Rating: 
Summary: More non-stop action from Matthew Reilly
Review: "Area 7" is Matthew Reilly's third novel to be published in the U.S. and his fourth overall novel. "Contest", his first published novel has just recently been published in the U.S. Like his prior novels "Ice Station" and "Temple", there is little character development, but plenty of non-stop, highly inconceivable action."Area 7" begins with a trip to a secret underground military/testing facility by the President of the United States. In addition to a large group of Secret Service agents, Scarecrow Scofield and most of the surviving members of his team from "Ice Station" are along for the ride as well. Once they arrive, they learn the facility is in the hands of a madman who has planned a world-changing event for a number of years. What ensues is a race against the clock to prevent the destruction of a number of U.S. cities. The key to the survival of the U.S. is the survival of the President. Scarecrow and his team are tasked with ensuring both happen. The novel hits the ground running and doesn't let up. The elements of Reilly's previous books are here -- commandos, deadly animals, madmen, etc. Although very similar in structure to his other works, if you enjoyed either "Ice Station" or "Temple", you will enjoy this one as well. The reason behind keeping the President alive is a bit farfetched in addition to a number of the action scenes in which the heroes avoid being killed, but overall if you can overlook the unreality of such events, "Area 7" will prove to be an entertaining read.
Rating: 
Summary: We don't need no characterization
Review: A video game on paper. Levels and all. Read one, read 'em all.
Won't have to read it again.
Rating: 
Summary: He's no Tom Clancy... but
Review: I must admit I was very dissappointed in Ice Station. That book had so many plot twists and improbabilities that it just galled me to read it. Picked this one up by mistake. Reilly still is fond of the deus ex machina plot device. Things just seem to pop up just when the characters neeed them most. Same goes for the story line, as such. Need some weapons? No problem, let's put a bunch on Marine 1 (although I note in Mr. Reilly's defense, he does state in the forward that he took many liberties with the facts) and let the characters find them when they need them. Let's put some Komodo dragons into the mix so we have some excitement there. Add stuff as it's needed and justify it as you go along. While the book seems to have been written by a teenager who is making things up without regard to accuracy, it is a fast read. Don't expect to find any great American novel here. Just mindless action with no regard for facts. Not much character developement either, as another reviewer has noted. Just understand this, the book reads like a James Bond movie watches. If you've seen a Bond movie, you know what I'm talking about. No "Gone with the Wind" there, but fun and mindless. Ditto for this book. Fun and mindless. Add a star if you don't care about facts or believability. A nice winter storm read.
Rating: 
Summary: We cut down trees for this junk?
Review: If you can completely suspend logic and put your brain into "park", then this is the novel for you. Poorly written in comic book style, there is no lack of action...except none of it is believable. The characters are shallow, the plot is so silly as to almost be amusing, and the exploits of the characters makes the good guys able to dodge bullets and other assorted nasties while the bad guys clumsily get themselves eliminated. If you can understand the rationale for the plot you get to go to the "head of the class". This is a perfect book to read in front of a fireplace on a cold winter evening...in fact it is a perfect book to use to light the fireplace, hopefully before you waste too much time reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Holiday In Hell
Review: Just before the fourth of July, the President of the United States tours top-secret desert military complex Area 7, where some of America's best germ-warfare experts have discovered a cure to China's ultimate weapon: the Sino-virus, which quickly kills everyone it comes into contact with except those of Asian genetic makeup. What the president doesn't know is that former Air Force General Caesar Russell - supposedly executed for high treason, months ago - has commandeered Area 7, to stage a bizarre and lethal game in commemoration of America's birthday: Russell has managed to secure a monitoring device to the president's heart, which sends a signal to an orbiting satellite; should his heart stop, the satellite will transmit a destruct signal to a number of plasma bombs secreted in America's key airports. Caesar has also gained possession of the president's "football" - the laptop computer containing the country's nuclear arsenal launch codes - and programmed it to require the president's handprint scan every ninety minutes, or the same devastation will result. What the