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"A SNEAK-PREVIEW DISCUSSION ON AREA 7"

Yes, folks, this is it. This week it hits the shelves. So rather than plug someone else's book as I usually do, I thought that as AREA 7 comes out this Wednesday (in Australia), I'd give all MR.com visitors a sneak-preview straight-from-the-author's-mouth discussion on the book. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything.

Some rumour killing first. Yes, AREA 7 is a sequel to ICE STATION -- but you don't have to have read ICE STATION first (Golden Rule No.1 of Sequels). No, Andrew Trent does not appear in the book. Nor does the ICG. Mother may die, but then again Schofield might die as well -- it is a thriller. You're not supposed to know who's going to survive and who's going to die! All I will say on the matter is this: remember that Book died in ICE STATION, and Van Lewen in TEMPLE. No character is safe in one of my books!

AREA 7 does feature some funky new weapons and some superfast vehicles. This includes guns like the P-90 and the MP-7, the return of the Maghook, and a magnetic underground transportation system called an 'X-rail'. And, as was posted on the Web after I did that reading at the Sydney Writers Festival, yes, a space shuttle does appear in the book...but what kind and whose is it? I'm not telling! Apart from that, Stealth bombers, SR-71 Blackbirds, Super Stallions, and, of course, the famous Sikorsky VH-60N Transport Helicopter, better known as Marine One, the US President's Marine-operated helicopter...and that's just the first twenty pages.

In case you were wondering, yes, I am being rather cagey about the story. Naturally, I don't want to spoil it for anybody, but there is also a bigger reason for this. You see, there is a rather big twist to the story -- in fact, it is the entire premise of the book -- that Pan Macmillan and I have managed to keep secret for about 18 months. Suffice to say that what is on the back cover of the book does not summarise the whole story.

Let me put it this way: in structure and story, AREA 7 is probably best described (in terms of my other books) as a cross between ICE STATION and CONTEST.

Over the month of September, I'm going to be travelling all around Australia promoting the release of AREA 7: doing speeches and book signings and the like. It starts this week, with some signings in Sydney on the Saturday before Father's Day (for all those late present-buyers!).

Unfortunately, due to these touring commitments, I may not be able to write this column as regularly. I will do my best, but, as Han Gruber famously said in DIE HARD, "I'm afraid, work must intrude." Hope that's okay.

Although I have written this elsewhere, I thought I should also mention it here. My hearty congratulations to the winners (and to everyone who put in an entry) of the Station 409 Short Story and Flash Intro Competitions: the winners are ANDY WAKELEY for his story THE AFTERMATH, and BEN LYNCH for his superb Flash intro (and for coining the term "Keep your arms and legs inside the armchair" in reference to my books! I am even trying to get Pan to use that on their advertising!). You can read and see the winners' entries on the site now -- indeed, Ben Lynch's Flash intro now introduces www.MatthewReilly.com.

Thought I should mention some exceptionally talented young authors I met this past week. I had the pleasure of presenting some writing awards at Newington College last Thursday night. While every piece I heard was pretty damn awesome, I was most impressed by the efforts of three young men from Year 4 (yes, they are nine) who had penned prose stories of considerable length and complexity -- two of them involved logically cohesive time travel tales. May I publicly congratulate MATTHEW PICKERING, DANIEL LATIF and TIMOTHY ATKINS -- three young writers definitely worth keeping an eye on! Well done, and keep writing!

Well, I think that's it for this week. If you grab a copy of AREA 7, I truly hope you like it!

P.S. I thought Adam Gilchrist's declaration was generous, bold and good for the game (and no blight on his claims to the Australian cricket captaincy). Who could have anticipated that the wicket would become a dead concrete track? And credit to Mark Butcher for a fine innings. Curse him...!

P.P.S. And for those in Australia...check out Triple J at 7.30 am, Wednesday 29 August.