Rating: 
Summary: He's over the TOP, and I love 'em'
Review: I have read all Matt's book, ICE STATION is my favorite.
He's over-the-top, utterly outragous, and I Just Love HIM.!
So much action I feel like I'm watching a Hollywood action movie.!
Rating: 
Summary: A plot too far ...
Review: I like action novels, especially if they have a technical element. Reilly's "Scarecrow", desite claims of technical advice from ex-military, was not only beyond implausible, it was laughable. Some of the antics were schoolboy-imagination stuff; way, way beyond credulity. This is my first and last Reilly experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much!!!
Review: I loved Reilly's Ice Station and it's over the top action. One of the best parts about it was that the future of man kind wasn't at stake, it was just about survival. Scarecrow is a way, way over the top read pitting a few good-guys against hundreds of disposable bad guys. There is plenty of fun and crazy action but it is way out of hand. That's probably a sticking point for Reilly fans. One final note, the way that one of the important supporting characters was dispatched was totally messed up. I Didn't see it coming, that's for sure but I can't say that I liked the way it went down.
Rating:
Summary: You'll either love it or hate it...
Review: I recently finished Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly. This is one of those techno-thrillers that you will either love for the constant action or hate because it's so implausible. I tend towards the constant action guilty pleasure end of the spectrum... :-)Shane Schofield, a Marine with the code name Scarecrow, is leading a mission to Siberia to attack some rebels who are holding the world hostage with a threat to fire off nuclear missiles. But when he gets there, he finds that he is the quarry of a number of bounty hunters who are after him and want his head to claim the $18 million reward. And he's just one of 15 people on this worldwide list of targets. He has to figure out who's on the list, why they are on the list, who's sponsoring the hunt, and stop the resulting terror that's about to be unleashed by these people if they are not stopped. And by the way, he needs to stay alive himself. Reilly purposely writes a novel that is designed to be constant cliffhanger action. The scenarios are usually made up of insurmountable odds, which he then beats. The escapes are improbable and spectacular, and if you're of the "hate it" camp, you'll quickly tire of the leaps of believability that you'll have to make to stay with the story. But if you suspend belief and read it for what it is, an action-filled "Indiana Jones" type adventure, it's a lot of fun. I'm not sure I'd recommend this to everyone, but if you just want an escape, it's great fun.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably nuts
Review: I've read all the other Matthew Reilly books and I've found them all to be fast paced and exciting.
This one was just plain ridiculous. Ejecting out of a plane at mach 3, pulled out of a sub at 100m depth with no breathing or pressure equipment - these are just some of the nuttier stuff that happens. Sure it's fiction, but even fiction needs to make sense. Schofield might as well be Superman.
I must say even his first ever work (Contest) was much better than this. This was just a cop-out.
Rating: 
Summary: Moves faster than all the Bond & Dirk Pitt books COMBINED...
Review: I've said it before, nobody, but NOBODY can write with the intensity of the fabulous Australian Wonder, Matthew Reilly. His writing is like captured energy that once caught, the only outlet is the written page, and WE readers are the true benefactors of his boundless imagination. Now if you haven't read Matthew Reilly before, there is one absolutely critical step you MUST take before beginning one of his novels: you HAVE to turn OFF your believability meter before starting page 1. Do this one simple thing and remember that Reilly writes books to do one thing only: entertain and provide fine brain candy -- remember these steps and his novels suddenly become just amazing vehicles of pure fun. Shane 'Scarecrow' Schofield, who first hit the scene in Reilly's 'Ice Station' and next in 'Area 7' takes center stage in this tale about a Billion-Dollar Group that offers incredible bounties on the literal heads of 15 men around the world who all have just one thing in common -- but finding out what that one *thing* is, well that is all part of the fun of 'Scarecrow'. This novel, like everything by Reilly doesn't take long to go from zero to Warp Speed, so be prepared to hold on tight as the pages just fly by, even if you are a slow reader like me. Every now and then I read a quote by one of the *so-called* professional book reviewers who say the certain novels had frantic pacing, fast-as-lightning storyline and other similar quotes, but NONE of them accurately describe the tremendous difference between *other* action/adventure authors and what Matthew Reilly manages to put on the written page. Sure, his books are flat out unbelievable -- but so are the James Bond movies and MOST of the plots in the Dirk Pitt series, but Reilly is in a class all by himself. Just when you believe that the Scarecrow simply cannot find a way out of certain-death situations, suddenly, miraculously, a seemingly impossible opening becomes available which allows him to cheat death just one more time. The trusty Maghook makes several appearances to help avert death once or twice along the way, making the action sequences almost beyond description. Again, over-the-top but Reilly writes with his tongue planted firmly in cheeck knowing that we are all scratching our heads either thinking we're reading unbelievable trash, or wondering how in the WORLD can the pace possibly become ANY faster, all the while enjoying every moment. At the end Matthew informs us that in order to write better novels, he is pulling back how quickly his books come out -- much to the dismay of his many (and growing) fanbase. However slow he pumps out the literary Tomohawk missles, I suppose I'd rather have a *good* Reilly novel every 2 years rather than a so-so book every 12 months. In short, crack the book, check your believability meter, sit back, buckle in and hold on tight because you will NEVER find a novel with more action than you will within the pages of something with Matthew Reilly's name on the cover. 'Scarecrow' was as fine as brain candy can get. Nothing earth shattering, nothing intellectual, nothing even remotely believable -- but it's tough to find a book that is as all-out entertaining per-page as this one (unless its something else written BY Reilly). Can't wait to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Written like a comic book
Review: Ice Station was bearable, Temple ok if Tylenol was handy, but since then the works of this author have slid downhill. This latest effort is nothing more than a comic book in prose form. There is no pretense, as the author fully admits, to any characterization--every character is a cardboard entity. The plot is silly and there are cliff-hangers every 4-5 pages or so. Our hero survives all 50-60 of these, usually by using one device only--used so often that one can predict how he will extricate himself from death without turning the page. The author claims it takes him about two years to complete a book--I wonder what else he was doing? This one was written in about two months. The prose is simple and easy to read, but the book is all but devoid of any thoughts crossing the characters' minds. This book is non-stop cartoon action, but after about 20 close escapes from death, it becomes tedious. Pictures without words would suffice here. But, this book may appeal to many. If you are one of the few who find Douglas Preston's and Lincoln Child's books too slow and wordy, you may like this one.
