From Publishers WeeklyAfter a team of American scientists at Wilkes Ice Station discover what seems to be a spaceship in a four-million-year-old cavern below the ice, two of the divers disappear while checking out the craft. Lt. Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield and his highly trained team of Marines respond to the scientists' distress signal. By the time the leathernecks reach Wilkes, three days later, one of the scientists has killed another, six more members of the Wilkes team have disappeared in the ice cave and eight French scientists from a nearby station are for some reason at the U.S. base. Would the French government kill Americans to capture a frozen UFO? Probably: six of the French "scientists" turn out to be the members of the French special forces. From that discovery onward, this first novel offers nonstop thrills as Schofield and his team fight for their livesAand for those of the remaining American scientistsAagainst French and British commandos and a secret American spy group; against killer whales and strange aquatic mammals; and against time, for both the French and British commandos harbor "eraser" plans to wipe out all survivors in case of mission failure. Reilly's debut evokes a host of predecessors, including Jaws, The Andromeda Strain, The X-Files and the combat novels of Tom Clancy. It also echoes the work of Ian Fleming, as the outrageously heroic Schofield comes off as less a real Marine than a fantasy action figure on a par with Bond. There's not much that's original hereAeven the set-up is reminiscent of the classic SF film The Thing, about a saucer buried in Arctic iceAbut Reilly doesn't really need to be original, not at the pace at which he whips his story line past readers. Employing crude but effective prose, a nonstop spray of short, punchy paragraphs and cliffhangers galore, this is grade-A action pulp. (Sept.) FYI: Ice Station was previously published by Pan Macmillan in Reilly's native Australia, where it sold 30,000 copies. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalFans of Clive Cussler will enjoy this first novel by Australian author Reilly. Set in Antarctica, Ice Station pits a group of U.S. Marines against a host of unexpected adversaries. Buried deep in the ice, in a layer 100 million years old, is something that arouses the greed of governments around the globe. Their respective Special Forces units are unleashed in this inhospitable land in a race to claim the hidden treasure. The book moves along at a good pace, and as with all well-told military thrillers there are plenty of unexpected twists, turns, and betrayals. Reilly's characters are colorful and engaging, and his bad guys are more wrong-headed than evil. The laws of science are sometimes shunted aside to make way for improbable weaponry and impossible situations, but that's just part of the fun. Recommended for public libraries with large military fiction collections.APatrick Wall, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Spartanburg Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus sRollicking, think-and-you-missed-it military action-adventure pits a lone Marine against highly trained hostile troops, a secret government organization, killer whales, Stealth fighters, mutant monsters, and an entire submarine in a multinational race to claim what might be an alien spaceship frozen in the Antarctic ice. Marine Reconnaissance Platoon leader Shane ``Scarecrow'' Schofield's day in hell begins when his 12-person team (which includes two women) take two ice-skimming Hovercraft to answer the distress call: American scientists are missing after investigating a huge metallic object in a cave 1,500 feet below the South Polar Wilkes Ice Station. Though a solar flare has made radio communications nearly impossible, word has gone out to a distant French ice station that the object may be of extraterrestrial origin. Before Scarecrowso-called because his hideously disfigured eyes have been equipped with supernaturally acute visioncan investigate a murder victim in the ice station's freezer, a French rescue team starts shooting at the Americans. The blood-splattering, ultraviolent play of high-tech weaponry, unforeseen catastrophes and death-defying escapes (12-year-old American math whiz Kirsty and her cuddly pet seal Wendy become convenient targets for villainous aggression) are only the beginning as killer whales rush in where the French fear to swim. Then Scarecrow learns that if the French fail to get the spaceship, they will ``erase'' the station from existence, because an even larger British SAS team, lead by Scarecrow's former mentor, Brigadier General Trevor Barnaby, is hot on their heels. Worse, a secret US government intelligence cabal has planted double-agents in Schofield's team with orders to kill everyone so that spacecraft's location will remain a secret. A fabulous Hovercraft chase ensues, followed by even more spectacular movie-style stunts (with a genuine cliff-hanger, just for fun). Alistair MacLean meets the X-Files, in a first novel by Australian writer Reilly thats as silly and satisfying as a wide-screen Hollywood blockbuster. -- Copyright 1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. is goodreads free Ice Station (Scarecrow Series)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Loved the action!By Cat99This was a great book! Admittedly, I was going to stop reading it due to the first lengthy fight scene, which I thought was tedious. BUT, I decided that, since I was intrigued by the mystery. I kept reading, and did I like it! So glad I kept reading, it's a cliff-hanger, super action, adventure tale. My favorite will probably always be James Rollins, but this was a great book nonetheless. I give it 4.5 stars and have already ordered the next in the series as well as the first from the other series.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. What A Ride! Fast reads with lots of action!By LizLoved it! Conspiracies, secrets, government, battles, special forces, recons and more taking place in one of the coldest, desolate areas on this planet! Ben Hope meet Shane Schofield. Would definitely recommend to other. Was hard to imagine the outcome with all the action and twists going on.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Rollercoaster of a ride! Flat out fun!By L. LeeTake a large piece off Cussler, add some Bourne Identity and a smidge of Patterson and you'll have an idea of what to expect with Ice Station. This is a well written, well plotted book with lots of fairly violent action. The characters are interesting and location, Antarctica, adds a nice twist. There is also a pet seal, Wendy, that is a charming addition.The reasons I only gave this book 4 stars: This is a LONG book, almost 700 pages. It moves along quickly, but it's longer than I personally like. You DEFINITELY have to suspend your sense of reality. Some of the antics stretch believability extremely far.