Description /Buy link takes you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.
Shane Schofield is a fictional character in a series of action-thriller novels written by Matthew Reilly. According to the author, Schofield, also known as Scarecrow was based on a famous film actor Tom Cruise.
Get notified when Matthew Reilly releases a new book at BookNotification.com.
Order of Shane Schofield Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Station | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Area 7 | 2001 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Scarecrow | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Hell Island | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Scarecrow Returns / Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves | 2011 | Description / Buy |
The background of how Matthew Reilly began publishing the Scarecrow series is almost as interesting as the character itself. Reilly grew up in Willoughby, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. He ended up going to St. Aloysius College in Milsons Point in 1992.
During his time in college, Reilly would write and self-publish his first book, Contest, in 1996. He was rejected by every publisher he sent it to so he ended up self-publishing it using a bank loan. There were only 1,000 copies in circulation after the printing, but an editor fromm Pan Macmillian was able to get her hands on it. She enjoyed it so much that she tracked Reilly down and signed him to a two-book deal. The first being Ice Station, the first book in the Scarecrow series.
He wrote Ice Station while studying law at the University of New South Wales. The book was a hit, being picked up by publishers in the US, UK and Germany. Matthew Reilly has sold over 7 million copies of his books and had them translated into over 200 languages. He is now considdered one of the most successful Australian authors of all time. Not bad for starting with 1,000 self-published books.
Schofield got his nickname “Scarecrow” from the vertical scars on his eyes which he sustained in 1995 from torture during the Yugoslav War when his Harrier aircraft was shot down.
He withstood hours of torture from his captives but never revealed his mission, that is when the Serbs blinded him for they thought that he was collaborating with the Navy SEALs that were murdering Serbian soldiers. Fortunately, his eyesight was fixed, but the scars remained. Due to the regulations in the military, he was never allowed to fly again, but he decided to become a foot soldier and went back to Basic School based in Quantico, Virginia. Several months later, Schofield was promoted and assigned to his Recon unit, given command of the unit for two years. He rose in ranks as seen in Ice Station where he is a lieutenant and later as Captain in Area 7.
SHANE SCHOFIELD BOOKS INTO MOVIES:
There have been efforts made to adapt Scarecrow, the third book in Shane Schofield series into a screenplay. Reilly was approached to by a producer to adapt Scarecrow as the first book in Shane Schofield movies. The author accepted, but this would otherwise mean that there would be significant structural changes in the books such as introducing characters such as Scarecrow, Fox, and Book within the framework of the book as opposed to the earlier novel Ice Station.
While none of the books have been made into a movie yet, the best-selling Ice Station was made into an audio drama in 2015 by Reilly and Benjamin Maio Mackay.
“Matthew Reilly’s Ice Station Live” was performed at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2016. Three episodes were recorded as an attempt at a pilot for a full audio drama.
BEST SHANE SCHOFIELD BOOKS:
These are two of the best books in Shane Schofield series by Matthew Reilly, Ice Station (1998) and Scarecrow (2003).
Ice Station: After some scientists are reported missing beneath the station in a cavern that is estimated to millions of years old, Lt. Schofield popularly known as Scarecrow and his team of elite Marines respond to the call for help from the surviving scientists.
His mission is primarily reconnaissance. However, the mission objectives soon change thanks to a group of French elite killers and a traitor in his team. What type of discovery could be so valuable such that some people are willing to kill to have it all for themselves? It is first thought to be an alien ship that crashed millions of years ago. However, would the French government kill to have the technology? Would also Schofield government as well kill for the same? With no one to trust and hell-bent on saving the remaining scientists, Schofield must find a way to get everybody to safety without getting killed in the process. Killer Whales and solar flares complicate his new mission of getting everyone back to base safely.
Ice Station is a solid action adventure and a brilliant debut for Shane Schofield. The plot starts off fast-paced and gets faster as it progresses. This is an excellent read for anyone who loves military-style action, some reasonably sophisticated plots without nudity or sex scenes.
Scarecrow: The greatest bound in history is officially on, the targets are the world-class warriors in the world- spies, commandos, and terrorists. They all must be dead before noon, and the price on their heads is approximately $20 million each.
Among the hunted being Schofield, a man who goes by the nickname “Scarecrow.” He is thrust into a race around the globe, being hunted by a deadly collection of famous bounty hunters. Schofield must fight for survival, and in the process, he unravels a global conspiracy and the one reason why under any circumstance he cannot be allowed to live. He led his team into hell in Ice Station and protected the President at all cost in Area 7, but this time everything is different because he is the hunted. Once again, Matthew Reilly through his top-notch writing continues to establish himself as one of the most beautiful thriller writers in the modern world.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE:
If you like action-thriller novels such as Shane Schofield series, then you will find these two book series a good match; “Tom Kirk” series by James Twining, featuring an international art thief, Tom Kirk as the main character. You will also like “Philip Mercer” series by Jack Du Brul.
What Is The Next Book in The Shane Schofield Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Shane Schofield Series. The newest book is Scarecrow Returns / Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and was released on October, 20th 2011.