Sign in with Facebook
65 Below
by
Basil Sands (Goodreads Author)
At sixty-five degrees below zero exposed human flesh freezes solid within three minutes.
Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after twenty years chasing bad men. Now he wants nothing but to hunt and fish and run his trapline in peace and quiet, and no more war.
Lurking deep in a long forgotten bunker in the remote arc...more
Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after twenty years chasing bad men. Now he wants nothing but to hunt and fish and run his trapline in peace and quiet, and no more war.
Lurking deep in a long forgotten bunker in the remote arc...more
Paperback, 376 pages
Published
April 29th 2011
by Createspace
(first published September 7th 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
305)
Wish there were half-stars, I hate ratings that are 'not quite but better than'. Ended up rounding this one up to a 4 star because I definitely liked the characters and the feel of the wilderness areas and the weather were wonderful.
Fairly standard black ops from a foreign country/ save everyone from terrorists plot. Characters were easy to identify with although I did have a bit of difficulty with the way the connection/romance between the two main characters was handled as the author seemed to...more
Fairly standard black ops from a foreign country/ save everyone from terrorists plot. Characters were easy to identify with although I did have a bit of difficulty with the way the connection/romance between the two main characters was handled as the author seemed to...more
Wow! A great read and a refreshing author!! This is the first book I've read from this author, so I really had no idea what I was getting into. Got this as a free Kindle book simply because I was intrigued by the title and the background setting of Alaska. After sampling this author, I will happily pay full price for other books. I really loved all of the characters in this book. They all felt like real people, and I truly loved that some were even Christians (including even a virgin or two!) an...more
Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson, Trooper Lonnie Wyatt (Marcus' long ago flame), along with a huge cast of good guys, mostly with military special ops-type backgrounds take on terrorists with a bio-weapon that can turn human tissue into jelly within minutes. Time is of the essence, because the deadly chemical is about to be released into the Anchorage, Alaska area. As if finding and fighting the bad guys isn't enough, the temps in Alaska are getting as low as 65 degrees below zero!...more
I started reading this because I like outdoor mysteries - Dana Stabenow, C.J. Box, etc. This book has those outdoor elements that I enjoy, however it involves soldiers stationed in Alaska. When I was finished I immediately purchased another of Sands books which I am waiting to read.
First paragraphs, "Chapter 1 Suburban Neighborhood Seattle Washington June 16th 19: 25 Hours The knife was razor-sharp. Shock morphed into terror as Michael realized first that he could make no sound, then that he cou...more
First paragraphs, "Chapter 1 Suburban Neighborhood Seattle Washington June 16th 19: 25 Hours The knife was razor-sharp. Shock morphed into terror as Michael realized first that he could make no sound, then that he cou...more
I picked up 65 Below as a free download from my daily Kindle newsletter. The title and description seemed interesting and I thought I'd take a look at it. I found the story line to be similar to the movie "Walking Tall" where the lead character is recently retired from the military and returns to his hometown, although in this story it's Alaska. He soon finds out that is "ex-fiance" is now divorced and is an Alaskan State Trooper - based in the same town. There are actually three different stori...more
This book was great! I enjoyed much more than Faithful Warrior (again, not a bad story) as it kept me riveted to the page. The pacing was great and the character development on target. What I enjoyed most about the characters though is that Marcus "Mojo" Johnson, the protagonist, appeared in parts of Faithful Warrior. So it was great to get to know this character in much more detail. I like that Sand's universe is populated with characters that show up across his books almost like a comic book u...more
1) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
2) Genre: Military fiction
3) Synopsis: Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after twenty years chasing bad men. Now he wants nothing but to hunt, fish, and run his trap line in peace and quiet, and no more war.
Lurking deep in a long forgotten bunker in the remote arctic hills is a decades old secret that could not be destroyed, and was never meant to be rediscovered
4) Feelings: I should start out I listened to t...more
2) Genre: Military fiction
3) Synopsis: Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after twenty years chasing bad men. Now he wants nothing but to hunt, fish, and run his trap line in peace and quiet, and no more war.
Lurking deep in a long forgotten bunker in the remote arctic hills is a decades old secret that could not be destroyed, and was never meant to be rediscovered
4) Feelings: I should start out I listened to t...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Grammar mistakes REALLY annoy me while reading, so it says a lot that I kept reading this book. I tried to ignore the many misplaced commas, the few missing apostrophes, and the few other mistakes. For the first half of the book, the story - which keeps one begging to find out what happens next - made these things easy to ignore. However, after awhile even that was not enough, and I had to force myself to keep reading.
