Scarecrow (54 page)

 

Add to that France's chequered geopolitical history—the sinking of the
Rainbow Warrior
, her nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, and her outspoken opposition to the US invasion of Iraq—and you have a nation that could, in the world of fiction, have nefarious anti-US plans.

 

But I stress: it's fiction!

 

So what else have you been doing?

 

Since finishing
Scarecrow
, I have completed two screenplays. I enjoy writing scripts in between my books—a novel takes me a year to write, whereas a screenplay takes me about two months. I adapted my own short story,
Altitude Rush
, into a full-length screenplay, and have finished the first part of an epic science fiction trilogy that I think will rock the world one day!

 

Any more books on the way?

 

Yes indeed. Earlier this year I signed a new two-book deal with my publishers, Pan Macmillan, so there will be at least two more books from me. I have now moved to producing one book every two years—I would love to be able to produce a book every year, but I fear the quality would suffer and I just don't want to end up churning out books simply to keep to a timetable.

 

Not sure what they'll be about at this stage. One will probably be a Schofield book, although maybe Aloysius Knight could get a novel of his own. And I keep getting asked at book signings if I will be writing a sequel to
Temple
!

 

Any final words?

 

As always, I just hope you enjoyed the book. Keep reading and take care.

 

Matthew Reilly
Sydney, Australia
November 2003

 

 

First published 2003 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
Published in Pan 2005 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
1 Market Street, Sydney

Copyright © Karanadon Entertainment Pty Ltd 2003
The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication data:

Reilly, Matthew, 1974–.
Scarecrow.

Scarecrow / Matthew Reilly

Reilly, Matthew, 1974–
Scarecrow series ; 3.

Assassins—Fiction.

A823.3

EPUB format: 9781742621944
Online format: 9781741977561

This is a work of fiction. Characters, corporations, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.

‘The Second Coming' by W. B. Yeats reproduced by kind permission of A.P. Watt Ltd
on behalf of Michael B. Yeats.

The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War
by Robert Kaplan
Originally published in
Atlantic Monthly,
February 1994.
Copyright © 1994 by Robert Kaplan
Reprinted by permission of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our
Country and Civilization
by Patrick J. Buchanan.
Copyright © 2002 by Patrick J. Buchanan
Reprinted by permission of St Martin's Press, LLC.

No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies
(Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2000).
Copyright Naomi Klein © 2000. With permission of the author.

Typeset by Post Pre-press Group
Text design by i2i Design, Melanie Feddersen
Cartographic art by Laurie Whiddon, Map Illustrations
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THE DISCOVERY OF A LIFETIME

At a remote ice station in Antarctica, a team of US scientists has found something buried deep within a 100-million-year-old layer of ice. Something made of
metal
.

THE LAW OF SURVIVAL

In a land without boundaries, there are no rules. Every country would kill for this prize.

A LEADER OF MEN

A team of crack United States marines is sent to the station to secure this discovery. Their leader – Lieutenant Shane Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW. They are a tight unit, tough and fearless. They would follow their leader into hell.
They just did . . .

‘It never slows down . . . it is unlike any other new Australian novel'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘The pace is frantic, the writing snappy, the research thorough. Unputdownable'
WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

A HIDDEN LOCATION

It is America's most secret base, a remote installation known only as Area 7.

THE VISITOR

And today it has a guest: the President of the United States.
But he's going to get more than he bargained for on this trip. Because hostile forces are waiting inside . . .

HIS SAVIOUR

Among the President's helicopter crew, however, is a young marine. His name is Schofield. Call-sign: SCARECROW. Rumour has it, he's a good man in a storm. Judging by what the President has just walked into, he'd better be . . .

‘Buckle up, put the seat back, adjust the headrest and hang on'
THE AGE

‘Enjoy, let it shred your mind'
BULLETIN

‘A roller coaster ride'
WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

THE SECRET BASE

It is a former Soviet base known only as Dragon Island.
It houses a weapon of terrible destructive force . . .
that has just been re-activated.

A RENEGADE ARMY

The island has been seized by a brutal terrorist force calling itself the Army of Thieves, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

ONE SMALL TEAM

There is an equipment-testing team up in the Arctic. It does not have the weaponry or strength to attack a fortified island held by a vicious army. But it is led by a Marine captain named Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW. And Scarecrow will lead the team in anyway, because someone has to.

It is an island that doesn't appear on any maps.

A secret place, where classified experiments have been carried out.

Experiments that have gone terribly wrong . . .

Four crack special forces units are dropped in. One of them is a team of Marines, led by Captain Shane Schofield, callsign: SCARECROW.

Nothing can prepare Schofield's team for what they find there.

You could say they've just entered hell.

But that would be wrong.

This much, much worse.

‘A publishing phenomenon'
WEST AUSTRALIAN

AN ANCIENT SECRET

Two thousand years ago, it was hidden within the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Now, in the present day, it must be found again.

ONE HERO TO FIND IT

Captain Jack West Jr – part solider, part scholar, all hero. The odds are stacked against him and his loyal team: nine brave companions taking on the most powerful countries on earth.

AN ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER

From the pyramids of Egypt to the swamps of Sudan, to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the boulevards of Paris: the desperate race begins.

FOR A PRIZE WITHOUT EQUAL

The greatest prize of all: the power to end the world or to rule it.

AND SO THE GREAT ADVENTURE BEGINS.

‘Reilly at his best . . . unrelenting menace and dangerous situations that unfold at breakneck pace'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘A story of such action-packed intensity as to make Raiders of the Lost Ark look like an outing for the Retired Archaeologists Pension Club'
THE AGE

THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING

A mysterious ceremony at a hidden location has unlocked a catastrophic countdown to world annihilation.

ONE HERO

Now, to save the world, supersoldier Jack West Jr and his loyal team of adventurers must find and rebuild a legendary device known as ‘the Machine'.

SIX FABLED STONES

The only clues to locating this Machine are held within the fabled Six Sacred Stones, which are scattered around the globe. But Jack and his team are not the only ones seeking the Stones, there are other players involved who don't want to see the world saved at all . . .

‘Nobody writes action like Matthew Reilly'
VINCE FLYNN

‘Reilly should come with health warnings . . . not for the faint-hearted'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Action, adventure and heroism of the Hollywood blockbuster ilk . . . escapism has no greater enthusiast than Reilly . . . The fact is he writes stories people want to read'
WEEKEND GOLD COAST BULLETIN

THE END OF THE WORLD HAS ARRIVED

Jack West Jr and his loyal team have been separated, their mission is in ruins, and Jack was last seen plummeting down a fathomless abyss.

OCEANS WILL RISE, CITIES WILL FALL

After surviving his deadly fall, Jack must now race against his many enemies to locate and set in place the remaining pieces of ‘the Machine' before the coming Armageddon.

WHO ARE THE FIVE WARRIORS?

Jack will learn of the individuals who throughout history have been most intimately connected to his quest, but not before he and his friends will soon find out exactly what the end of the world looks like . . .

‘Ace of action . . .one of Australia's most popular authors . . . The master of mass-market murder and mayhem'
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD