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Scarecrow Returns (Scarecrow #5)

4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 · rating details · 2,915 ratings · 290 reviews

Deep in the Arctic, a long-forgotten Soviet military base enshrouds a weapon of unimaginably destructive force—a Cold War doomsday device with the power to obliterate the planet. When a mysterious and brutal terrorist group known as the Army of Thieves seizes control of the remote base and unleashes the weapon upon an unsuspecting world, there is only one team close enough...more

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Published October 12th 2011 by Simon & Schuster (first published 2011)

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Jun 22, 2012 Nader Elhefnawy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scarecrow Returns is Reilly's first Shane Scofield novel since Scarecrow (2003), almost eight years earlier, and naturally I was looking forward to it. When I heard about this novel's premise, though, I had some doubts. It felt like a return to his older books (like Ice Station), which I'd enjoyed, but which he seemed to have moved past to more complex stories (like Scarecrow and the Jack West books). Additionally, two decades after the Cold War's end the idea of a Soviet superweapon would seem...more Scarecrow Returns is Reilly's first Shane Scofield novel since Scarecrow (2003), almost eight years earlier, and naturally I was looking forward to it. When I heard about this novel's premise, though, I had some doubts. It felt like a return to his older books (like Ice Station), which I'd enjoyed, but which he seemed to have moved past to more complex stories (like Scarecrow and the Jack West books). Additionally, two decades after the Cold War's end the idea of a Soviet superweapon would seem to have passed its "sell-by" date – much as has long become the case with villains left over from the Third Reich - while I wasn't sure what to make of the "Army of Thieves" who comprised the villains, these seeming to be an especially senseless bunch.

Fortunately, the book exceeded my expectations in all these areas. Like the books of "Reilly 1.0" (as Reilly himself refers to his earlier work), Scarecrow Returns is a three-way collision between teams of special-forces soldiers at a high-tech facility in a remote, hostile landscape, but Reilly manages to keep the material fresh, and the plot and action unfold with a smoothness reflecting his now lengthy experience in telling this kind of tale. The battles are as readable as any Reilly has written (at least, when read with the aid of the numerous illustrations), while being as grand in scale and over-the-top as readers have come to expect – which is to say, unequaled by any writer working similar territory today. Reilly's particular variant on the trope of the "left-over Soviet superweapon now on the loose" is a good one, and his villain is in line with his predecessors, at least, when we get behind the mask. The novel also benefits from a number of new touches, ranging from a scene-stealing combat robot named Bertie, to a French vendetta against our hero – and a few memorable plot twists (which I won't spoil here). Additionally, cartoonish as Reilly's characters are, the characterizations are nonetheless a bit fuller and more nuanced here, and their personalities do have a bearing on the tale.

That is not to say that everything is perfect. Reilly is as casual as ever about the technical detail (as in his descriptions of the KH-12 satellite and SS-23 missile), and the editing falters a bit in one of the early action sequences. Such nit-picks aside, Reilly's use of a plot of this kind to explore a real geopolitical issue struck me as less clever this time around, the rationale behind the action comparatively muddled, especially when compared with the almost psychic perceptiveness of the villain. Still, on the whole it's a very satisfying read if you're up for this kind of adventure, and fans of previous books are likely to find it well worth their time. However, given the extent to which events in the previous novels bear on the story in Scarecrow Returns, readers new to the series might want to check out the previous installments first.(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, action, read_2011

Q. What do you get when you cross a GI-Joe with an Energiser Bunny, a Michael Bay movie, and explosions straight out of Team America?

