The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 20 books · 1996 to 2025

Matthew Reilly

Thriller and suspenseAction and adventureTechno and military

Australian writer Matthew Reilly writes breakneck action thrillers: US Marine Shane Schofield in Ice Station and its sequels, and Jack West Jr. and his team racing to solve ancient puzzles in the Seven Ancient Wonders series.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The novella Hell Island is left out. The Detective (2025) is a standalone.

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Who appears in which book

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Matthew Reilly books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Shane Schofield

4 books · Set around the worldAction and adventureTechno and military
  1. 1Ice Station1998With Shane SchofieldBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Area 72001With Shane SchofieldBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Scarecrow2003With Shane SchofieldBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves2011With Shane SchofieldBuy on Amazon

Jack West Jr

7 books · Set around the worldAction and adventure
  1. 1Seven Ancient Wonders2005With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon
  2. 2The Six Sacred Stones2007With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon
  3. 3The Five Greatest Warriors2009With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon
  4. 4The Four Legendary Kingdoms2016With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon
  5. 5The Three Secret Cities2018With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon
  6. 6The Two Lost Mountains2020With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon
  7. 7The One Impossible Labyrinth2021With Jack West Jr.Buy on Amazon

Standalone

9 books · Set around the worldAction and adventure
  1. 1Contest1996Buy on Amazon
  2. 2Temple1999With William RaceBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Hover Car Racer2004With Jason ChaserBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Tournament2013Buy on Amazon
  5. 5Troll Mountain2014Buy on Amazon
  6. 6The Great Zoo of China2014With CJ CameronBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Secret Runners of New York2019Buy on Amazon
  8. 8Mr Einstein's Secretary2022Buy on Amazon
  9. 9The Detective2025Buy on Amazon

Characters

11 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Schofield's team

The team

Standalone leads