Alright book review time!
Frodo it is time...to review "Ice Station" by Matthew Reilly.
Ok first of all, I just have to say this...Matthew Reilly is the best *the best* action writer I've ever read! I thought before that James Rollins was the best at writing action but Reilly just tops him. To Rollins' credit, his books are more alien creatures/ancient races adventure actions so those have to have deeper plotline than just boom boom action. Reilly's book is just...as one newspaper reviewer put it "metal-to-the-pedal" action. Every paragraph, every page is filled with descriptive military action, which I love! Reilly obviously had done extensive research into militia strategies/trainings/weapons, more specifically the US forces.
As standard couple of observations before the review:
1. Shane Schofield has just become one of my favorite characters, right up there next to LOTR characters.
2. I'm loving Reilly more now that I know he doesn't force a lovey-feely situation for the characters like Rollins (every book he wrote man! why???) (side note: maybe 'cuz he's an Aussie and they don't need romance in their books like US readers? hmmm or maybe 'cuz it's all action there's no room for anything else)
3. In the novel, Reilly proposed a ICG (Intelligent Convergence Group) that is created by US Joint Chiefs of Staff to monitor/spy on US Marines/Navy/Air Force, even big universities and companies. The reason? So that anything that was created/found/captured the ICG wanted to be the first guy on the scene to seal the secret from getting out into the open where other nations have the chance to steal it and they're willing to protect it at any cost be it at the cost of their own people! Now the ICG planted people within these groups and once they found out anything that is of interest, the ICG personnel(s) in the group would eliminate all the non-ICG to ensure that they and only they know it. Interesting stuff! I could see a secret organization like this in operation...hmm...conspiracy anyone?
4. Everybody hates the French, even the Aussies...hahaha.
5. The concept of invisible fighter plane (to radar and even sight) using plutonium energy source to create a magnetic field strong enough around the plane to change the property of air molecules so that a visible eye could not see the plane is pretty out there. Cool concept but hey it's more believable than 100 million-year-old species lying dormant in the Arctic.
6. Apparently the Navy has successfully formulated an antinitrogen pill for deep-sea diving. The purpose of the pill is to neutralize nitrogen in the body due to pressure increase in diving to prevent "bends" or "decompression sickness" associated with nitrogen coming out of blood when the diver returns to normal pressure too rapidly. Now I just searched for the pill and the pill appears to be real. Nice! I just learned something from an action book! haha.
Whew ok onto the review!
Book: Ice Station
Author: Matthew Reilly
Summary: A team of US Marines was sent to US ice station in Antarctica after a couple of scientists were brutually attacked in an ice cavern down below by an unknown source/creature. The Marines' objective was to secure the station for the US reinforcement troops to arrive. But once they got there they found out that a group of French-equivalent to SEALs has already infiltrated the station and the intense battle between them began. Dealing with first the French, the killer whales, then the British and finally to the creatures down in the ice cavern while struggling to get all the remaining US scientists out of the station, the Marines leader Shane Schofield, nicknamed Scarecrow, became the walking killing machine. known as the Terminator! (oops wrong movie)
Status: Complete!
Book content:
Type of story: Action. Non-stop actions...yeah baby!
Setting: Antarctic ice station
Time: Contemporary
Main Characters: a lot, scientists & military personnels w/ equally MtF (males to females..not the transgender form..haha)
POV: 3rd
Conflict between: Americans, French and British
Sense of humor: couple funny moments between the Marines...Mother (which is the only other Marine besides Scarecrow that I like) had some funny lines but not enough!!
Sexual content: none..zip! zero! *whew*
Book rating:*from 1-10*
Plot: 7
Character development: 5 *only character that got developed was Schofield*
Style of writing:
- description: 8
- action: 10+++
- dialogue: 7 (choppy dialogue - cut off letters such as "Don't go ther-" when the reader can probably guess the word already so why?)
Believability: 5
Overall: 9
Ok first of all, I just have to say this...Matthew Reilly is the best *the best* action writer I've ever read! I thought before that James Rollins was the best at writing action but Reilly just tops him. To Rollins' credit, his books are more alien creatures/ancient races adventure actions so those have to have deeper plotline than just boom boom action. Reilly's book is just...as one newspaper reviewer put it "metal-to-the-pedal" action. Every paragraph, every page is filled with descriptive military action, which I love! Reilly obviously had done extensive research into militia strategies/trainings/weapons, more specifically the US forces.
As standard couple of observations before the review:
1. Shane Schofield has just become one of my favorite characters, right up there next to LOTR characters.
2. I'm loving Reilly more now that I know he doesn't force a lovey-feely situation for the characters like Rollins (every book he wrote man! why???) (side note: maybe 'cuz he's an Aussie and they don't need romance in their books like US readers? hmmm or maybe 'cuz it's all action there's no room for anything else)
3. In the novel, Reilly proposed a ICG (Intelligent Convergence Group) that is created by US Joint Chiefs of Staff to monitor/spy on US Marines/Navy/Air Force, even big universities and companies. The reason? So that anything that was created/found/captured the ICG wanted to be the first guy on the scene to seal the secret from getting out into the open where other nations have the chance to steal it and they're willing to protect it at any cost be it at the cost of their own people! Now the ICG planted people within these groups and once they found out anything that is of interest, the ICG personnel(s) in the group would eliminate all the non-ICG to ensure that they and only they know it. Interesting stuff! I could see a secret organization like this in operation...hmm...conspiracy anyone?
4. Everybody hates the French, even the Aussies...hahaha.
5. The concept of invisible fighter plane (to radar and even sight) using plutonium energy source to create a magnetic field strong enough around the plane to change the property of air molecules so that a visible eye could not see the plane is pretty out there. Cool concept but hey it's more believable than 100 million-year-old species lying dormant in the Arctic.
6. Apparently the Navy has successfully formulated an antinitrogen pill for deep-sea diving. The purpose of the pill is to neutralize nitrogen in the body due to pressure increase in diving to prevent "bends" or "decompression sickness" associated with nitrogen coming out of blood when the diver returns to normal pressure too rapidly. Now I just searched for the pill and the pill appears to be real. Nice! I just learned something from an action book! haha.
Whew ok onto the review!
Book: Ice Station
Author: Matthew Reilly
Summary: A team of US Marines was sent to US ice station in Antarctica after a couple of scientists were brutually attacked in an ice cavern down below by an unknown source/creature. The Marines' objective was to secure the station for the US reinforcement troops to arrive. But once they got there they found out that a group of French-equivalent to SEALs has already infiltrated the station and the intense battle between them began. Dealing with first the French, the killer whales, then the British and finally to the creatures down in the ice cavern while struggling to get all the remaining US scientists out of the station, the Marines leader Shane Schofield, nicknamed Scarecrow, became the walking killing machine. known as the Terminator! (oops wrong movie)
Status: Complete!
Book content:
Type of story: Action. Non-stop actions...yeah baby!
Setting: Antarctic ice station
Time: Contemporary
Main Characters: a lot, scientists & military personnels w/ equally MtF (males to females..not the transgender form..haha)
POV: 3rd
Conflict between: Americans, French and British
Sense of humor: couple funny moments between the Marines...Mother (which is the only other Marine besides Scarecrow that I like) had some funny lines but not enough!!
Sexual content: none..zip! zero! *whew*
Book rating:*from 1-10*
Plot: 7
Character development: 5 *only character that got developed was Schofield*
Style of writing:
- description: 8
- action: 10+++
- dialogue: 7 (choppy dialogue - cut off letters such as "Don't go ther-" when the reader can probably guess the word already so why?)
Believability: 5
Overall: 9