a new hardback of “The Five Greatest Warriors” shortly after it was released in the UK), my decision to get these books was a bit of a no-brainer.

So, let’s take a look at “Ice Station”. Needless to say, this review may contain some SPOILERS.

This is the 2001 Pan Macmillan (Aus) paperback edition of “Ice Station” that I read.

The novel begins with a couple of book/lecture extracts about Antarctica and about a US military officer called Otto Niemeyer who mysteriously disappeared during the 1970s. The story then focuses on an American research base in the Antarctic called Wilkes Station. The scientists in the station have lost contact with a group of divers who have been sent to investigate an anomaly in the ice. When the rescue team surfaces in an ice cavern, they spot what appears to be a spacecraft lodged in the ice. However, they are soon attacked by something.

Back at the base, one of the researchers sends out a distress call detailing everything that has happened. A crack team of US marines, led by Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield, happen to be on the nearest ship and are dispatched to the base. However, the distress call had been sent out on an open broadcast. A broadcast that has been picked up by several other countries who are also interested in the spacecraft below the ice and are prepared to kill for it…

One of the first things that I will say about “Ice Station” is that it is a much better book than I’d expected 🙂 It’s a gloriously gripping, breathlessly fast-paced, gleefully over-the-top, brilliantly spectacular and just generally fun thriller novel that reminded me a little bit of a cross between Clive Cussler’s nautical thrillers, S.D.Perry’s “Resident Evil” or “Aliens” novels (albeit without the zombies/aliens) and maybe Dan Brown’s “Deception Point”:) Seriously, if you enjoy gloriously over-the-top thriller novels, then this one is well worth reading.

So, I should probably start by talking about the novel’s thriller elements. This novel contains a brilliantly compelling mixture of suspense, mystery, plot twists, paranoia and the kind of ludicrously spectacular action set-pieces that only the highest-budget of blockbuster films could even dream about. The vast bulk of the novel focuses on Schofield having to hold the base against French and British special forces, with numerous time limits, harsh weather conditions, perilous situations, a murder mystery or two, the possibility of a traitor within his team and certain death looming around every corner.

This novel marries suspense and action absolutely perfectly, with each balancing the other out and ensuring that neither gets monotonous. In general, the novel will place the characters in a series of incredibly dangerous situations that they have to survive in various inventive, clever and/or action-packed ways. This cycle between suspense and action works pretty much every time and never really gets old. Not only that, the novel also makes good use of mini-cliffhangers and even a couple of sub-plots to keep things even more compelling 🙂

And, yes, although some of the novel’s set-pieces are highly-contrived “action movie” style scenes that also contain some obvious sci-fi technology (presented as “realistic” secret military equipment, weapons etc..) and some creatively silly bending of the laws of physics, this doesn’t actually matter thanks to the fact that not only does everything have an explanation that usually makes sense but also because of the sheer scale and drama of these scenes. This novel is the best type of thriller novel in that almost every perilous situation is actually a suspenseful timed puzzle that has to be solved through the use of thought, cunning and/or clever tactics rather than just mindless violence.

But, this isn’t to say that this is a pacifist novel. In fact, one of the interesting things about this novel is how much inspiration it takes from the horror genre 🙂 In addition to some chilling moments of suspense, cruelty, nature-based horror and character-based horror, this novel is almost as splatteriffically gruesome as a good 1980s horror novel too. Although the novel’s gory moments are a little quicker and less detailed than in a splatterpunk novel, they lend the action scenes a level of impact, grittiness and weight that you don’t usually see in more sanitised mainstream action-thriller novels.

In terms of the characters, whilst you certainly shouldn’t expect ultra-deep characterisation, there’s enough here to make you care about the characters – with Schofield coming across an expert marine and badass action hero without being that much of a two-dimensional character. His team all have distinctive personalities, the civilians come across as reasonably realistic people and the villains are all suitably evil, formidable and/or chilling too 🙂 Plus, although it was a bit weird to see a thriller novel where the SAS were actually the villains, they’re presented in a suitably competent and fearsome way that makes them a worthy adversary for the main characters.

