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Read Scarecrow (2005)

Scarecrow (2005)

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Rating
4.2 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0312937660 (ISBN13: 9780312937669)
Language
English
Publisher
st. martin's paperbacks

Scarecrow (2005) - Plot & Excerpts

Escapist literature gets a lot of leeway with me. I mean, it’s there for the sole purpose of passing someone’s downtime. Characters are usually walking clichés, and the plot revolves around something along the lines of: “we only have X amount of time to do something or Y is going to happen.” I’m okay with this simplicity. But I do have a problem when authors of escapist literature think that their readers are a bunch of morons. I admit, I may not know all the technical details or the makes and models of all the weaponry, but trust me when I say I don’t really need to know all that. What I do need is nonstop action, a few tense moments, writing that is passable, and possibly even a love scene or two. Other than that, I’ll go to the capital L literary section.Matthew Reilly seems to know my wants. He creates great characters, a suspenseful plot (even if it is outrageously unbelievable) and enough action that would make any adrenaline junky satiated. ICE STATION was awesome. CONTEST was fun with a sci-fi element. And then there is SCARECROW. This story follows one Shane Schofield, military badass. There is price on his head and some of the other leading heroes and villains of the world. Someone wants them all dead. The story is pretty straightforward: fight, escape, fight some more, escape again in a ridiculously clever way, fight some more, escape, and fight some more…and then Reilly throws a wrench at the reader. HE KILLS OFF ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTERS IN THIS SERIES. Okay, I could go on for hours how stupid it is when an author kills of a likeable character, but I’ll keep my mouth shut. Let’s just say, and I’m speaking directly to you Mr. Reilly, you better write one heck of a follow up to this novel.Where was I…oh, yes. SCARECROW is a prefect example of escapist literature and one that you will not be sorry for reading. Just don’t get attached to the characters too much.RECOMMENDED

'Scarecrow' brings back the namesake protagonist in an adventure full of adrenaline and pulse pounding action. The third installment in the series sees our hero become the focus of an elaborate bounty hunt in which the worlds most highly regarded military personnel are targeted by a wealthy faction seeking humanities implosion for profit. Combining real world facts to create a world of fiction, Reilly exposes political imbalance and highlights doomsday fears of a post western world rule where third world nation numbers could mean victory over technological advancement. Hidden literary nuggets litter this deceptively modernist pulp novel to enhance not only Reilly's credibility but also his creativity. Comedic passages and the exploitation of common cliches helps Reilly maintain a lighter human balance to the mass body count - and of course, Scarecrow's faithful make an appearance in Mother, Fairfax, Gant, and Book II along with newcomer Knight. Each reading more like superheroes than above average GI Joe's. What makes 'Scarecrow' stand alone from other books is Reilly's ability to keep the reader guessing 'will he make it or wont he?' - you never quiet know if any of the good guys are going to survive a given encounter - be warned, there are casualties you wont see coming. Frenetic and awe inspiring, 'Scarecrow' cements Matthew Reilly as the Michael Bay of the publishing world - 5 stars. I cant wait for the next full length installment in 'Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves'.

What do You think about Scarecrow (2005)?

Ohohohohohohho, wow!Okay, so I'd read Area 7 prior to this, and I found the plot of that book unstable. Truly...truly Reilly is one who corrects mistakes. This time, the shit stays focused and the action is better.....ten times!So, Matt Reilly is back with a brilliant scarecrow book this time. absolutely brilliant.Why not 5 stars, then? Well, one problem. Only one and this kind of bugged me. So, there are a lot of times when the main guys get thrown into tough situations. Cool....okay. There always has to be a solution. It really bums me out that 45% of the time, the solution is maghook.I mean, it's okay if you use the maghook twice or thrice, but if you use it a bunch of times, plots tend to get slightly (very slightly) predictable.(view spoiler)[Loved the development of Scarecrow's character this book. The character arc was completed by Gant's death, sorry, by Mother's fight with Scarecrow (:P). That gave me a complete picture of scarecrow. Complete! I could probably live as Scarecrow for a couple of days and people wouldn't know what's up. (hide spoiler)]
—Pranay Venkatesh

This piece of trash makes techno-thrillers just look bad. It feels like parody of the genre, but it's too insane to even be that.Crazy acrobatics, such as protagonist grappling from flying planes and whatnot aside, not a single scene is believable. Even worse is that author couldn't spend few moments to google vehicles, weapons and common laws of physics or country borders. So you get two characters somehow fitting into single seater fighter jet, then flying 5000km in the plane that can fly 2000km at most on with reserve tanks, crossing dozen international borders... while none of the countries wonder about fighter jet zooming through their airspace, lest alone shoot it down... list goes on. There's bad guys everywhere with military planes, choppers and nuclear submarines(!) hopping around the world with no impunity and taking dismembered human heads into commercial flights (I'm sure TSA in Matthew Reilly's head was totally okay with this)... Then there's New World Order and crazy rich men torturing common folk in medieval castle. Need I say more? Whole book feels like imagination of a 9-year old who've played too much Call of Duty. Even if it sounds like crazy fun and general idea of the plot isn't all that bad, every page treats reader like an absolute idiot and excitement is quickly replaced with rage.Avoid.
—InC

The Third Book in the Scarecrow Series is another winner and when it is about the richest bounty hunt of all time how could it not be??15 men from around the world, with almost nothing in common, have a price on their heads so high it makes every piece of shit on earth come out to play.A new weapons system has been designed that can only be broken by those with almost impossibly fast reflexes. Well that explains how he made it alive through the first two books! Everyone who can disarm it is up for grabs.We get a little taste of everything. The honourable bounty hunter who has been fucked by the government and is a decent man and who has actually been hired to keep Scarecrows head attached. The two brothers who think they can cheat the system. The Russian military Unit that has simply gone awol for a chance to score some cash. One of the most amazing car chases every written down on paper and the one of the cruelest most heart breaking death scenes I have ever witnessed.I read this entire book on the Christmas day I got in except for the part where I had to put the book down, pace around the room and breathe. I love hearing people reviewing it who barely read half the book. Real smart. This is really easy to read and a lot of fun. It is a thrill ride not a dark introspective exploration of man.
— Charlie - A Reading Machine

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