Scarecrow Returns

Book 61 is Scarecrow Returns from the Shane Schofield series by Aussie Matthew Reilly.

This is book four. I accidentally missed book 2 for some unknown reason but it hadn't made too big a difference. The author re-explains where all the old characters came from and how they have been damaged by books past.

Those constant recaps is why this is an airport book. You can pick up any one in the series at an airport and read it without any real commitment to anything but the story in front of your face.

This series is why I know a lot about military aircraft and also why I have a very rational fear of killer whales. This particular book is better than the last with more humour and less self pity which is what you want from a stuff blows up and science is stretched a little further than reality.

A fun romp through a radioactive mutant polar bear infested acid island full of a killer mercenary cult. Oops spoiler! But then you could just read that on the back of the book.

3 stereotypical characters out of 5.

Should I read this? Sure, it's fun.
What did I learn? I now know that an osprey isn't just a bird.

Scarecrow

Book 29 of 2017 is Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly.

Reilly's book are my go to light, no challenge travel books that are available in airport book stores.

Having enjoyed Ice Station from the Scarecrow series and Temple (not in a series AFAIK) for being adventurous and having aliens or magic, I was hoping Scarecrow would be in the same vein. Unfortunately, this is all military fighting mercenaries all for a crazed evil genius with sharks with fricken LASER beams.

It was an easy read which is good for 38 horrid hours of travel but it had no aliens and magic. This was a little like the time I went to see the movie Lincoln when I thought I was going to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I was 30 minutes in to the movie when I asked my friend when the vampires were going to come in. He of course laughed hysterically in a full cinema.

This book was a little like that.

If you are in to fast cars, helicopters, gun, ammunition and faster than sound airplanes then this is the book for you. If not, it's an easy enough read with some twists.

3 escapes from the jaws of death out of 5.

Should I read this? Only if you're taking a long plane flight and you don't need to use your brain.
What did I learn? Everything this taught me about military weapons, I have already forgotten.

The Art of War

Book 17 of 2017 is The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

It felt like the right time in my working life to re-read this. It is a short read. The first and last time I read it, I was in my early 20s and I didn't see why any of it mattered. Working in the corporate world 15 years later, it seems more relevant.

Even though this is a 2000 year old Chinese military text, I read it thinking of European warfare and American business. I guess in the end, strategy is strategy.

3 strategies out of 5.

Should I read this? Yeah, every couple of years.
What did I learn? Confusion is a tactic.