As for the writing, it’s better than I’d expected 🙂 For the most part, this novel uses the kind of slightly informal and occasionally technical “matter of fact” third-person narration that you’d expect from a fast-paced and highly-readable thriller novel. And, although there are a couple of signature Reilly flourishes (such as about four occasions where he uses a mid-sentence line break for “dramatic effect”), the novel comes across as being much more well-written than what I remember of his “Jack West Jr” novels. The closest comparison I can make is probably the writing style used in S.D.Perry’s “Resident Evil” and “Aliens” novels, yet the writing style still feels very much like Reilly’s.

In terms of length and pacing, this novel is excellent 🙂 Yes, it’s a hefty 611 pages in length, but you’ll probably blaze through this in the time it’ll take you to read a non-thriller novel a third the length. I’ve already mentioned how this novel mixes suspense and action perfectly, and this cycle continues throughout the novel. This is one of those books that never gets boring and which pretty much demands that you read more pages than you’d planned to read 🙂

In terms of how this twenty-two year old novel has aged, it has aged excellently. Seriously, if it wasn’t for a brief mention of a VCR and some vaguely “X-Files” influenced conspiracy theory stuff, you’d be hard-pressed to work out that this novel was from 1998 (rather than 2008 or 2018) if you didn’t look at the publication date.

All in all, this novel was a lot of fun to read 🙂 If you want a slightly over-the-top, wonderfully silly and very gripping thriller novel to relax with, then this one is well worth taking a look at. It also mixes suspense, mystery and action absolutely brilliantly, whilst also including a few well-placed horror genre elements too 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get at least four and a half.

One Cool Thing That Webcomics Have In Common With Prose Fiction (But Can Do Better) – A Ramble

I can’t remember exactly where I read it, but there’s a brilliant quote from the author Matthew Reilly, where he talks about the “unlimited budget” that writers have when it comes to creating special effects and using interesting locations in their fiction. Since he writes fairly Hollywood-like thriller fiction, he takes full advantage of this fact. But, this isn’t an article about writing prose fiction, it’s an article about making webcomics.

One of the coolest things about making webcomics is that they’re both a visual medium (like television and film) and yet, they have almost all of the advantages that prose fiction does (eg: they don’t require a huge team, the writer can easily control the passage of time in the story etc..).

This was something that I noticed when starting another webcomic mini series that will appear here in mid-late March. In particular, this scene made me think about Matthew Reilly’s “unlimited budget” comments.

The full comic update will be posted here on the 21st March.

The thing is, if I was to film a live-action version of this comic, I’d have had to have actually find a museum that was willing to let me film there, commission a scale model and/ or learn how to use CGI. Either way, it would be expensive and time-consuming.

However, since this was a webcomic, the most challenging part was looking up a few pictures of galleons online so that I could work out how to draw one. It took me all of ten minutes and cost me absolutely nothing. And, unlike a written description in a story, my comic actually contains a cool-looking galleon!

This is one of the reasons why webcomics are such an amazing medium, since they’re basically an expression of pure imagination. After all, when you imagine things, you probably tend to think about them using both words and images. You don’t have to translate images into words and you don’t have to worry about the of practicalities re-creating anything in real life. You just imagine.

Yes, it takes a bit of practice to be able to make art that even vaguely resembles the images in your imagination. But, once you’ve learnt the basics (eg: how to work out how to draw things you didn’t know how to draw before), then webcomics are one of the best ways to directly transfer the contents of your imagination onto the page (or the screen).

In addition to this, one advantage that webcomics have over mediums like film and literature is the fact that you are in total control of how everything is presented. If you want to give your webcomic a more “realistic” look (if you’ve had enough practice) then you can. However, if you want to use a more unrealistic art style in order to compliment the kinds of stories and/or jokes that you are telling, then you can also do this too.

Plus, if you post your comics online (hence why I’ve been talking about “webcomics”, rather than just “comics”) you also have a lot more control over the size and format of the comics that you make (eg: some of the most creative examples of this can be found in an excellent webcomic called “Subnormality” by Winston Rowntree).

The worldwide distribution costs of your webcomic can be anything from nothing to very little. Again, this is another reason why webcomics can do more than any other medium – with only a fraction of the budget and/or no budget.

You can also do things like adding animations to your comics too (I haven’t done this with any of my more recent comics but, with the right skills and a few basic programs, it’s certainly possible to turn a comic update into an animated gif).

Because of all of this additional flexibility, webcomics are able to do all sorts of things that would require a significant budget in various other mediums.

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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