A. Shane Schofield – codename: Scarecrow

Matthew Reilly’s sequel to ‘Scarecrow’ is every bit as exciting and tense as its predecessor with our dependable hero once again at the coalface of worlds end with little more than a maghook and small band of civilians and marines to counter an army – The Army of Thieves. The mission pits Scarecrow against a formidable foe a...more

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May 16, 2013 Vijai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"...he stood up and laid down a shitload of fire"

There, that's my man Reilly dishing out an action scene the way it is supposed to be. Profanity, heart thumping last-second action sequences, claustrophobia inducing movement depiction, a robot going ape shit on your enemies, Ospreys, missiles, submarines...hold on...let me catch my breath a bit, OK?.....phew!...where were we? Oh yeah, describing a quintessential Matthew Reilly book on Scarecrow.

Look, don't pick a Matthew Reilly book looking for...more

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Nov 16, 2011 apple rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: techno-thriller

Never judge a book by its Hollywood-grade blockbuster-like cover -- this is an exceptionally enjoyable piece of literature. Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves should win the Pulitzer Prize for best special effects or something. The author stated in book acknowledgement that he writes to entertain -- Mr. Reilly, sir, you did more than entertain. You made Action an art form. I challenge any of those award-winning postmodern Latin American writers whose names I cannot spell to write a faceoff scene...more

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May 03, 2013 Hamish rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves is Matthew Reilly's latest instalment in the Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield thriller series. It follows the mission of Scarecrow and a small team of equipment-testing scientists to foil the plot of a group of terrorists. The terrorists, who have named themselves the "Army of Thieves", have taken over an old Soviet-era base and activated a weapon which, if detonated, would destroy most of the land of the northern hemisphere, killing millions of people. Scarecrow's m...more

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Apr 20, 2013 B.G.M. Hall rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After the planetary menace and globe-trotting scale of the Jack West Jr series, this book sees Reilly come back to the claustrophobic settings of his earlier works - this time a former Soviet weapons base in the Arctic (with side characters running around DC) and a somewhat more realistic bad guy and evil plot. There's still a bit of Q’s first law of unlikely but ultimately useful gizmos, in that the heroes are given or acquire many cool gadgets that you’d never expect them to be able to use and...more

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Apr 13, 2013 DT rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my favorite series by my favorite beach writer of all time. It's ridiculous wall-to-wall action with minimal narrative and almost no feelings. Warm sun, great beach, cold beer, Matthew Reilly.

Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield is one of those guys with whom you don't want to hang out. As an elite Marine recon officer, he consistently finds himself in situations where everybody around him tends to wind up dead. Over the course of the series, Reilly has run Schofield all over the globe and place...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a crazy-fast read; it took me maybe three hours from start to finish. It really reminded me of his first couple of books I read [Temple, Ice Station] - not that that is a bad thing. It's crazy because it is filled with bizarre polar bears, advanced weapons and not-so-advanced weapons, theoretical weapons, ultimate Cold War secret weapon[s] [scorched Earth scenario], nukes, submarines, guns, jerks, arrogant jerks, explosions, a terrorist 'army', various special forces units, civilia...more This book was a crazy-fast read; it took me maybe three hours from start to finish. It really reminded me of his first couple of books I read [Temple, Ice Station] - not that that is a bad thing. It's crazy because it is filled with bizarre polar bears, advanced weapons and not-so-advanced weapons, theoretical weapons, ultimate Cold War secret weapon[s] [scorched Earth scenario], nukes, submarines, guns, jerks, arrogant jerks, explosions, a terrorist 'army', various special forces units, civilians stepping out of their comfort zones, enemies forced to work together for a greater good, assassins [I assume that's what they were], a semi-abandoned Soviet base in the Arctic, a plot twist I never saw coming, and a wounded hero who just won't quit.

One thing I liked about Shane Scofield was that despite the wound[s] to his soul and spirit after Libby Gant was brutally murdered in Scarecrow, he does not turn into some kind of moody anti-hero who doesn't want to help anybody until finally forced into a confrontation. Instead, despite the heartbreak of failing to save his love, he [through the help of Mother] was able to stay true to his core beliefs and values and rise above the pain to once again be the right man at the wrong place at the wrong time to save the world. He refuses to leave anybody behind if physically possible (view spoiler). He values human life [well, human life as long as the person is not 'a "BAD" guy']. He exhibits amazing character strength throughout this book and his other stories [I have read the 1st three but not been able to find a copy of the novella about him].