Rating:
Summary: SCARECROW IS THE ACTION THRILLER WIZARD'S MASTERPIECE!
Review: IMAGINE BEING CALLED IN TO MAKE A RAID ON A TERRORIST HELD ABANDONNED MILITARY INSTALLATION, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT YOU WERE SET UP AS THE TARGET OF THE LARGEST BOUNTY HUNT IN HISTORY, AND YOU WILL GET AN IDEA OF THE DANGER SHANE SCHOFIELD IS IN!
MATTHEW REILLY'S BEST BOOK YET!!! THOUGH SHORT ON BELIEVABILITY, ENOUGH SHOOTOUTS, CHASE SEENS, AND HAIR BREATH ESCAPES FOR TEN ACTION PACKED THRILLERS!
WOW, AND I THOUGHT "ICE STATION MOVED FAST...THIS ONE BLOWS IT AWAY!
FORGET THE DA VINCI CODE, OR CUSSLER'S LATEST PITT BOOK, THIS ONE MOVES FASTER THAN A ROLLER COASTER DOING 200 MILES PER HOUR!
MORE THRILLS PER PAGE THAN YOU ARE LIKELY TO READ THIS, OR ANY YEAR!
JUST PICK THIS ONE UP, STRAP YOURSELF IN, AND HOLD ON TIGHT, CAUSE YOU'RE IN FOR ONE HELL OF A THRILL RIDE WITH "SCARECROW"
I HOPE HE PUTS OUT MORE SHANE SCHOFIELD NOVELS, CAUSE THEY MAKE CUSSLER'S DIRK PITT LOOK LIKE AN INVALID IN A REST HOME!(AND I'M A BIG DIRK PITT FAN!)
WAY TO GO, MATT!!! PLEASE KEEP WRITING!
Rating:
Summary: Superbly implausible.
Review: Impossible describes this book quite nicely, but if you're willing to pretend that Scholfield has the power to slow down time and has esp, then, you can believe it. The first few pages got me into the book, but as I read on, I realized that things were a little too far-fetched. When I think a book is too over the top, who knows what other's think? Nevertheless, it keeps you in the story and has cool characters, so that's 3 stars. The book is peppered with cliff-hangers like "The plane crashed in the sea and exploded with enough force to kill anyone in it." Then on the next page it says "It did explode, but Scarecrow wasn't in it. He had leaped out and was now parachuting to the ground while peppering the hapless bounty hunters with his trusty M-5." Not great realism here. Just pretend Shane Scholfield is Neo from the matrix, and you're in for a sweet ride.
Rating:
Summary: Outrageous and entertaining to the end
Review: Matthew Reilly admits that he set out to make this book a faster book that was more densely packed with plot than his previous books. Unbelievably, considering how action-packed his earlier books were, not only has he done it, but this book has stepped the action-thriller up a couple of notches. It's action on steroids. Shane 'Scarecrow' Schofield is one of 15 targets of a worldwide bounty hunt. The bounty on each target's head is over $18 million, enough to lure the best bounty hunters in the world and setting up a series of showdowns of monumental proportions. Scarecrow pretty quickly finds himself with 2 primary objectives. The first and most obvious is to try to stay alive. The second is to try to save the world. After all, what self-respecting super-thriller hasn't got a hero-saves-the-world scenario? As has been proven in the 2 earlier Schofield romps, he's a hard man to kill and can get out of every hopeless situation, usually with fractions of seconds to spare and this book is certainly no different. What is different is the introduction of a new ally for Schofield. One could almost term him his alter ego the Black Knight is the perfect complement to Schofield coming with an almost endless supply of weapons and nifty gadgets. His inclusion, acting as Scarecrow's guardian angel throughout the bounty hunt doubles the outrageous antics and death defying escapes. Know this before you start the book. The premise is so totally outrageous the book could probably be listed in the fantasy section. But that's not the point. The point is, it's meant to be 100 per cent action and non-stop entertainment and that's what it delivers. If you're not prepared to totally suspend belief for around 450 pages for the sake of a rollicking good adventure then you shouldn't even start this book.
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