Grab a seat and get ready for the best action thriller you have probably ever read. Matthew Reilly has set a new pace for an action novel that leaves the reader breathless and makes other characters like Dirk Pitt, James Bond and Rambo look like amateurs. Below is my book review of Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly, but you may just want to get a copy now, because no review will ever compare to the thrill you’ll get reading this book!

Scarecrow is the code/nickname of Shane Schofield, an elite marine who has extremely quick relexes and a plethora of cool toys like the Maghook and the awesome shuriken!

Schofield is one of 15 targets on a hit list, each having a bounty of $18.6 million on their heads. A secret organization, known only as the Majestic-12, has a plan to create a new cold war and need to eliminate these 15 targets. These are some the finest warriors in the world, but in order for Majestic-12 to complete their plan, these targets must all be dead by 12 noon today.

These bounties bring out the elite bounty hunters in the world and they literally are dropping out the sky to nab their targets. From creating elaborate traps to kidnapping, they will do anything to get these targets. Schofield is now being chased around the world, from Russia to Afghanistan to France, by some of the fiercest bounty hunters on the planet – all trying to collect another head!

Schofield is befriended by one of the world’s best bounty hunter, The Black Knight, who is helping him to stay alive. The Black Knight is equal to the Scarecrow in his abilities, reflexes and fighting skills, which make them a formidable team. With the help of Gant, Mother, Book II, Rufus and some old friends, Schofield tries to unravel the reason behind the massive bounty hunt, who is behind it and more importantly how to stop it and survive past 12noon!

This book is relentless in the action and takes no prisoners. Many of the characters are killed off and you are never sure who will be next. Reilly pulls no punches – everyone is expendable in this novel. This is not one of those books that has a happily ever after ending… there are some surprises that will tear at the heartstrings of longtime fans.

The book is a little over 450 pages and I wanted to read it all in one sitting, because once I got started, it was just too hard to put down. Unfortunately that was not the case. The action is so intense it actually wears you out. I had to read it in 3 sittings, just to give myself time to absorb everything that was happening. I have now reread the book and found it just as much fun as the first time through.

One of the interesting parts of the book, was the interview with Matthew Reilly at the end of the book. Matthew tells why he wrote the book, some of the reasons for creating certain characters and more importantly why one of the spoilers was included. There is a major spoiler that many fans will probably not like, but it makes for a great scene in the book. I found this interview real insightful, especially since I hate most author interviews… they all seem so self-serving and contrite.

I just finished reading “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott. As a pioneer and owner of a new media network, I am always interested to read new books on the subject matter. Having been familiar with the author’s work on the “offline media” I had high expectations for his latest offering. I was not let down, this book covers it all and it will serve as one of the best books on this subject.

The book covers a wide range of topics, including, blogging, podcasts, viral marketing and other forms of online media. I really liked how to book was structured, it starts off with a broad view of the industry and how thing were and what they are like now. The meat of the book is comprised of action plans, with step by step instructions on how to get started with your online campaigns. Along the way there are also some fabulous case studies provided, so we can not only see what others did but we could also see what the results were. I found this to be the nest part of the book and I found a lot of inspiration in those stories. This book does a great job of tying in all the elements like blogging and podcasts and shows us how they are all connected and how we can blend them all together to really be successful online. This was helpful to me because as a professional blogger, this is really the only part I Know. I am very inexperienced with podcasting, but after reading this book, I am going to give it a shot.

UFO Retrievals: The Recovery of Alien Spacecraft

This is a collection of accounts and examinations of all cases of alleged landed or crashed alien spacecraft and the secret government action to recover them and keep their remains and their occupants.

The Alien Chronicles

The Alien Chronicles takes us on a whirlwind tour through the most obvious source for Extraterrestrial encounters – our ancestors’ art and writings. From Prehistoric cave art to the texts of the high civilisations of Sumeria and Egypt, this superbly illustrated book, makes us question the orthodox viewpoints surrounding our history and beliefs. Whether you are a passionate Ufologist or an ardent sceptic, this book will leave you wondering and wanting more.