I think this book does a nice job of humanizing Scarecrow and Mother. We find out Scarecrow has given up on the 'experts' hired by the military and instead has been seeking treatment/help with a woman who is 'real.' And by real, the woman is in her forties, a psychologist, and has two children; her 'patients' meet in her home's basement and there are times she has to tell her children to quiet down due to their being too noisy and interrupting therapy sessions. It was a nice touch, I felt. We also find out that Mother is going through some issues of her own later in the book. Other than the scene in Scarecrow [where she saves his life by keeping him from committing suicide], she has come across as more of a sidekick/bodyguard/robot and quite so human. I felt it was also a nice touch humanizing Mother as well. He has mentioned in previous novels that he does not focus too much on character development in his stories, yet Scarecrow and Mother have changed over the course of the novels, so there has been character development of a sort that has occurred in their lives. Of course, I do not read his books to see how a character 'develops' or changes by the end of the story; I read his books because they are fast-paced, impossibly crazy, and highly entertaining.

The French bounty and French commandos were a nice touch. Baba was crazy and entertaining. Renard was a nice touch as well; a perfect assassin, it would seem, with wounds as well. I enjoyed the American President's describing his conversation with the French President about the bounty - not sure why, but it struck me as hilarious. It was interesting to see how the Americans and French would have to work together to save the world [don't think this is too much of a plot spoiler - of course the world is going to be saved; what we don't know is who will still be alive at the very end].

The only 'downside' is that America [via the CIA] is once again portrayed as being the villain. It does get old, after a while. But it still makes sense [about the CIA] because we only hear about the Agency's screw-ups and mistakes in the news; we rarely hear about their 'successes' [and with good reason]. One thing I thought was very interesting and enlightening was when the double-plot twist came out and Scofield looked at the satellite view of the Northern Hemisphere with a new-found perspective. I think it was fairly enlightening for me as well, because I know I was looking at the charts - graphs - pictures [whatever you want to call them] with the same original perspective as well. This view is probably an unfortunate sideaffect of governments having to keep secrets from the citizenry for the 'greater good. Who knows.

Overall, an enjoyable book. Some of the torture scenes were crazy and made me cringe. But still, a fast read and another I enjoyed.

(less)

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Nov 13, 2012 Josh rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hate giving bad reviews, within every book/film/song i strive to find something i not only like, but also respect and admire. This novel has nothing, well next to nothing. The torture scene half-way through was pretty intense...the only part of this action packed novel that is.
My main issue with this story is the undeniable fact that it is a complete rip-off of Metal Gear Solid. Let me reiterate for you.
In MGS an all star group of terroists (who are in fact a rogue US special forces unit/s...more I hate giving bad reviews, within every book/film/song i strive to find something i not only like, but also respect and admire. This novel has nothing, well next to nothing. The torture scene half-way through was pretty intense...the only part of this action packed novel that is.
My main issue with this story is the undeniable fact that it is a complete rip-off of Metal Gear Solid. Let me reiterate for you.
In MGS an all star group of terroists (who are in fact a rogue US special forces unit/secret branch of the Pentagon) who take control of a secret US nuclear testing facility in the Arctic which turns out to be the home of a new US nuclear weapon called Metal Gear (a walking battle tank that can launch a stealth nuke). And to save the day, a retired (tho still young) legendary soldier called Solid Snake is sent in to destroy Metal Gear, beat the bad guys and save the world.
Now compare that to Army of Thieves. An all star group of terriots (who are in fact rogue CIA agents) takes control of a secret 'russian' testing facility in the ARCTIC!!! that is in fact the home of a new weapon that could destroy the world. And to save the day, a legendary soldier called Scarecrow and his team of misfits are sent in to destroy the weapon, beat the bad guys and save the world.
Spot any similarities??? I certainly did. There are parts of the story that follow MGS' almost bit for bit. Even to the extent that Scarecrow is captured and tortured at almost the same time in the novel as Snake was in the game??!
The other thorn in this story's paw is there's just too much action, no real storytelling, no pause for breath, just constant action. As well as cock-ups, everything the good guys try to do fails spectacularly, now either they've been cursed or they're the unluckiest people in the world. Seriously, read it and you'll know exactly what i mean just 50 pages in. You'll get half way thru and think, no, surely the good guys will get the upper hand now, surely they've adapted and overcome the problems facing them and will start to win. But no, they don't, they just blunder on, cockup after cockup until somehow they save the day. Its so annoying!
The writing also feels like an 18 year old wrote it, or the very least the guy who wrote the screenplay to all those tacky american war movies where all the soldiers talk tough and jibe one another and have silly nicknames that sum each of them up in the most stereotypical way. It's that tacky!
I have never given a book a 1 star review before, i never thought there could be a book that pissed me off as much as this one has, like i said i strive to find the best in all books/movies/songs as they are pieces of art that someone has taken a lot of time to create, a lot of thought goes into them. But this one is not the case. Decide for yourselves, but for me this will always be a cheap ripoff that couldnt live up to the originals very high standards. (less)

