Area 7 [Hardcover]

Matthew Reilly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2002

It is America's most secret base, hidden deep in the Utah desert, an Air Force installation known only as Area 7.

And today, it has a visitor - the President of the United States.

He has come to inspect Area 7, to examine its secrets for himself. But he's going to get more than he bargained for on this trip. Because hostile forces are waiting inside.

Among the President's helicopter crew, however, is a young Marine. He is quiet, enigmatic, and he hides his eyes behind a pair of silver sunglasses. His name is Schofield. Call-sign: Scarecrow. Rumor has it, he's a good man in a storm. Judging by what the President has just walked into, he'd better be...

Matthew Reilly dazzled the world with his electrifying thrillers Ice Station and Temple. And now, Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield returns with his most harrowing and explosive adventure yet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reilly, the pedal-to-the-metal action novelist from Australia, returns here with yet another inelegant yet oddly invigorating rip-snorter about what else world domination. The setting this time is Area 7, a top-secret military outpost in the barren outback of Utah where government scientists are trying to perfect a new vaccine that will protect Americans from the Sinovirus, a deadly disease invented by the Chinese to kill everyone on Earth except themselves. A rogue air force general, the evil Caesar Russell, has other plans, however. During a visit by the president of the United States, Russell and his band of elite mercenaries capture Area 7. Their aim: kill the president, take over the country and use the Sinovirus to poison all but members of the white race. But Marine Capt. Shane Schofield isn't going to let that happen. With his usual mix of unflagging bravery and superhuman strength Schofield starred in Reilly's 1999 American debut Ice Station the relentless Marine and his tight group of highly competent sidekicks battle Russell on land, water and in space. As is Reilly's style, the action moves at a scenery-blurring pace, and his third novel (following last year's Temple) can make for exhausting reading. He employs just about every tactic both clever and crude to keep the suspense afloat. Character development is nil, and dialogue is at times comic-strip bad. Yet the sheer frenzy of Reilly's approach can inspire awe. How many heroes, after all, can kill an enemy aboard the space shuttle in outer space, then return to earth and dispatch another foe by pushing him into a pool full of meat-eating Komodo dragons all over the course of less than an hour? Speed demons, take note. Author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Capt. Shane Scofield hero of Reilly's first novel, Ice Station has been assigned to guard the President on his helicopter journey to the Nevada desert, where he will conduct a routine inspection of air force bases. Of special interest is the high-security zone, Area 7, wherein Gen. Caesar Russell lurks. Having turned rogue, Russell plans to destroy the United States and sics his elite forces on the President. If he dies, a microchip in his heart will trigger the explosion of nuclear bombs planted by Russell throughout the United States. Scofield, of course, is the man to foil the evil plot and save the day. The action is nonstop and includes shootouts, crazed convicts, wild animals, and, in an eerily timely subplot, a new strain of racially selective biological warfare that has been developed at Area 7. Although Russell's rationale for the destructive chase is implausible and confusing, Area 7 is still an exciting romp. For larger collections. Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (February 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312266855
• ISBN-13: 978-0312266851
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matthew Reilly is the international bestselling author of eight novels: The 6 Sacred Stones, 7 Deadly Wonders, Ice Station, Temple, Contest, Area 7, Scarecrow, and the children's book Hover Car Racer, and one novella, Hell Island. His books are published in more than eighteen languages in twenty countries, and he has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe a bit TOO much, July 18, 2002

By 

scot16897 "scot16897" (Austin, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Area 7 (Hardcover)

I was thrilled to find Area 7 was available. I picked Ice Station up in Australia and was about a third of the way into it when I bought Reilly's other books, it was so good. Now I don't want to sound like I have no ability to suspend my disbelief, as Ice Station was a flash-bang ride which would realitically kill even a superhuman, but Area 7 was a little too much to be believed. The hero is inhumanly fast, strong and tough, with the endurance of the Terminator. I have no problem with this, I know it's not a non-fiction book. At the same time, a few of the feats Scarecrow does are SO impossible that they defied even my ability to suspend my own disbelief. That said, it was a fun read, just not what I'd hoped in the follow-up to the magnificent Ice Station. I understand Reilly is working on a third Scarecrow book. Can't imagine where he'll get sent next, or what he'll have to survive, but I'll get it regardless.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book in one sitting., February 9, 2002

By 

Shane Schofield - See all my reviews

This review is from: Area 7 (Hardcover)

Don't think about the plot too much and just enjoy the ride. If you are a fan of Jerry Bruckheimer movies, like to play Counterstrike, and hate "unnecessary" dialogue, then this book is a must-read.

Tom Clancy sets up his books for about 800 pages, then has 100 pages of action at the end. If you take that last 100 pages of Clancy's books, and extend it throughout the whole story, you've got Matt Reilly!

Overall, Matt's latest offering is right on par with the rest of his books (Ice Station, Temple, Contest). They all have the same pace, cool weapons, and outrageous action scenes. So put on a Hans Zimmer movie score and sit back for another edge-of-your-seat installment from Australia's action kid.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars, February 23, 2002

By 

Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Area 7 (Hardcover)

All I can say is with Reilly you can expect one heck of a ride.

In this latest non-stop adventure, Shane Scofield is back (previous outing was in `Ice Station'). When the President decides to visit a top-secret base in the desert, known as Area 7, he stumbles upon some secrets he didn't even know about. Basically what happens is a large group of military soldiers from an elite squad in the Air Force take over Area 7 and kill almost everyone who is in charge of protecting the president. The mastermind behind this wants the president dead and has created a little game in which the president stands little chance of winning. Once the presidents heart stops beating, a device that was implanted, unknowingly, in his heart years ago, will cause a series of explosions (blast plasma warheads) at many of the busiest airports around the country. Needless to say, Scofield is one of the few survivors after the initial onslaught.

Matthew Reilly was quoted as saying that he likes to write "about action, thrills and adventure, and if developing characters slows down the action, then developing characters gets the chop". This is it in a nutshell. First suspend your beliefs, because when you get a hold of this relentlessly paced book it won't let up. It even comes with illustrations in case you don't have time to think. From chases in space to chases in lake Powell to the idea of racial viruses, it's a tremendously fun mindless read.

Highly recommended strictly for fun.