Line #13 YMMV/MatthewReilly


1	!!Individual works
2
3	[[index]]
4	* ''YMMV/IceStation''
5	%%* YMMV/JackWest series
6	* ''YMMV/{{Contest\|MatthewReilly}}''
7	* ''YMMV/{{Temple\|MatthewReilly}}''
8	* ''YMMV/HoverCarRacer''
9	* ''YMMV/TheTournament''
10	* ''YMMV/TrollMountain''
11	* ''YMMV/TheGreatZooOfChina''
12	* ''YMMV/CobaltBlue''
13	* ''YMMV/{{Interceptor}}''
14	[[/index]]
15
16	!!In general
17	* ClicheStorm: This could be applied to most of his books. [[{{Troperiffic}} Most don't mind,]] because Reilly's writing is just so awesome.
18	* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/MatthewReilly here]].
19	* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler:Killing off Scarecrow's love interest Libby Gant is easily the most powerful scene he's written. It's now even worse after Reilly's wife died at 37, resulting in him becoming a depressed shut-in for several months.]]
20	** Any time a [[spoiler: protagonist or supporting character's partner dies]], now that Reilly's wife has [[TearJerker unfortunately passed away]].
21	* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: [[spoiler:Killing Lily in ''The Three Secret Cities''. He even admitted in the book-ending interview it was Alexander because he didn't want to have such a big DownerEnding]].
22	* {{Narm}}:
23	** Reilly has a tendency to spend large portions of text calling characters by their code names or nicknames. Sometimes this works, other times it doesn't. ''Six Sacred Stones'' might be easier to take seriously if the narrative didn't spend so much time calling elite and professional soldiers by names that a little girl gave them (Pooh Bear, Big Ears, Fuzzy etc.).
24	** He also really likes faking out character deaths, pretending to kill them only to have them return alive in the very next scene. It becomes very predictable. This is especially true when he does it to main characters like Schofield or William Race, who he obviously isn't going to kill.
25	** He tends to write sound effects (''Blam!'', ''Clunk!'', ''Thwack!''), which can get a little too campy after awhile.
26	* {{NarmCharm}}: His books are entirely built around this: being cheesy action schlock that are kept afloat by badass characters and action that (mostly) manage to be both utterly ridiculous and utterly fun.
27	* OneSceneWonder: Lucifer Leary in ''Area 7'', a Hannibal Lecter-style serial killer who almost ''eats'' Gant. He's only in the story for a couple of pages, but it's definitely memorable.
28	* {{Sequelitis}}: ''Scarecrow'' feels like a significant step down in quality compared to the stellar ''Ice Station'' and ''Area 7''. The action is just a tad ''too'' over the top to take seriously, the villains are mostly forgettable or so ridiculous they aren't believable (Killian feels more like a Bond villain than something you'd find in Reilly's previous works) and their goals are just silly, and the settings change so fast that it can be hard to keep up. This biggest sticking point is probably [[spoiler:Gant's death, which unlike for example Book's death in ''Ice Station'', feels like it was done purely for shock value. That it was also done by such boring villains as Killian and Noonan doesn't help.]] Essentially it feels like Reilly was trying to out-do himself and failed.
29	* TearJerker: The scene where Scarecrow [[spoiler:attempts to commit suicide]] after learning that [[spoiler:Gant has died. His fight against Mother and her subsequent loss to him is further compunded when she finally tears up pleading…"Shane…don't." Luckily for her, he stops upon hearing that.]]
30	** The scene where [[spoiler: Lily appears to be dead after a HeroicSacrifice and Jack West is beyond mere grief]]. Subverted gloriously a few moments later, when [[spoiler: it turns out she's perfectly alive and well.]]
31	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: It can get frustrating how often interesting characters are used as {{Red Shirt}}s or {{Sacrificial Lion}}s when, especially in his earlier works, he can be StrictlyFormula about who survives.
32	** In ''Scarecrow:''
33	*** Zemir, the BadassIsraeli HeroOfAnotherStory, has the potential to be an interesting ally but never even directly interacts with Scarecrow.
34	*** Morally gray MysteriousBenefactor [[spoiler:Lillian Mattencourt]] has the potential to show up again either as an ally or (given that their mutual foe is dead) an enemy, only to be assassinated by a disgruntled DragonTheirFeet villain without it majorly affecting the plot.
35	** In ''Scarecrow Returns:''
36	*** Chad is involved with the development of an impressive Arctic-based weapon and shows some HiddenDepths in defying his {{Jerkass}} boss to go on a dangerous mission but then gets nothing interesting or sympathetic to do.
37	*** [[spoiler:Ironbark]], who gets captured and unceremoniously (and brutally) executed right after an impressive feat that could have made him and Scarecrow FireForgedFriends and would have made Ironbark a NonProtagonistResolver if not for the villain's backup plan.
38	** In ''The Four Legendary Kingdoms,'' practically every non-villainous competitor besides Jack and Shane who has a chance to shine and possibly be a WorthyOpponent or FireForgedFriends with them gets killed without a fair fight within a few pages.
39	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Reilly has consistently stated that he ''never'' deliberately invokes a political position with his work, but it doesn't take much digging to figure out whose side he's on.

Context YMMV / MatthewReilly