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Aug 05, 2012 James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: military

This is book five in the military thriller series featuring Captain Shane Schofield, Call Sign Scarecrow. Like the other books in the series, this one starts fast and never slows down. Each chapter brings another impossible situation for Scarecrow to overcome. And, somehow he always does. A long-forgotten Soviet military base deep in the Arctic houses a weapon of unimaginably destructive force, a Cold War doomsday device that will literally ignite the atmosphere. A mysterious and brutal terroris...more

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May 04, 2012 Robin Carter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-thriller

There is a famous quote that is perfect for Scarecrow

"If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton (1885-1945)

It sums up the character of the lead in this book Scarecrow, his utter can do.
The thing is you have to accept right from the start that this book is utterly OTT, the action the drama, the violence the weapons, its all so much larger than life. And thats the charm of it, i read this book after while feeling sick as hell with flu, and yet this book put a smile on...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Gopal Iyer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The ULTIMATE HERO is back. Book 5 of the Shane Schofield series (Scarecrow And The Army of Thieves) is bigger, better and deadlier than ever.

Anarchy... That is the theme in the latest Shane Schofield adventure. Matt Reilly sets this book on the other side of the hemisphere from the Ice Station. Artic Circle - the home to The Dragon an cold war Soviet base which has an atmospheric weapon which when unleashed will cause acid rains on the entire northern hemisphere bringing untold damage to Russia,...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Passing Stranger rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awful rubbish, even by techno-thriller standards.

Good grief this is terrible. I have not purchased this book, nor do I plan to ever buy anything written by Reilly, this book really is that bad.
First how I came to read it (or rather the first thirteen pages and skimmed the rest); I was waiting for my niece in a bookstore and decided to sample the book. That's several minutes I'd like Mr. Reilly and his publishers to return.

