Rating: 
Summary: More than just action, action, action
Review: "Area 7" is a thriller containing an incredible amount of high-octane action. This huge amount of action, and the lack of realism in many of the things that happen, requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief on your part if you want to enjoy the book. But there's more to "Area 7" than just page after page of action. True, most of the book consists of action scenes with bullets flying everywhere and things exploding and a fantastic line-up of various groups of really nasty bad guys who are all out kill the good guys (and each other) in the most violent and horrifying way possible. It's also true that the story is not particularly believable, nor are the characters very well developed. The bad guys in particular are nothing more than cardboard figures, and the good guys aren't much better when it comes to resembling real people. But Matthew Reilly keeps you reading despite these weaknesses because he has a couple of tricks up his sleeve. The plot is actually pretty interesting (despite being unrealistic), and there are a large number of imaginative plot elements and very creative twists and turns. Several times after you thought you'd worked out what's going on you discover that things are more complicated and the bad guys are more devious than you realized. I especially liked the start of the book, where the leading bad guy, U.S. Air Force General Charles "Caesar" Russell, is executed in Leavenworth prison for treason and murder. But the execution doesn't "take" - as soon as his dead body is delivered to his Air Force cohorts they revive him! And at the same time we're informed that the newly inaugurated President of the USA has some kind of super-miniature electronic device implanted on his heart! From there on the book goes somewhat downhill until around the middle, where the plot becomes better fleshed out and we realize that things aren't as simple-minded as we originally thought. It's because of these clever developments in the story line that I'm giving "Area 7" four stars instead of the three that I'd been planning for most of the book. I'm also giving plus points for the many drawings and maps that make it more interesting to follow the action. And I like the fact that several of the good "guys" are actually good gals, and that they're just as tough and ingenious as their male comrades. At the end of the book there's a seven-page interview with Matthew Reilly, and I must admit that I like this sort of thing because I like reading about how authors go about creating the books they write. In conclusion, if you like imaginative (albeit unrealistic) thrillers with lots of action, action, action, and are willing to almost totally suspend your disbelief, then "Area 7" should entertain you. Rennie Petersen
Rating: 
Summary: Contrived and far fetched
Review: After 50 pages, I had to give it up!! The plot was simply too unbelievable. I had no desire to find out "what happens next" because I knew that it would be ridiculous.
Rating:
Summary: not even a good action story
Review: Area-7 - an underground fortress in SW America - is one of the most secure military installations on Earth. Using tons of high-tech, most of it involving bio-warfare tested on condemned criminals, Area-7 scientists develop cures for diseases engineered by America's enemies. Unfortunately, "Caesar" Russel, a disgraced and supposedly executed former USAF general, seizes Area-7 and locks everybody - including the President and his loyal marine contingent - inside. Russel has implanted a microscopic transmitter on the president's heart connecting the unwitting chief to nuclear warheads placed in every major northern city. All will explode should Caesar's troopers locate and kill the president. Also, the "football" - the president's nuclear-war trigger - will signal the bombs unless the president keys in his palm print every 90 minutes. With his special shock troops, Caesar can easily kill the President, but he needs the Chief to suffer the humiliation deserved by all politicians. Unbeknownst to Russell, Area-7's South African chief bio-chemist has his own plans now that he's developed a cure for a Chinese bio-engineered disease. Unknown to him, some of Ceasar's own men have gone into business themselves - with the Chinese. Unexpected by them is the role to be played by Area-7's residents - the vilest criminals in America. And a nasty shock to them all is "Scarecrow" Schofield - the world's toughest Marine and the novel's hero.
I wasn't looking for literature - deep characters, a complex plot, irony - yet "Area 7" still left me hungry. Reilly not only tosses character development, he practically junks the idea characters - each is a walking mannequin who knows his dossier and never deviates. (The book starts off with Schofield's nominal superior being described as a cowardly careerist; a civilian presidential aide is from page 1 one of those politically connected, vapid and craven morons who populate failed sitcoms. By the climactic end of "Area 7", Schofield's boss is still a martinet, while the civilian faces Russell's plan with a desperate call his stockbroker - sell dollars!!!).