president has to do, along with his Secret Service and personal Marine bodyguard of Captain Shane Schofield and Co., is survive the onslaught of Caesar's genetically engineered stormtroopers in a fight to the death - with the survivor gaining control of the United States. If you can buy that much of the premise, you'll enjoy this book. A number of even harder to believe complications arise before the end of the story, including assault by Kodiak bears and Komodo dragons, escaped psychotic criminals, elite Afrikaan commandos and a Chinese space shuttle squad. Much of the book's enjoyment requires a healthy suspension of disbelief, and an ability to frequently "fill in the blanks" as to how, for instance, a renegade (and supposedly dead) Air Force general can manage to raise the support of what amounts to a small army, all without anyone in Washington or the Pentagon any the wiser. There's a great suspense novelist hiding somewhere inside Matt Reilly, and one day maybe he'll get out and write some truly top-notch action-adventure stories. For the moment, Reilly is too enamored of over-the-top movie action, which literally goes on for several chapters on end, is grossly improbable and at times simply impossible to follow, contributing nothing to the plot - he is actually easier to read by skipping forty or fifty pages in some of these sections, filling in the blank with "...and they got the better of the bad guys in a firefight." Action like this performs great on a movie screen, but swiftly grows tedious to read. In comparison to Reilly's other books, this one is not as good as Ice Station (to which it is a sequel), but is much better than Temple. It's a pretty good read, but you have to forgive its failings along the way.
Rating:
Summary: WOW. Breathtaking, Actoin as always with Scarecrow
Review: You want action. You need action. There it is. The sequel to Ice Station. Scarecrow is back and still finds worst possible situation. And this time, he is with the president. Gant and Mother are back from the cold of the Antartic and they are not getting a sun tan in the desert. I enjoy all of Matt" books so far: Ice Station, Temple and area 7. I an waiting impatiently for the release of Contest. Out of the ordinary describes the story created by this author. One word. Wow... When is the next story for Scarecrow....
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time!
Review: Unless you plan on living forever, don't waste the three hours needed to take in this totally implausible potboiler. There are many serious writers whose works are far more deserving of our time and attention -- for example, guys who write racy limericks on the walls of public lavatories.
Rating:
Summary: Area 7
Review: While the plot is interesting and there is tons of action in this novel, the lack of character development hurts this novel immensely. There are several characters with colorful nicknames that you never really get to know making it difficult to figure out what drives these folks to their heroics. There are some annoying inaccuracies too like calling the yoke of a Boeing 707 the collective. Airplanes don't have collectives, helicopters do. Overall a very average piece of work with tons of action, albeit a little hard to follow at times.
Rating:
Summary: What the HELL...
Review: What the hell are all of those negative people thinking? Matt Reilly's plots and characters may not be believable, but is anything James Bond realistic? NO! So what if MR makes up some stuff, his books are thoroughly researched and extremely captivating. If you are looking for a fantastic book, pick up this one. I caution you however, there is a great deal of dirty language and explicit descriptions of violence.
Rating: 
Summary: Inconceivable, yet fun
Review: P>I liked the book. I read the first book, "Ice Station," and like that one I devoured this one. I didn't rush through this book because the plot was gripping, it was educational, or because I was emotionally attached to the characters. I ripped through it because I wanted to know how it ended! As far as I'm concerned, if a book makes me want to get to the end quickly, then I'm happy with it because it means that it got my attention and held my attention! (But what can you expect when you have unheard of military weapons, killer komodo dragons, empathic genetically engineered kids, beyond studly marines, and a little splash of romance?!) He might not be the best writer technically speaking, but Matt Reilly does know how to spin a good yarn. Read this book if you want to spend a few hours involved in mind-blowing non-stop action. In fact, if you're bored read this instead of going to a movie because it reads like an action flick and it will last longer. After reading it, when you're bored again read the first book, "Ice Station." Since there is really no character development (who cares!) it doesn't matter which one you read first! I'll be waiting for the 3rd book eagerly (hear that, Matt Reilly? - get writing!!).
| 