OK, it's a techno-thriller so characterisation, plot plausibility, dialogu...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Timothy Dalton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is also titled Scarecrow Returns in case there is any confusion. Lets get down to it, first off I've read several Reilly books in the past, but this was not one of his better ones. His books have always been far fetched beyond imagination and this is the kind of novel I like to classify as "candy" books. They are pretty much all meat and no potatoes, absolutely no other fruits and veggies or milk! GOT MILK!
Moving on, the pulse pounding action never depletes, it just keeps going like s...more This book is also titled Scarecrow Returns in case there is any confusion. Lets get down to it, first off I've read several Reilly books in the past, but this was not one of his better ones. His books have always been far fetched beyond imagination and this is the kind of novel I like to classify as "candy" books. They are pretty much all meat and no potatoes, absolutely no other fruits and veggies or milk! GOT MILK!
Moving on, the pulse pounding action never depletes, it just keeps going like some cracked out energizer bunny. The dialogue is beyond cliche and corny sometimes, but once again that is what his books are all about. The book only takes one perhaps maybe two deviations from the action and battle scenes to delve into the character development and background. The reason I even dare to give it 4 stars is because I do believe it is only worthy of 3 and a half, but it was a book purely written for this type of over the top action so I'll forgive that and round it up this time. However, as much as I like to read his adrenaline laced books I do draw a line in the sand, although a hazy one that it may be. Reilly decided to cross the line, and I'm not just saying he stepped across it gingerly. He took a running start and pole vaulted across that sucker! There will be spoilers below, but first before I lay it on with the spoilers let me say I really did like his concept behind the terrorists and their plan to destroy the world (<-- Insert Dr. Evil laugh anywhere here!). The idea was actually a little fascinating and well thought out in it's procedure:

***SPOILERS***

In the book volumes of baddies are said to go down with a bullet "..right between the eyes." How about a bullet slightly off center once in while buddy. Anyway, guys are dropping off like acid trippers at a KORN concert and then of course one of the good guys takes a shot to the noggin' and we are left thinking he is dead. BUZZER SOUND - WRONG, the guy manages to plant explosives around the perimeter before taking off with a one way ticket to meet Hades. But you know what, WHATEVER, this happens in the Reilly universe all the time. However, this brings me to my next point. The impossible happens, Scarecrow himself, AKA Shane Scholfield, DIES (Pssst....he's the main character by the way)!!! Oh shizzle, did I just say that? YUP I did, he dies! Oh but it's all good, because he gets brought back to life by a little robot two minutes and 30 million dead brain cells later. At this point during my reading, it has clearly jumped the shark. Remember that pole vault I mentioned earlier, yeah that was it. But it doesn't stop there a count down commences, and a nuke is headed their way. After several Maghook little adventures and more death they are down to 5 minutes to spare. THE CLOCK IS TICKING PEOPLE! Okay first off, I'm not saying I'm an elite military guy, I did my service for the country, nor am I saying I'm a superhero, but I'm not out of shape by any means either. But it takes me at least 3 minutes to leave my house run down the block and get back with the mail. Shane and his buddies are able to run across a whole post Cold War military complex, down 3-4 floors of stairs and probably some not up to code by OSHA standards or well maintained ladders along the way into a bunker. Oh, and one soldier has a hole through her stomach, so you know she isn't up to snuff for any 440 sprints.

Anyway, Reilly fans should rejoice because he has given them exactly what they want, a non-stop thriller.((less)

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Jan 17, 2012 Marianne Søiland rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reilly strikes again! No one writes hard core action thrillers like this author! I am thoroughly amazed and gets totally blown away! This novel contains nonstop: explosions, bullets flying, rocket launchers boom'ing, totally unbelievable stunts, a litte bit conspiracy, a touch of romance, some lame conversations and our hero Scarecrow who handles it all. People with heart problems should be warned about this book, and action junkies can use this novel as their daily fix. There are no slow parts...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Rohan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Admittedly I was initially uncomfortable with the constantly repetitous swearing, blasphemy and graphic descriptions of torture but with Matthew Reilly novels thats what you always get, in sequence with outrageously staged action scenes and scenerios and thats why his fans love him. I think for the most part they are better storylines than most Bond films.

After a slow start I became to more engrossed in this book to the point where I finished it off in a 3-4 hour read. It was great to get back...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Jedidiah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I always look forward to new Matthew Reilly books, and it was good to see Scarecrow again, but something is missing. For starters, it's short; the epic plot idea translated to a brief small-scale rescue mission. It was good but nothing on the level of Reilly's previous stuff; after the grand storylines of the Jack West Jr books I was a little letdown. I also didn't care much for the new "character", Bertie the robot, it just felt like a cheap deus ex machina. And there's no way that one robot co...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Tyson Adams rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok,

I am a great lover of Matthew Reilly’s books, I have read them all. I find them exciting, action packed, edge of your seat reads that always leave me breathless but with the urge to go and join the marines.