The High Strangeness: Of Dimensions, Densities, and the Process of Alien Abduction

This work examines the possibility — in the light of facts and through the study of dimensions and densities — of the existence of hyperdimensional beings who would master and shape our reality.
Conscious of the heap of disinformation under which this subject has been (willingly) buried, Laura K-J separates the wheat from the chaff, and in all impartiality, extracts the quintessence : the real nature of hyperdimensional realities and the process of alien abductions.

She reveals a shocking reality, far away from the comforting and sweet new age myths about our “space brothers”.

An absolute must-read !

Interdimensional Universe: The New Science of UFOs, Paranormal Phenomena and Other dimensional Beings

Over the course of his thirty years of investigation into UFOs, including his own field research, photographic evidence, and meticulously compiled case studies, Philip Imbrogno has provided fascinating new insight into paranormal phenomena. In this book, he reveals for the first time the detailed experiences of prominent paranormal experts as well as his own firsthand experiences.

Using the latest quantum theories, Imbrogno sheds new light on classic UFO cases, government cover-ups, and the hidden connections between UFOs and other unexplained phenomena – from crop circles and animal mutilations to angels and jinns (or genies).Imbrogno’s intimate knowledge spans the very early UFO activities to present day sightings. He personally investigated four of the best known UFO flaps of the modern era – Hudson Valley, Phoenix lights, the Belgium sightings, and the Gulf Breeze Florida sightings – and shares information never released before, including photographic evidence that something very unusual is taking place on planet Earth.

The UFO Invasion: The Roswell Incident, Alien Abductions, and Government Cover-Ups

UFOs and space aliens are visiting Earth! Now it’s time to get the facts! Did a ‘flying saucer’ really crash near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and have we been victims of a sinister government conspiracy to hide its alien occupants in a secret facility? Is there truth behind the swirled crops phenomenon?
Have humans been abducted by aliens?

In an effort to counter media misinformation “The UFO Invasion” offers definitive, behind-the-scenes accounts of each case of extraterrestrial visitations and paranormal claims.

This fully documented look at sightings, encounters, the Roswell incident, ‘MJ-12′ documents, crop circles, the ‘alien autopsy’, and more will challenge, illuminate, anger and amuse.

UFO Mysteries: A Reporter Seeks the Truth

Written by an experienced journalist and ufologist, this book contains 15 stories that take the reader on a tour of 30 years of strange happenings in America. The stories range from monster sightings to UFO cover-ups.

Legends of the Star Ancestors: Stories of Extraterrestrial Contact from Wisdom keepers Around the World. At the dawn of a new millennium we are rapidly approaching environmental and social crises on a massive global scale. Cries have risen from every corner of the world to challenge the ravaging of Earth and many of her peoples.

In Legends of the Star Ancestors traditional wisdomkeepers from diverse cultures share their insights into how Earth’s current crisis is part of a larger cosmic plan for the planet’s transition into an enlightened age, as prophesized by the Star Ancestors. Furthermore, the star beings that once seeded the Earth remain with us today in order to assist and guide us through this time of transformation.

Aliens Adored: Rael’s UFO Religion

An in-depth look at the Raelian movement, founded in the 1970s by Rael, born in France as Claude Vorilhon.

It traces Rael’s philosophy and the formation of the Raelian subculture – radical sexual ethics, gnostic anthropocentricism, and ecotheology, showing how our worldviews have been shaped by globalization, postmodernism, and secular humanism.

UFOs and the Alien Presence: Six Viewpoints

Taken all together, the evidence for an alien presence on earth is enormous. Few people know that evidence better or have thought about it more carefully than the researchers who speak in the pages of this book.

All of them are successful in fields outside of ufology. None of them claims any final truth about UFO’s. Yet they all accept the risks inherent in speaking aloud their uncomfortable thoughts. Why? Find out here, from them.

UFO Abductions : A Dangerous Game

Some say they have been abducted and subjected to terrifying physical examinations. Others claim that young children have been kidnapped and returned only after the removal of flesh samples. Still others allege that women have been kidnapped and impregnated, the unborn children later removed for a vast cross-breeding experiment.

These crimes against humanity are not perpetuated by an international terrorist organisation. The “abductees” assert that they have been kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings.

UFO abduction claims have spawned a veritable cottage industry, providing the fodder for an explosion of magazine articles, television interviews, newspaper features, best-selling books, and movies. Somewhere beyond all the tumult lies the truth.