The consciences in the story - there just happens to be someone that speaks t...more
The consciences in the story - there just happens to be someone that speaks t...more
65 Below by Basil Sands is an actioned packed thriller. Sands weaves the story from modern times to the late 90s and balances the writing expertly. This spy drama takes place in the wilds of Alaska. It involves ex and current special forces teams, the FBI ang the Alaskan Highway Patrol Troopers. It centers around Marcus Johnson and Lonnie Wyatt. Marcus discovers a terrorist link between Muslim Albanians and North Koresn spies with a plan to contaminate water supplies with a deathly virus thst ki...more
Growing up in the UK, BBC radio broadcasts were a great source of spoken-word entertainment and thanks to the Internet this has continued to be available. A few years ago I ‘discovered’ Podiobooks.com, works often read by the author, covering a vast range of genres. These books made my daily commute much more pleasant.
This was a fun ‘read’ and I found myself really involved in the characters. Definitely a page-turner.
The main plot-line relates the story of Marcus Johnson, former Master Sergeant...more
This was a fun ‘read’ and I found myself really involved in the characters. Definitely a page-turner.
The main plot-line relates the story of Marcus Johnson, former Master Sergeant...more
I did not like the flashback of the main character. Don't know why that was necessary. Also the romance reminded me of a teenager back in the 50's.
So this guy has only ever loved one woman and he's also a virgin, but he's in his 30s or 40s after working all around the world in the Marines? It was so jarringly unrealistic as to be distracting.
I found myself skimming the pages to get done and still know what was going on.
So this guy has only ever loved one woman and he's also a virgin, but he's in his 30s or 40s after working all around the world in the Marines? It was so jarringly unrealistic as to be distracting.
I found myself skimming the pages to get done and still know what was going on.
As a former resident of the Fairbanks area, I really appreciated the author's eye for authenticity in this story. It brought back a lot of memories, although none involving terrorists and biological weapons, of course :p
As for the actual plot, it started off strongly but I got hung up in the middle.... for about 3 months! Finally picked it up again and am very glad I finished instead of abandoning it.
As for the actual plot, it started off strongly but I got hung up in the middle.... for about 3 months! Finally picked it up again and am very glad I finished instead of abandoning it.
I really enjoyed most of the book, the suspenseful parts. I think the romance stuff could've been cut and improved the book a lot. So this guy has only ever loved one woman and he's also a virgin, but he's in his 30s or 40s after working all around the world in the Marines? It was so jarringly unrealistic as to be distracting. However, the main suspenseful storyline was well done.
Great little adventure. Alaska State Troopers. SEALS. North Korean soldiers and spies. A little romance to boot. Flashbacks were nicely done.
Really, my only quibble was the bit about the safety on a Glock pistol. There is no external safety to "click off" like there is on Browning or Colt or numerous other designs.
Really, my only quibble was the bit about the safety on a Glock pistol. There is no external safety to "click off" like there is on Browning or Colt or numerous other designs.
This was a great story idea that was truly ruined by bad editing.
I persevered with reading it even though I was constantly jarred out of it by half and half sentences or missing words. In the end the story idea was good enough to say I enjoyed it but I think, with better editing, I would have loved it.
I persevered with reading it even though I was constantly jarred out of it by half and half sentences or missing words. In the end the story idea was good enough to say I enjoyed it but I think, with better editing, I would have loved it.
Jun 21, 2011
Basil Sands
rated it
5 of 5 stars
· (Review from the author)
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
authored-by-basil
I really enjoyed writing this book. It is the story of my own homeland, with a lot of fictionalized twists of course. But the setting at least is my own backyard. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Fast, keep your interest kind of book. But the author's voice seems very biased and I don't like the undertone prejudice (towards anything not US military). I read it in one night.
Excited to find a (so-far) good espionage-thriller... one set in a cold, snowy place (interior Alaska)... makes this Montanan feel right at home.
I don't know maybe I'll have a better review after I get over the fact that nearly at the end of the book the 'love interest' said she'd 'acted like a whore' because she married someone. Nooooo.
I found this to be very gripping and couldn't put it down. Not my usual style of book but I enjoyed it
First book of Basil I read I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it, very graphic draws you in.
A chilling thriller that will not let you put the book down.
My third time so far.
Al-right, but kind of simplistic and repetitive.
Jul 24, 2011
Keith Bell
added it
A self published book. Not too bad.
A fun read, but it felt a little like the good guys had no faults and the bad guys had no redeeming features.
I felt the plot was a bit stretched, but if you can ignore that then it's worth a read.
I felt the plot was a bit stretched, but if you can ignore that then it's worth a read.
One of the best free podibooks I have read so far. I liked the main character, Marcus Johnson, and his ties to the special military forces. If you want to read this book you can download it for free from here: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/65-below
May 20, 2013
Karon
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
