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kstumpf's review against another edition
2.0
Ridiculous premise, and "characters". Plot ideas and "location" were somewhat interesting, but this is by far my least favorite Matthew Reilly story. And I have really enjoyed the Scarecrow series to this point. This was just tooooooo much.
ebokhyllami's review against another edition
3.0
This one in Norwegian - sorry :-) Boka "Hell Island" var opprinnelig skrevet på et oppdrag fra den australske regjeringen i forbindelse med et prosjekt kalt "Books Alive". Målsetningen var å få flere australienere inn i bokhandelen for å lese mer. Reilly skulle skrive en short story på ikke mer enn 110 sider, og denne skulle gis ut gratis 1 mnd i hele Australia. Resultatet ble "Hell Island".
Reilly bestemte seg for å skrive (referat ham selv) .."the most kick-butt, over-the-top, blindingsly fast action I could.." ..og det har han virkelig gjort. Historien er som følger: 4 forskjellige typer spesialstyrker blir sendt til en hemmelig øy i midten av Stillehavet. Oppdraget er å finne ut hvorfor all kontakt med soldater og vitenskapsmenn om befinner seg der ute plutselig er borte. Dette finner Scarecrow, helten i boka, ut på den harde måten. Hell Island lever virkelig opp til navnet sitt, og hovedingrediensen er chippede primater. Jeg sier ikke mer :-)
Boka er komplett absurd, aldeles overdrevet og lite sannsynlig. Derfor er den også veldig god. A-team/James Bond på steroider i et vannvittig tempo gjorde at jeg leste denne boka på en (litt lang) kveld. Jeg var nesten anpusten da jeg la boka fra meg. Mange lesere vil muligens mislike Reilly for hans enkle, tegneserieaktige skrivestil. Men dersom du er på jakt etter underholdning, spenning og fartsfylt action - dette er forfatteren for deg! Jeg gav boka 4 stjerner av 5. Hadde dette vært en normal-lengde Reilly bok, med flere detaljer og fyldigere plot som han pleier å ha i sine lengre bøker ville også denne fått en 5 av meg. Jeg liker god action!
Reilly bestemte seg for å skrive (referat ham selv) .."the most kick-butt, over-the-top, blindingsly fast action I could.." ..og det har han virkelig gjort. Historien er som følger: 4 forskjellige typer spesialstyrker blir sendt til en hemmelig øy i midten av Stillehavet. Oppdraget er å finne ut hvorfor all kontakt med soldater og vitenskapsmenn om befinner seg der ute plutselig er borte. Dette finner Scarecrow, helten i boka, ut på den harde måten. Hell Island lever virkelig opp til navnet sitt, og hovedingrediensen er chippede primater. Jeg sier ikke mer :-)
Boka er komplett absurd, aldeles overdrevet og lite sannsynlig. Derfor er den også veldig god. A-team/James Bond på steroider i et vannvittig tempo gjorde at jeg leste denne boka på en (litt lang) kveld. Jeg var nesten anpusten da jeg la boka fra meg. Mange lesere vil muligens mislike Reilly for hans enkle, tegneserieaktige skrivestil. Men dersom du er på jakt etter underholdning, spenning og fartsfylt action - dette er forfatteren for deg! Jeg gav boka 4 stjerner av 5. Hadde dette vært en normal-lengde Reilly bok, med flere detaljer og fyldigere plot som han pleier å ha i sine lengre bøker ville også denne fått en 5 av meg. Jeg liker god action!
vezreads's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
For the right audience this would be a great book. It wasn't badly written, I just wasn't personally in to it
thereadingwren's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
This was my first introduction to Matthew Reilly as well as the Scarecrow novels. Reilly is my mother’s favourite author so I’d thought I’d give it a try.
Turns out, it’s awesome!
I didn’t think military type novels would be for me but damn I was wrong. This was amazing and it wasn’t full of stereotypical beef-cake dumb soldiers.
Scarecrow was an awesome leader and I loved that he didn’t get mean or violent with his team when they doubt him. I adore Mother, she is so badass and I can’t wait to read more about her. The relationship between Mother and Scarecrow is one of my favourite things to read about : true friendship and found family. They never doubt one another, they would die for each other, and they will always have each other’s backs. It’s beautiful.
This book was gory in all the right ways and the action was never over described. The twists were really well done and everything tied back in to everything.
Sure, Scarecrow is very much a lucky hero and just happens to know a lot about specific things that get him out of trouble but I don’t mind it.
As a plus this novel gave me so many Stargate Atlantis feels!!!!!
This was my first introduction to Matthew Reilly as well as the Scarecrow novels. Reilly is my mother’s favourite author so I’d thought I’d give it a try.
Turns out, it’s awesome!
I didn’t think military type novels would be for me but damn I was wrong. This was amazing and it wasn’t full of stereotypical beef-cake dumb soldiers.
Scarecrow was an awesome leader and I loved that he didn’t get mean or violent with his team when they doubt him. I adore Mother, she is so badass and I can’t wait to read more about her. The relationship between Mother and Scarecrow is one of my favourite things to read about : true friendship and found family. They never doubt one another, they would die for each other, and they will always have each other’s backs. It’s beautiful.
This book was gory in all the right ways and the action was never over described. The twists were really well done and everything tied back in to everything.
Sure, Scarecrow is very much a lucky hero and just happens to know a lot about specific things that get him out of trouble but I don’t mind it.
As a plus this novel gave me so many Stargate Atlantis feels!!!!!
renila's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
balthazarlawson's review against another edition
5.0
A short story that is full of action that is totally beyond reality. I mean really, mountain gorillas with control chips in there head? Well yes and that is what I love about it. Besides it's fiction and in fiction anything can happen and when it comes to Scarecrow, the main character, anything can happen. I love this. This is what I love about reading.
One criticism, ships have decks not floors.
One criticism, ships have decks not floors.
steffie95's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
msteasam's review against another edition
3.5
This novella had a ridiculous premise but it was a lot of fun.
ljjohnson8's review
4.0
Reilly wrote this for an initiative of the Australian government to encourage their citizens to read more. They asked several Australian authors, including Reilly, to write a very short book that the government then printed and distributed free. It took me about 11 minutes to read and it's a fun, breathless episode in the continuing saga of Reilly's fascinating square-jawed hero, "Scarecrow" Schofield. All of the usual attributes of a Reilly novel show up: brave Marines, upper echelon bureaucratic betrayal, ridiculous unending action, awe-inspiring derring do, and science run amuck - - PLUS some really, really bad monkeys. What's not to love?