Scarecrow Returns

There is a small quote at the start of this book that sums up the great new installment in the Scarecrow series:
"The President looked at a wall clock. I was now 5 pm, or 6 am at Dragon. 'Are you telling me that in five hours an unknown force is going to set off some kind of superweapon that will ignite the atmosphere or the northern hemisphere?'
'That's correct sir,' Gordon said. 'We have five hours to save the world.'"

I was looking for a fast paced adventure/thriller novel a few years ago, I was recommended James Rollins. His books are fast. Then I discovered Andy McDermott, his books are Rollins on caffeine. Matthew Reilly books are what you get from the amphetamine addicted, ADD offspring of both authors. Simply, Matt is in a class of show more his own in terms of intense and fast paced thrillers.

Sure these are a big budget action movie on the page, a veritable Michael Bay blockbuster on speed, but that is exactly what makes these books so great. Unlike a Bay movie, however, you don't feel cheap and dirty afterwards.

Scarecrow is my favourite of Matt's series of books. The Jack West Jnr books have become steadily better adventure novels, but Scarecrow is a straight up thriller, and only becoming more intense with each outing. Fans have had a long wait for this latest adventure. The Army of Thieves book was an eight year wait, but the 10 hour non-stop thrill-fest was worth the wait. show less

Easily the strongest book in this high octane, action-packed series. The Scarecrow (Shane Schofield) and his sidekick, Mother (Gena Newman), are working in a remote location in the Arctic Circle, in part because France has a bounty on his head. Meanwhile, a terrorist organization (the Gang of Thieves) has liberated men from two prisons and stolen what seem to be unrelated mostly military items, and seized an abandoned Russian base, where they seek to unleash a weapon to destroy much of the northern hemisphere. Scarecrow is dispatched as s back-up to a full recon force, and become the only hope when the force is destroyed. Then, a French submarine arrives with its top assassin, Renard, to kill Scarecrow. Miraculously, not only does he show more survive, but manages to enlist Renard and team's help. My favorite part of the book was the robot, Bertie, who saves Scarecrow and others more than once. Reminded me of #5 from the movie, Short Circuit. 4.5 stars. show less

A fast paced Action thriller. Good style. Excellent descriptions. Sometimes too much detail. If you loved the detailed Alistair Mc lean thrillers where a fight on a cable car takes 5 pages or a extremely detailed Frederick Forsyth, you will love this. Definitely a faster read than a Forsyth and less twists and counter twists than a Mc Lean. A good read but wouldn't put it down as one of my favorites.

Matthew Reilly’s “Scarecrow Returns” is a good, exciting read, as usual, although I think some of the newness of the series has worn off.

If you’ve never read Reilly before, you must understand what you’re getting into. If you’re looking for character development, literary prose, deep subjects, and such, then move along. Reilly’s books (the Scarecrow and Jack West series specifically) have little to none of that. They are, however, packed with lots of flying bullets, destruction, gore, amazing (but wholly unbelievable) stunts, and truly non-stop action. They’re fun to read.

Back to “Scarecrow Returns.” Here, we find Marine Captain Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield and his team working in the Arctic. A diabolical madman show more and his “Army of Thieves” have taken over an old Soviet base and plan on doing serious damage to Earth and much of its inhabitants. How they intended to do so is pretty cool, although probably completely unrealistic.

Along with Scarecrow and his sidekick Mother, a few others join him in his mission, including Bertie, a little mobile robot. Even for Reilly, Bertie’s a little over the top.

My only real beef with the book (other than Bertie) is that Scarecrow’s frequent means of getting out of trouble—his Maghook—is getting a little clichéd. But if you’re looking for pure escapism, a good guy vs. bad guy action-packed story, it’s hard to go wrong with Reilly. show less

Matthew Reilly's "Scarecrow Returns" doesn't uncover any new ground in the series of adventures that have featured Reilly's favorite on-going character, but it shouldn't disappoint fans of the series.

As per the formula connected to the series, Scarecrow (Capt. Shane Schofield) and his faithful Amazonian sidekick, Mother (Gunnery Sgt. Gena Newman) are put in one fantastic situation after another. In this adventure, Scarecrow and crew (the rest of the troop is made up of a couple of other Marines and some civilians studying a scientific site in the Arctic) are the closest "force" in proximity to a potentially disastrous situation involving an old Soviet scientific base that was heavy into the creation of nuclear, biological, and other show more super-nasty weaponry. The former Soviet base has been taken over by a group known only as the "Army of Thieves" and their leader, The Lord of Anarchy. Their plan: set the atmosphere of the Northern Hemisphere on fire using technology stolen from a variety of countries, including the U.S, by exploding red uranium spheres high in the air and then letting the Jet Stream move the fire across the world.

Of course, our heroes can't let that happen and almost the entire book is a runaway thrill-a-thon as Reilly describes their efforts in graphic detail. Readers new to Reilly will want to suspend their powers of disbelief to enjoy the book. If not, they will hurt themselves shaking their heads.
Reilly fans, however, are in for plenty more of what Scarecrow and Mother provide. Video game-like action and scenarios that keep the reader breathless while turning pages. The weaponry is great, characters memorable, and action never ending.

Highly recommended for fans of the series. show less

I have to start off saying I am a huge fan of Matthew Reilly and his Scarecrow books are my favorites but somehow this one just did not feel the same. It's been years since the last book but I do not recall there being this much swearing in the past books. It does have the usual over the top action and implausible scenarios that I've come to expect and love from Reilly.

Scarecrow is still recovering from the horrible death of his girlfriend Gant and it was interesting finding out the course of treatment that lead him to be able to return to duty. I was happy to see Mother back and having Scarecrow's back but there is the small tangent story about her marital issues due to her devotion to Scarecrow that I felt was unnecessary and just out show more of place.

What I did love was Bertie, the experimental robot that makes up part of the research team Scarecrow is babysitting. He kind of reminds me of a loveable Number 5 from the Short Circuit movie (and yes I realize I am dating myself here). He is integral to Scarecrow surviving some of the most harrowing situations we have seen him encounter so far.

The truth behind the Army of Thieves was my favorite part of the story. It is full of those twists and turns that is so unbelievably sick and conspiracy theory-ish(I know, not a real word) that it does kind make you wonder if it is so far fetched that there may be a grain of truth in it.

While not one of my favorites from Reilly I was hooked on the book and it was nice to see Scarecrow back despite a few rough spots. show less

This was extremely brutal at times, but I love how Matthew Reilly always manages to write a book that is pure action and excitement. Can't wait for the next installment!