And Scarecrow and the Army of the Thieves didn’t disappoint………much.

It had all the things that make the Scarecrow novels brilliant, fast paced writing, huge action sequences, thrilling escapes and diabolical bad guys, but this one just seemed, I don’t know, a little forced. The writing just...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Randy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading a Matthew Reilly novel invokes that old saying, "Hold on to you butts, we're going for a ride. The story will start off fast and then speed up.

In this one, The Army of Thieves have conducted a series of raids, one a month, that netted them nine billion in Euros, a ship full of modern weaponry, a host of American flight vehicles from a base in Afghanistan, and released about a thousand of the worst criminals from prisons in Sudan and Peru.

And they've taken over Dragon Island.

At the top of...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Matt does it again.. Read this front to back in about 8 hours and what a ride!! Scarecrow has already provided plenty of thrills and spills in the previous novels and Army of Thieves is no surprise.. there are some HUGE twists in this and Matt always leaves the mind wandering at the end... work of warning, there are some VERY intense scenes that might not be for those with a soft stomach!!. If you love action and thrillers then I highly recommend Matts latest masterpiece..

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Feb 12, 2012 Franwella rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: matthew-reilly

A scarred and broken hero is once again our only hope. There's no one quite like Scarecrow; determined, tough, honest, and more than a little bit sexy ;)

Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves is a superb read. Action packed and fast moving, it's hard to put down. It's hard to believe that the book spans just five hours. Possibly the last hours an unsuspecting world has. Scarecrow's team, in this book, is eclectic; a loyal friend, a couple of trained Marines, a few brave civilians and one gusty littl...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Ashish rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You've read the Scarecrow (and Hell Island) and you're thinking what else can the Scarecrow do. Matthew Reilly has taken you to reading highs that you can't imagine and then you think. There is no way he can beat that.

HE JUST DID. SCARECROW AND THE ARMY OF THIEVES DELIVERS....AND HOW!!!

This book goes beyond "Scarecrow" and genuinely takes Shane Schofield where he has never been before. Shane is the warrior who will not give up and never say die. And the villain in this novel is exactly the kind...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Jack Silkstone rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

High Speed Low Drag! It's really the only way to describe Reilly's latest Scarecrow novel.

Reilly is the master of action, not realistic action, but crazy off the planet, balls to the wall, slightly obscene, blood curdling, adrenaline pumping ACTION! You come away from one of his novels with a high heart rate and that woozy post roller coaster feeling. This is what Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves promises and by f#$k it's what it delivers.

Beware.... fans of Brad Thor, Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn o...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Bradley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

A good and typical piece by Reilly, "Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves" is a nice followup to Scarecrow and continues the intense action and near-mania of his fiction. This book expertly demonstrates why mindless action books are so entertaining and fun to read, to the extent that they become literary "drugs" for their audience and cause them to continue to read the series (as long as they are available at the time) one after the other (see the Vince Flynn series as a perfect example...and one t...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Abhinav Neelam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Matthew Reilly's interview at the end of the book was illuminating. One of the things he mentions is that he only writes a new book if he's convinced it can outdo earlier books in some way. Can it be pacier? More epic in scope? Grittier? More impossible? This is illuminating because with 'Army of Thieves' does all this, and more.

Our man Scarecrow, now deemed 'damaged goods' after the psychological trauma of his girlfriend's beheading (in the last book), is shipped off in a product testing missio...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Debbie Bennett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh, I love this stuff. All action hero Scarecrow returns again - and this time he only has two hours to save the Earth. Armed with his trusty maghook, right-hand (wo)man 'Mother' and a gang of civvies, he's off to the arctic to do battle with teh bad guys once again. Lots of big guns, bigger guns, even bigger guns, planes, bombs - you name it, it's there. Utterly impossible actions scenes, completely implausible plot-lines and yet Reilly can write thrillers like nobody else I've ever read.

