Madly Marvellous Mayhem

Having just finished this book I'm almost lost for words about how to describe it. If you take Rambo and cross him with Bourne, partner him with a Disney child hero, stir in some Jaws and even add a twist of Lassie you'll probably get as close as any description I can give you. This book is high octane, devil may care, non-stop action and there is no pause for reality checks or attention to the principles of physics.

I tend to be pretty forgiving about authors pushing the bounds of credulity but Matthew Reilly called my flexibility and raised it by the house limit. This is not a book for those who want gritty realism or even the vaguely realistic but it's a hugely fun adventure and to be fair the author makes it fairly clear what you are getting from the outset.

Sean Mangan brings it all to life in fine style so if you want a fun, hard hitting adventure with lots of action and don't mind the author taking a lot of liberties with his story's credibility you'll find it a lot of fun. If you're a stickler for detail and accuracy then abandon hope if you enter here.

20 people found this helpful

Wow

I never leave written reviews, but after listening to approximately 100 audiobooks I have to say that this is, without doubt, the worst. The narrator did the best he could with the material he had, but the story is just awful. Terrible science, riduculous extension of belief, deus ex machina aplenty, contrived plotting, etc. It feels like it was written by a teenager. There is a hovercraft action sequence that I cringed through, purely for the number of repetitions of the word 'hovercraft'. Basic writing mistakes, constant hyperbole, completely over-the-top set pieces... It makes Lee Childs Jack Reacher series look like Shakespeare.

9 people found this helpful

Innacurate but Entertaining

Well, Yes, But...
I found this a very entertaining tale of action and daring do, hence the rating, BUT it was marred in my mind by either innacurately described or totally unfeasible technology. An author can probably get away with magic in a Sci Fi or Fantasy novel but there are so many good Action stories which are plausible or well researched that Matt Riellys lack of realism was a disappointment.
Putting aside the odd grating innacuracy the story drew me in. I could have done with a map of the Ice Station to follow the action round and I was tempted at one point to pick up an Atlas and find the station and follow the escape across the Ice. I was left wanting more.

7 people found this helpful

I love Scarecrow!

Ice Station was the second Matthew Reilly book that I ever listened to and I fell in love with the characters.
If you're looking for a great action adventure series featuring larger than life characters then Ice Station is a great introduction.

Based in and around an Antarctic research station where Shane Schofield (Scarecrow) and his team have been sent in to provide assistance after an emergency signal was received.

The book is action packed and full of twists and turns that the first-time reader doesn't see coming. I've listened to this book several times and I don't see some of them coming, even now.

Spaceships, multi-national military forces, diving bells, killer whales and more all feature in this book.

I have just finished listening again and I'm waiting patiently on book 5 in the series.

Sean Mangan's narration is perfect. His characterisations just fit so well.

5 people found this helpful

Ice Station - nonstop action

Non stop action, edge of seat. Couldn't wait to get back to it. This is one extremely lucky guy though. Thoroughly enjoyed.

5 people found this helpful

All action adventure

Thoroughly enjoyed this audio book, albeit in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. Reminded me of The Survivalist series.

3 people found this helpful

Great book, not a great production.

Excellent story. Taken from CDs which is disappointing it ruins the flow at one point.

3 people found this helpful

A fantastical special ops thriller

If you could sum up Ice Station in three words, what would they be?

Fantastical (some stuff is clearly make believe but never feels over the top)
Thrilling (moves along at a good pace, never felt bored)
Intriguing (lots of twists and turns)

What other book might you compare Ice Station to, and why?

I've not read any of the others by this author.
The special ops/military aspect is less serious than an Andy McNabb or Chris Ryan book but may appeal if like me you enjoyed them but were a bit sick of back to Afghanistan.
The pacing reminds me of Dan Brown's books, but the lead character doesn't come off as so smug.

What does Sean Mangan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He does a good job with all the different accents and each character felt different.
His delivery is entertaining. Though at one point he has to read a long list of names, twice, which I expect works better in print.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nope, I did grin at the arrival of a team half way through the book and the innovative but sadly it seems fantastical weapon they brought with them.

Any additional comments?

This references events which I assume took place in the authors book Temple. I haven't read that and don't feel I was kept in the dark but now I have no plans to go back to read it. If you have a urge to read that book, read it first.
Otherwise an entertaining read and I have downloaded the next book with Scarecrow in.

3 people found this helpful

Now where did I put that crane?

Why a crane? Because if you are going to read this book you need something seriously powerful to help you suspend your disbelief. So much so that it cost the book a couple of rating stars. There are so many staggering coincidences that a couple of times I actually laughed out loud.
Still, if you can put these (and a host of other similarly astonishing implausibilities) to one side it's an enjoyable enough piece of action escapism. It gets a bit sloppy (careless rather than schmaltzy) at the end which is unfortunate because it left me without any desire to read more by the author.

7 people found this helpful

Best Author Ever

Rip roaring ride from start to finish. Keeps you turning pages until there's none left to turn.

3 people found this helpful