It is set to be the greatest bounty hunt in history...

Fifteen names.

There are fifteen targets, the finest warriors in the world - commandos, spies, terrorists. And they all must be dead by twelve noon today. The price on their heads: almost $20 million each.

One hero.

Among the names on the list, one stands out. An enigmatic marine named Shane Schofield, call sign SCARECROW.

No limits.

And so Schofield is plunged into a headlong race around the worl, pursued by a fearsome collection of international bounty hunters...including the 'Black Knight', a notoriously ruthless hunter who seems intent on eliminating only Schofield.

The race is on and the pace is frantic as Schofield fights for survival, in the process unveiling a vast international conspiracy and the terrible reason why he cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to live.

He led his men into hell in ICE STATION. He protected the president against all odds in AREA 7. This time its different.

Because he is the target.

This, the latest book from Mathew Reilly is a kind of difficult book to quantify in some ways. Perhaps its best to say what it isn't.

Its not high literature, by any stretch of the imagination. Its not a love story. It doesn't meander along allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions about the plot line.

What it is, is an incredibly fast moving action film - in book format. Some people would say that sounds like their worst nightmare but I would urge them to read this book and find out the truth.

This book moves faster than lightning but Reilly's talented use of dialogue and absolutely masterful ability to create a scene means that the reader is dragged along with the story by the scruff of his neck. When the book is finished, the common reaction is to look up and say "Whew!".

It really is that fast. Reilly himself says he writes his books as if they are a collection of small scenes from a movie. Several small scenes make a big scene and several large scenes make the book.

The fact that he manages to squeeze so much into each scene is a reflection of this approach.

Although it is at times slightly unrealisic, the realism of the book fades into insignificance when you consider that Reilly's target - which he has well and truly perforated - is to allow the reader to escape into a story which rivals and sometimes exceeds the best traditions of action movies.

Get this book.