Book 2007.06.06 - Area 7

Matthew Reilly doesn't write bestsellers, he writes movie screenplays, hoping some Hollywood bigwig will come along and buy the rights. Very likely that'll happen, too. You don't even need scriptwriters to do the adaptation because it's all ready to go. Heck, even the sets are described and drawn in detail in the first few pages of the book, so that that all the actors and extras know where they should be when the cameras start rolling.

If you like Dan Brown, you'll like Matthew Reilly. Start off with a hare-brained scenario. Pepper it with some little known trivia, so that it all sounds authentic. Mention a few conspiracy theories to keep things interesting. Once in a while, freeze the action and let the protagonist get on the lectern, so the reader can understand the ludicrous plot better. Populate the story with one-dimensional characters, so the readers would know who is who. Inject a little love angle to satisfy the romantics in the audience. Don't bother with character development - the plot is convoluted enough.

I'll let you in on the plot, so you can decide for yourself. Disgruntled Air Force general rises from the dead and takes the President hostage while he's inspecting a top-secret military base called Area 7. The whole base was locked down and the President and his security detail were given the chance to duke it out with the General's crack 7th Special Operations Squadron to prove their worth. Unknown to the President, a nano-sized transmitter is attached to his heart. The moment it stops beating, 14 plasma warheads spread across the country's airport hangars will detonate. Not only that, the bad guy has in his possession the Football, the President's briefcase that contains the codes and the activation switches to American's nuclear arsenal. If the Prez tries to take the easy way out and escape, thar she blows. So what's Area 7 for? This is where scientists have been experimenting with Komodo dragons and Kodiak bears, searching for a cure to the Sinovirus developed by the Chinese. Death-row prisoners are used as guinea pigs and they genetically-engineer a boy whose blood holds the vaccine.

What have these got to do with the General's diabolical plot? Nothing. I guess the author felt a need to justify the existence of Area 7, so he came up with these sideshows.