Rating:  Summary: Heart stopping! Review: This was one of the most exciting books I have read and I have read hundreds. He said he wanted this to move at bullet speed, he achieved that and more. I will check out his other books for sure.It took place in a day and I read it in a day. You can't put it down. This author, only 26, has many years ahead of him, hopefully he will be prolific in his writing.
Rating:  Summary: Mindless fun? Or funny mindlessness? Review: I picked this book up at the airport to read during a long flight with a long layover. The book was not awful... But the book's entertainment value was partially in laughing at many of the plot devices (contrivances?). Is this book a techno-thriller or a comedy?For example, put yourself in the shoes of the characters of this novel. You are being shot at by many bad guys with guns when you and the bad guys shooting at you fall 50 feet into a large pool of arctic water that is 1 degree C, and contains 9 vicious killer whales (you spotted them earlier looking for prey right where you fell). Do you: A. Swim like mad for the edge of the pool, the water is 1 degree C and you are freezing to death, literally. B. Swim like mad for the edge of the pool, there are killer whales in the pool that will eat you if you give them the chance. C. Swim like mad for the edge of the pool, there are killer whales in the pool about to eat you AND the water is 1 degree C and you will soon die of exposure. D. Tread water and hope the killer whales don't bother you. Killer whales are like dogs, they only eat people that run... If you answered D, then you need to weeded from the gene pool and I hope the killer whales get you. What am I saying, killer whales don't eat people in real life! What is bothering me more? The character motivation of the humans, or the characterization of the killer whales? This utter implausability permeates the book. The problem is not JUST with guys doing your normal impossibly-daring action movie stuff, though that does occur. I can live with impossible action stunts though, and I expect that in an action book. No, things are just wrong. They don't feel right, and if you know anything about marine biology, human character motivation, probability, etc. you will not be able to suspend your disbelief while reading Ice Station. This book is still an enjoyable airplane read, but not a great adventure story as many reviewers suggest.
Rating:  Summary: JUST LEFT ME ICE COLD Review: This is, without doubt, the worst book I have ever read. It has no redeedming features whatsoever, lacks any credibility, tempo and - the worst fault: no sense of adventure. That's because the character of 'scarecrow' is so super-human that we already know, before the end of chapter one, that he will live the longest, unscathed, to save the world. C'mon Matthew. You are an afficionado of the action genre...so at least pack some real punch into it by twisting the story violently and unexpectedly. Or, erh, anything to make it less than a watching-paint-dry experience. May I suggest you check out the excellent Mark Bowden 'Black Hawk Down' to take tips on writing a real bone-crunching fire fight. One star only...generous,because they didn't have Nil stars!
Rating:  Summary: Fantastic! Review: This is one of the very best action books I have read. It keeps you turning pages from start to finish. I've read a lot of this type of book, but Ice Station tops the lot.
Rating:  Summary: Puerile improbabilities Review: My biggest problem with this book is that I actually finished it. It is farrago of silly hair-breadth escapes, super-human feats of derring-do, hackneyed characters and, most damning, execrable research (SCUBA diving at 3000 feet?, lactic acid in the trachea?, on and on). Incredulity mushrooms after the first 10 pages rendering the remainder of the opus laughable. The only redeeming feature of the book is the depiction of the French as enemies (a notion anyone who has ever been to Paris will readily accept). This book has all the worst qualities of an already quality-challenged genre.
Rating:  Summary: A good read for a rainy afternoon Review: I couldn't put this book down. Fast-paced and action-packed. (There are other hyphenated phrases I could use, too.) Suspend credulity and simply read it for fun. Now for the bad part, I am a former Force REcon Marine, but boy I missed the training these guys did. i never knew I was a superman!!! Women are not allowed in frontline units and FR is about as frontline as you can get. I would recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys edge-of-your-seat, shoot-em-up(see! more hyphenated phrases)action. Ooh-Rah!!
Rating:  Summary: Four Words Review: Make It A Movie!!! This book rocked. I couldn't put it down. I felt like I was there the whole time.
Rating:  Summary: Darn, its over! Review: Well what can I say other then this is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. However, when looking at this book, one can't miss the fact that some of the truth is almost surely bended(ie. killer whales). When one is considering this book, that person should keep in mind that although the book isn't 100% accurate,(and no book really is) it will keep you up just thinking about it. The cover-to-cover action will keep you up intill the late hours of the night. The charecters will pull you into the story, and the weapons will surely get your attention. This is by far my favorite book and will be for a long, long, LONG while.
Rating:  Summary: Great Read Review: First book I read of Matt Reilly and as a result he made my required list of authors to be on the look out for in the Techno/Thriller/Suspense genera. He has the knowledge of the high tech weapons but does not bog the story line down giving you all this information but keeps the action going with strong characters.
Rating:  Summary: Another winner from Reilly! Review: Wow! After enjoying TEMPLE, I just had to get ICE STATION, and I was not disappointed. The narrative is even better in this one, simplistic, punchy and very fast-paced and does not go into too much unnnecessary detail. The story might seem a bit predictable at first, but hang on . . . when what appears to be a UFO is discovered buried under the ice in Antarctica, a distress call is sent out from the location - the ice station of the title, a polar research lab. Shane Schofield, an American Marine, arrives with his team and have more than their fair share of problems as they deal with a reclusive scientist, deformed wildlife and a pack of killer whales. Then as word gets out to other nations, French and British special forces arrive and in a bizarre plot twist, do battle with each other as the true nature of the UFO is gradually revealed - is it really extraterrestrial or is it the ultimate military weapon? This is where even more action kicks off as blood and brains explode everywhere as the bullets fly in blazing military action scenes, Schofield confronts his mentor, an SAS commander named Trevor Barnaby who has betrayed him, there's a spectacular hovercraft chase across an ice shelf, a nuclear attack threat, and it seems Schofield can trust no-one, not even his own troops until it's too late. This story I have to say would make a great action movie with incredible special effects potential, echoing the comments of other reviewers. If you like a good, fast-moving and pulse-pounding action read, then don't miss ICE STATION. Brilliant!
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