Matthew Reilly is an Australian action-thriller author with both stand-alone novels and some series under his belt.
Some elements of his stories is his tendency to turn up the action to level 11 (similar to pulps), and have action scenes that seem similar to “platform” computer games, as his heroes must quickly get across an area fraught with danger. I have enjoyed his works, and look forward to future ones.
He has a few stand-alone works. But I haven’t read any but “Temple,” and found it enjoyable. I thought the hero was pretty interested and wanted to see him again, which is always the problem with stand-alone works. The characters created for them are often so good you want to see them in another story.
His two main series that I have read are Jack West Jr. and Shane Schofield. Despite some issues with the second one, they are both pretty good.
Jack West Jr. is an former Australian solider now teamed up with a professor and trying to stop an ancient threat to the world. He is later joined by several other elite soldiers from different countries. Against them is Jack’s own father, a U.S. general, and several other world leaders who expect to come out on top once the threat is over.
The first novel, “The Seven Ancient Wonders,” has Jack and friends working to save the world. The sequel is actually a two-part story in “The Six Sacred Stones” and “The Five Greatest Warriors,” and has Jack and friends working to save the world again, using a world-wide machine built by an ancient race. While there has been no word on possible further stories, it’s expected the titles will continue the number countdown in the titles.
Shane Schofield, call sign “Scarecrow”, is a U.S. Marine. A former fighter pilot, with scars on his eyelids due to torture (hence his call sign), he is now a recon soldier (as he is legally blind and not allowed to fly). He leads an elite team, who use their call signs almost like superhero codenames. Each novel stands alone, but secondary storylines run through them, so it is best to read them in order.
There are a few elements of this series that don’t seem realistic to me, and yes, I do expect an element of “fantasy” in such series, tho I also expect a certain level of realism. One is after losing his ability to fly aircraft, Schofield is demoted in rank, and has to move back up after re-doing basic training as a recon marine. This doesn’t seem likely, as he would have just made a lateral move and kept his rank.
In the series, various national recon teams each have some signature weapon or tool, with the U.S. Marine recons having a magnetic grappling gun. Again, don’t think this is so, but I let that pass as part of the “fantasy” of the series. Also, we learn of a U.S. Marine helicopter baseship entirely run by Marines. Again, don’t think this would happen. Ships would be run by naval personnel, not Marines. Those with military experience, please feel free to add to this.
Despite this, have enjoyed this series which includes:
- “Ice Station” (1998)
- “Area 7” (2001)
- “Scarecrow” (2003)
- “Hell Island” (2005)
- “Scarecrow Returns” (2012)
“Ice Station” has special forces from various nations fighting to secure what may be a crashed alien spaceship in Antarctica. “Area 7” has special force groups from U.S. military branches fighting each other due to fears that one of the branches will be eliminated. “Scarecrow” has his team stopping a madman trying to start a nuclear war, and having to also fight other special forces groups who are trying to stop him.
“Hell Island” has his team and other special forces groups fighting for survival against an unusual foe. “Scarecrow Returns” has him and his team fighting against a terrorist army. In this series, some of his team get killed in a couple of these, and in “Scarecrow” they met a mercenary who is kind of like Scarecrow’s opposite number — not evil, but someone who has a similar background and experiences and has taken a darker path in life and becomes a some-what ally. He also returns in “Scarecrow Returns.”
Reilly’s latest work is “The Great Zoo of China” (2014). No idea if/when we’ll see the next Scarecrow novel, but hope we get one. I’ve enjoyed his works I have read. Be interesting if the elements I’ve seen in his other works are used in his latest one.