There...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Bree T rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, crime, military-thriller, suspense, thriller, saving-the-world

At the top of the world in the Arctic Circle there is a secret base known as Dragon Island. Once the pride of the former USSR’s research into biological warfare, these days it maintains only a skeleton crew. By the time the rest of the world notices something strange has been going on at Dragon Island, it seems that a bunch of random events around the world have come together with a purpose at the arctic base. Prisoners broken out of Chile, American army equipment such as helicopters stolen, the...more At the top of the world in the Arctic Circle there is a secret base known as Dragon Island. Once the pride of the former USSR’s research into biological warfare, these days it maintains only a skeleton crew. By the time the rest of the world notices something strange has been going on at Dragon Island, it seems that a bunch of random events around the world have come together with a purpose at the arctic base. Prisoners broken out of Chile, American army equipment such as helicopters stolen, the disappearance of a Russian tanker loaded with machine guns and ammunition – they’re all connected. An army is rising – the Army of Thieves – and they’re going to use the technology the research facility on Dragon Island developed to basically destroy most of the northern hemisphere.

Unfortunately for the Army of Thieves, they neglected to notice one thing. Already up that way, is a small military American team consisting of just a couple of operatives and some research people who are testing gear in the extreme arctic temperatures for future use. They and a US Navy tanker are the only people in the world who can reach the facility on Dragon Island in the 6 hours before the leader of the Army of Thieves plans to put into place his attack. Even though the military group testing equipment is very small, as soon as the President of the United States hears who is leading that group, he wants them directed to Dragon Island. Immediately.

Because the person leading that group is Captain Shane, callsign “Scarecrow” Schofield. Regarded as a bit of a loose canon since the price on his head that resulted in brutal death of his girlfriend Elizabeth, callsign “Fox” Gant, Scarecrow has been taken out of active duty as such to give his psychological healing more time. With him is Gena, callsign “Mother” Newman and a couple of others with military training and four research developers. Three of the researchers choose to go with Scarecrow but one refuses, remaining behind at the base camp.

If there’s anyone in the world that is up for this monumental task, it’s Scarecrow Schofield. But since the death of Fox and his almost suicide when he heard about it, he’s had four months compassionate leave and has been removed to a remote location of the world because his superiors fear for his mental health. Will he be able to carry out this task against all the odds? Or will he lose yet another person that’s close to him and thereby shattering the rest of his fragile mind.

The Scarecrow novels are a guilty pleasure of mine. I read Ice Station a couple of years ago now after having bought it on a whim not knowing anything about it. It wasn’t really the sort of book that I’d normally choose to buy, I have a feeling it was on a Borders 3 for 2 table and I needed something to be the 3rd book. I really enjoyed it and the feeling of my heart being in my mouth the whole time! I read Scarecrow which is actually the 3rd Scarecrow novel (oops, as Reilly killed off Scarecrow’s girlfriend, known as Fox) and then downloaded Area 7, the 2nd novel, to listen to as an audiobook. Reilly took a long break from writing Scarecrow novels after Scarecrow and I think fans of the books have really wanted to know how the poor guy has been fairing since Fox was beheaded so brutally.

Scarecrow and the Army of Theives is typically action packed with character development generally being very thin on the ground. Reilly does touch on Scarecrow’s mental health (it’s mentioned he’s seen several psychiatrists) and he’s watched carefully by Mother, who seems to be taking it as her personal role to keep him on track and sane. He has nightmares about Fox’s death despite not actually being present when she was killed and it seems like he is coping by being assigned to the testing. He snaps into action in true Scarecrow fashion when he learns of the impending disaster though and before long he’s swinging off his Maghook, avoiding many machine guns and coming up with more plans than a city architect. There’s a little added complication of a French assassin team that haven’t forgiven him for various slights against their country and countrymen but it’s nothing he isn’t able to make work to his advantage!

