Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves (41 page)

My thanks to Alice Cooper for the inspiration!

And you have created a great new super-villain in Marius Calderon. Will we see him make a deadly comeback anytime soon?

The creation of Calderon was actually a big thing for me. In all his other outings, including
Hell Island
, Scarecrow killed the villain of the story. Now, sure, those villains deserved what they got, but I decided that it was time for Scarecrow to have a nemesis, a villain who could come back in future adventures if only just to mess up Scarecrow’s world. A Moriarty, so to speak, or a Blofeld.

This is why Calderon’s past is described is such detail in
Thieves
. He’s smart, he’s cunning, and he’s also ex-paramilitary, so he can hold his own physically, too. Having a villain like him around opens up my mind to new story possibilities. Right from the start, he was always going to survive
Thieves
, but when we see him again in a future book, he might have a totally new face.

I also loved writing that last page, where Scarecrow finds his scratched glasses on his pillow and so knows that Calderon has been
in his room
!

Any Hollywood news?

I wrote the first draft of the
Scarecrow
screenplay and now a new screenwriter has been brought in to rewrite my stuff. I’m not upset by this. It’s actually standard Hollywood procedure, especially on a movie as expensive as
Scarecrow
could be.

And
Hover Car Racer
is still ticking along with Disney. I am less involved in that project than I am with
Scarecrow
, but they were talking about directors a few months back. In the end, because of their scale, my books would make very expensive movies, and when studios make expensive movies, they want to get name actors and top directors, and to get those, you need a kick-ass screenplay. This means a bit of waiting, but I’m happy to wait . . . and keep writing new novels in the meantime.

So what is next—is it back to Jack West Jr or another Scarecrow novel?

Believe it or not, last year I actually wrote a whole new novel in secret. This book is also a little different: it’s a murder-mystery thriller set in the year 1550. Imagine ‘Matthew Reilly meets
The Name of the Rose
’! It may be set in the past, but it is whip-fast and definitely not for the squeamish.

Having said that, I do now find myself thinking about what to write next, and yes, that is a choice between Scarecrow and Jack. I have to admit I quite liked hanging out with Scarecrow and Mother again, and Baba is a lot of fun, too, so a new Scarecrow novel is currently looking good.

Any final words?

As always, I just hope the book took you away from the real world for a few days and showed you a good time. I hope you enjoyed Scarecrow’s big return.

Matthew Reilly
Sydney, Australia
October 2011

Matthew Reilly
Contest

The New York State Library. A brooding labyrinth of towering bookcases, narrow aisles and spiralling staircases. For Doctor Stephen Swain and his daughter, Holly, it is the site of a nightmare. For one night, this historic building is to be the venue for a contest. A contest in which Swain is to compete – whether he likes it or not.

The rules are simple. Seven contestants will enter. Only one will leave. With his daughter in his arms, Swain is plunged into a terrifying fight for survival. He can choose to run, to hide or to fight – but if he wants to live, he has to win. For in this contest, unless you leave as the victor, you do not leave at all.

‘edge-of-your-seat suspense’
DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Matt Reilly, genius . . . the arrival of a rare talent’
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

‘A publishing phenomenon’
WEST AUSTRALIAN

Matthew Reilly
Ice Station

At a remote ice station in Antarctica, a team of US scientists has made an amazing discovery. They have found something buried deep within a 100-million-year-old layer of ice. Something made of METAL.

Led by the enigmatic Lieutenant Shane Schofield, a team of crack United States marines is sent to the station to secure this discovery for their country. They are a tight unit, tough and fearless. They would follow their leader into hell. They just did . . .

‘action, action and more action’
DAILY TELEGRAPH

The pace is frantic, the writing snappy, the research thorough. Unputdownable’
WEST AUSTRALIAN

Matthew Reilly
Temple

Deep in the jungles of Peru, the hunt for a legendary Incan idol is underway – an idol that in the present day could be used as the basis for a terrifying new weapon.

Guiding a US Army team is Professor William Race, a young linguist who must translate an ancient manuscript which contains the location of the idol.

What they find is an ominous stone temple, sealed tight. They open it – and soon discover that some doors are meant to remain unopened . . .

‘Matthew Reilly has really arrived’
DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Reilly can be entered with deafening gunfire, in the Crichton/Grisham showcase’
WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

‘The action just keeps on coming . . . Michael Crichton meets Indiana Jones’
KIRKUS REVIEWS

Matthew Reilly
Area 7

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

And today it has a visitor: 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 . . .

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 . . .

‘a roller coaster ride’
WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

‘Buckle up, put the seat back, adjust the head-rest and hang on’
THE AGE

‘Enjoy, let it shred your mind’
BULLETIN

Matthew Reilly
Scarecrow

IT IS THE GREATEST BOUNTY HUNT IN HISTORY
There are 15 targets. And they must all be dead by 12 noon, today. The price on their heads: $20 million each.

ONE HERO
Among the names on the target list, one stands out. An enigmatic marine named Shane Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW.

NO LIMITS
And so Schofield is hunted by gangs of international bounty hunters, including the ‘Black Knight’, a ruthless hunter who seems intent on eliminating only him.

He led his men into hell in
Ice Station
. He protected the President against all odds in
Area 7
. This time it’s different. Because this time SCARECROW is the target.

‘a metal storm of a book’
WEST AUSTRALIAN

‘Reilly is as amazing as his hero . . . a cracking pace’
MELBOURNE WEEKLY

‘The pace makes you giddy’
DAILY TELEGRAPH

Matthew Reilly
Seven Ancient Wonders

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 soldier, 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

Matthew Reilly
The Six Sacred Stones

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’s talent for coming up with ingenious new twists on every page is awesome. So are his characters’
GUARDIAN
(
UK
)

‘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

Matthew Reilly
The Five Greatest Warriors

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 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 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

‘Think of it as watching an Indiana Jones film on a moving roller coaster. For fans of action, this is essential reading’
LIBRARY JOURNAL
(
US
)

‘Thrills and spills galore . . . A blinding read’
THE SUN
(
UK
)