"Area-7" isn't literature, but it's no fun either - it's far too unoriginal. Reilly fans like to compare Schofield to Indiana Jones, but he's more like one of those forgotten Indy-clones who romped countless botched "Raiders" rip-offs. The story is largely a string of clumsily choreographed action scenes, none of which will surprise to anybody who's watched late-night cable or straight-to-video movies or played computer games like "Half-Life". (Underground fortress; hide around corners, watch-out for the special troops, kill, steal their ammo, rinse and repeat.) Reilly's idea of using a heart as a fail-safe isn't new either (read Nance's "Medusa's Child"; see the movie "Spawn") while Caesar looks like any of the disgruntled post-Cold War hawks of early 1990's novels and movies. Reilly crams so much action in so small a space, it's almost laughable - as if his books were oversized screenplays in search of a producer, but I can't even imagine Steven Segal giving "Area 7" a serious look. In the space of a few pages, Schofield hijacks a space shuttle, blasts into orbit, downs a Chinese shuttle, lands intact and escapes the spaceship before Caesar's men destroy it. "Area-7" is less of a story for a book than some high-powered 3D computer game - which would be okay if it came with the gorgeous graphics and sound and characters empowered with AI. (Reading "Area" probably approximates watching somebody else play a video game with every possible cheat enabled.) Instead, the narrative falls back on Reilly's prose which are both action-packed and an action-suckage loaded down with over-blown verbiage and irrelevant technical detail. Nobody just carries a semiautomatic pistol or assault rifle - we get the make and model of every gun in the book, (even though the way they're used seems to make each as good as the other), its nationality and, where applicable, whether the weapon is nickel-plated or whether the magazine is curved or straight. Unfortunately, Reilly needs specifics like that because without them he wouldn't have enough to fill up his action scenes; nor would "Area 7" have enough technical data for its author to write sentences like "what many people don't realize is that...." and win praise for exhaustive research and "chilling plausibility". The enemy characters have less AI than you'd get in "Half-Life" - especially in there choice of weapons, rooted in a love of high-tech rather than common sense (having trapped our heroes inside of a hangared AWACS jet, Caesar's commandos assault it with a guided-missiles, even though missiles can't be trusted against the plane's electronics; simply shooting the tires and its engines doesn't occur to anybody). Our heroes seem to be expert at just about anything they come across (with the marines capable of flying helicopters and navigating the electronics and cockpits of the Air Force E-3) and always seem to come out on top (shooting down a Sidewinder missile with a machine gun?). If you want non-stop action that's actually fun, pick up a Dirk Pitt Novel (I recommend "Cyclops").
Rating:
Summary: hogwash
Review: Ever finished reading on of his books. Well done. It's the most terrible form of hogwash I have ever laid eyes on. Perhaps one has to be a member of the higher intelligence fraternity to be able to understand this kind of technocrap. Please ignore it!
Rating:
Summary: Embarrassing
Review: I can tolerate some level of unrealistic aspects. I'm a huge fan of the redundant Clive Cussler beach reads, so I'm used to things happening that probably couldn't. This pushed it, though. It wasn't simply the action. Unrealistic action maybe I could tolerate. Maybe. The characters, though... ouch. I'll put it this way - at one point a man turns to the main character and asks what happened to his father. "Well, he was hung upside down, lowered into a pool, and eaten by killer whales." "Oh, thanks, the military wouldn't tell me," the young man responds. Only in Matthew Reilly's world could someone find out his father wasn't simply killed in action but used as a giant worm in killer whale fishing - fed alive to the huge beasts head first - and not bat an eye. People fall hundreds of feet, "faster, faster, faster" only to be stopped by a solid rope without so much as a dislocated shoulder. Little boys eerily know the future. Too many different factions and useless plot twists, such as a brief trip to space. It just seems like Reilly was busy playing Half Life while watching Con Air and decided it could all be made into an interesting novel wrapped around the president. It failed. Just try to read this without throwing it out the window. Everything is too convenient, nothing is realistic, and half the dialogue would sound better in a comic book aimed at 12 year olds. Only worth reading if you pick it up used.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting story line....at least?