Given then nature of these books, there was never going to be a really in depth analysis of how Scarecrow was coping, nor would we get scenes with him and Mother having D&M’s. I assume they do, just that Reilly doesn’t write them! Instead we’re pumped full of fast paced action, quick thinking military tactics and Scarecrow and his buddies avoiding death (or not, as the case may be) a million times. There’s also a super cute little robot named Bertie who might’ve become my favourite character.

Fans of the series should enjoy this one.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Aaron Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've been a huge fan of Matthew Reilly's work for several years, and while I enjoyed his last three books centered around the Jack West character, the Scarecrow novels were always my favorite. Thus I was excited to learn that Reilly's uber-Marine hero Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield was being brought back for this novel. In short, I was not disappointed. There is actually a bit more character development in this novel than in some of his others, but it does not get in the way of the seemingly endles...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Keri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, 2012-read, matthew-riley, suspense-action

Marine Captain Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield has been slowly mending in mind and spirit since that last devastating incident. He had even been teaching some of the new recruits. Now his superiors have sent him with a research team up in the Arctic. It seems that the French are still a little bit peeved at Scarecrow and have a bounty on his head. After the third assassin attempt, the government thought it might be prudent for him to lay low for awhile. However, a little group calling themselves the...more Marine Captain Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield has been slowly mending in mind and spirit since that last devastating incident. He had even been teaching some of the new recruits. Now his superiors have sent him with a research team up in the Arctic. It seems that the French are still a little bit peeved at Scarecrow and have a bounty on his head. After the third assassin attempt, the government thought it might be prudent for him to lay low for awhile. However, a little group calling themselves the Army of Thieves have decided that mayhem and murder is the way to go. After several brazen and bold heists, the Army of Thieves have taken over a defunct Russian cold war base. Only it has a doomsday device that was just sitting there and now the bad guys have it. We have five hours to stop them by any means necessary. Luckily Scarecrow just happens to be in the neighborhood and can help out.

But you know nothing is that easy and we are put through the emotional wringer as the five hours spin out in action sequence after fantastic action sequence. Shane is like the energizer bunny and he never gives up. With his sidekick "Mother" on board, he is determined that world won't end today. The bad guys thought they had it all planned out, but they never took into account Scarecrow. There is one eensy-beensy little problem, those pesky French aren't going to be shook off quite that easy. Who knew that they would go so far to send a war class sub to the Arctic to take care of Shane once and for all. Who knew??? Of course they send their best assassin, they evidently had been saving her for last. That is right, a woman and she has a bigger Mag-hook than Scarecrow does!! But as every good Marine knows, it isn't the size of the of the Mag-hook, but how well you wield it, so he ain't skeert. Her call name is Renard by the way with is French for fox. ( if you read the last book you know why this is special.) So is this a sign of better things to come for Shane? I hope so, he sure deserves it after that last cut.

So can Shane's little band of heroes save the world? I hope so, they only have five hours left and the clock is ticking. Make sure you get yourself strapped in for this off the chart adrenalin rush of a read. Please check with your doctor if you have known heart issues, pregnant or may become pregnant before you read this book. The heart pounding thrill ride could induce heart attacks or labor. :-) (less)

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About Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly is a New York Times best-selling author of eight novels that have been published in eighteen languages in twenty countries. He has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.

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“His actions had saved three US cities from annihilation but only a few very high-ranking people knew it. Fairfax was just pleased he could still wear jeans and sneakers to work.” — 4 people liked it

“Mother yelled, 'Christ, this is the craziest snatch'n'grab I've ever seen!'
'It's desperation over style, Mother.' He hurried over to the tail end of the suspended tanker truck, to the two cables that rose up from it to the rim of the massive moat.
'But did you have to destroy everything?' she shouted.
'I haven't destroyed everything yet. Hurry up, this isn't over! This way!” — 4 people liked it

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Scarecrow Returns (Scarecrow #5)

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