Review: If you're interested in quality action scenes, and a story that twists and develops non-stop; look no further than Area 7. Matthew Reilly continues with his hero from Ice Station, pitting the daring Schofield and the President of the USA in a showdown with multiple enemies. Ranging from elite special forces armed with the best of weaponry, to runaway fugitives, Area 7 is in no short supply of the bad guys. Area 7, located deep in the Utah desert, known only as a secret military institution, gets a visit from the President and his security escorts. Among his escorts, belongs a marine, whos eyes hide legendary combat experience; in short this guy can kick ..., his name is Schofield, call-sign Scarecrow. The book houses page after page of intense action involving foreign special forces, and corrupt military members. Matthew Reilly, utilizes his characters, story, and setting effectively to compile a story that is relatively exciting for those that are interested in STRICTLY action. The book does not belong in a "What does that word mean?" category, the lack of advanced vocabulary, did at times really diminished my attitude towards the book. Note that while Reilly, is effective at his descriptive action scenes, lacks a sense of sophistication in the writing, good or bad is up to ones own preferences. As most readers will observe, the amount of unrealistic page turning scenes adds up, and can have a detrimental effect on your overall liking of the book over time. Though I must give credit to a creatively constructed story line, I would still have to conclusively state that this book is really made for readers, that appreciate suspense and bone-chilling combat scenes, over minimal rationality. If you are more turned on by books that depict realistic scenes, and portray an ultimate image of complexity, this book may be one that stands in your bookshelf, partially untouched. None the less, if your looking to take a break from Tom Clancy's style, this ones a definate candidate.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but extremely far-fetched.
Review: It took me about 3 hours to get through this book. Admittedly fast-paced, Reilly's book pays far little attention to technical detail, and instead spends more time describing 7 fight scenes with imaginative outcomes.
For a $4 bargain book, I wasn't too dissapointed, but this book will be forgotten within a week.
This is garage sale fiction at its finest.
Rating:
Summary: Another Matt Reilly Rollercoaster Ride
Review: Matt Reilly's novels are not for everyone. Readers with a discerning palate expecting thought-provoking characterization and literary depth should most certainly turn elsewhere. On the other hand, those seeking non-stop thrills, jaw-dropping action, and an extremely fast narrative will be highly entertained by Reilly's books. Suspension of disbelief is a must when tackling one of his works. Sit back, relax, and simply enjoy the ride.
Rating:
Summary: Action-Packed, but not very believable
Review: SEVERAL times while reading this book, I found myself laughing out loud at the unbelievable scenes. This book has some really cool action sequences, but man are they HARD to even begin to believe.
Some of the stuff is things you'd only think to find in a video game.
I'm not sorry I read it, but I think it'll be a long while before I pick up another Matthew Reilly book.
Rating: 
Summary: Bullets and Bombs in the desert
Review: Shane Schofeild: If he had a nickle for every time he saved the world, he'd have.... fifteen cents. But that's still a lot.
Area 7, the second of the Schofeild novels, finds our intrepid (if slightly two dimensional) hero in the middle of a US Airforce base/research facility, acting as a body guard to the President of the United States. With him are some friends from the previous Schofield novel, also guarding the commander in chief. The base, called Area 7, is the home of the United States' must cutting-edge biological weapon research. More specifically, the scientists at the base are working round the clock to find a vaccine to a Chineese biological weapon called the Sinovirus, which targets only non-Aisian people (via their specific pigmentation). Well, they've finally developed a vaccine, but guess what? The fifty well-armed, highly trained, ultra-elite soldiers guarding the base are actually traitors, intent on killing the Prez and stealing the vaccine! To make matters worse, they've attached a satelite transmitter to the President's heart, which will denotate nuclear weapons in major cities all over America if the POTUS's heart stops beating. In other words, if Mr. President dies, so does the country. It's up to Schofeild and friends to defeat the bad guys and save the day!
But in a Reilly novel, its never that simple. Matthew incorporates a series of plot twists into his relatively straightforward narrative, including a racist military conspiracy, a corrupt South-African general, a plot to take over America, a thermonuclear weapon, escaped convicts, and a trip into outer space. Admit it, you're just drooling over this novel, aren't you? Now, I'll admit, Area 7 is not going to change your life (besides getting you hooked on Reilly novels). The characters tend to be one sided and cliched. The ending is the predictable happy one, where the hero gets the girl, the little kid isn't harmed, and all the fuzzy little animals are safe..... but its an action thriller. Are you really looking for powerful moral statements and thought provoking subject matter in an action thriller? No. You're looking for a lightening-fast plot, explosions, gunfights, chases, and lots of violence. And that's exactly what you're going to get.
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