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Dec 27, 2011

Kasia rated it:

This book has sat inconspicuously next to my computer desk on it's shelf for two years and I don't know what exactly propelled me to pick it up but I'm glad I finally did! I tend to collect adventure stories that reach all corners of the Earth, even go between the layers and I especially love all the ice stories such as this one. The good news is that this book is fantastic, it reads like a movie and sometimes goes in opposite direction of reality and belief but it makes for a heck of a read. Th More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2011

Thk added it

Another of the pre-Sigma Force novels, I would think that this book comes from the proto-James Rollins that would share many common points with Reilly. Interestingly Reilly and Rollins seem to deviate into opposite paths of where they started out, essentially each other's turf.

This book holds a lot of common plot devices with Deep Fathom, and can be confusing at times, since I read both of them back to back. Too action-packed for my comfort, and got a bit confusing at the end portion where there More...

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Sep 25, 2011

Riju rated it:

Conspiracy thories have always had a certain allure, whose roots perhaps lie in the very first act of betryal that mankind had suffered from. This novel, apart from being a rollicking good adventure (nothing unusual for fans of James Rollins) is also a conspiracy thriller. The basic plot of the novel is simple: beneath the polar ice cap in the North, a secret scientific facility is discovered that had been apparently developed by the USSR, and now there is a race among the US & Russia to reach t More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. It is the second James Rollins book I've read, the first being "Subterranean." I was not especially impressed with that one, but liked the premise of this one, so decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. The characters were interesting, and I appreciated how Rollins wasn't afraid to kill off someone we'd had time to get to know a bit. The book does wind up with something of a predictable, cliched ending, but I don't mind that so much. Frank More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 03, 2011

Anna rated it:

A very enjoyable book hard to put down. Yes, the plot is about the same thing as usual, and you won't find any psychological depth or philosophy or whatever but, let's admit it, a book can be highly amusing even without those :) When you feel like you don't want your mind to be overloaded with beautiful writing or complicated ideas, take a nice thriller like the ones that Rollins writes and just enjoy a whirl of action. It's not a novel - it's a text movie. One event after another, danger, death More...

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Jan 08, 2012

Kathy rated it:

Yes, I forged on with the book, finishing it this afternoon. Let me share what Goodreads says before I tear it apart:

Buried deep in the earth's polar ice cap - carved into a moving island of ice twice the size of the United States - is a secret place, the site of a remarkable abandoned experiment that could have frightening ramifications for the planet. The brain trust of the former Soviet Union who created the seventy-year-old Ice Station Grendel would like it simply to melt from hum More...

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Jan 01, 2012

Frederick rated it:

A somewhat predictable thriller. The premise is that there is an abandoned ice station, previously occupied by the Soviets in the 1930's, that has been discovered floating in the arctic. It is an inverted ice mountain with caves carved into it and living spaces built out of the caves. Inside the caves the soviets preformed cryogenic experiments on human subjects that they preferred to keep quiet. An american research sub comes across this ice station and begins to explore it. Matt Pike, an Alask More...

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Jul 04, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

Tief unter der Eiskappe des Nordpols verbirgt sich seit Jahrzenten ein Geheimnis: der Schauplatz eines schrecklichen Experiments, das seinerzeit abgebrochen wurde. Am liebsten wäre es alles der damals Beteiligten, wenn der Ort völlig aus dem Gedächtnis der Menschen getilgt würde. Doch amerikanische Wissenschaftler stoßen mit ihrem U-Boot auf die verlassene russische Forschungsstation im Eis, und eines der Crewmitglieder sieht, wie sich im Inneren etwas bewegt. Etwas, was nie hätte überleben dürf More...

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Jul 31, 2010

Leah rated it:

My first Rollins was The Doomsday Key, which fast-paced--really lame passages in parts, but fast-paced nonetheless. Ice Hunt moved more slowly, contained more lame passages: "...the assassin smiled, feral. Perfect white teeth. Whoever the man worked for, they had a good dental plan." Wtf?! Who cares about his teeth? He's an ASSASSIN, ready to kill the bizarrely observant victim. And there was a baffling extended metaphor about a football right in the middle of a passage about explosive More...

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Oct 04, 2010

Jeff rated it:

I had a lot of fun reading Ice Hunt. I didn't notice the flaws that some people have reported; for example the football reference wasn't a metaphor, it was a code.

There was considerable discussion regarding unethical research with human subjects in recent history.

There was romance. There was suffering. There was personal growth.

All the action took place in the Alaskan wilderness or the Norther polar ice cap.

I had a little constant deja vu durin More...

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Sep 19, 2009

Ed rated it:

There were times this story was very exciting and moved quickly and other times it was slow and boring. I almost gave this book away because I was so disappointed in Excavation. Fortunately, someone on Goodreads suggested I read it. I'm glad I did.

The action scenes, as unbelievable as they may seem, and the characterizations are the strongest parts of the story. Even the military types, who often get stereotyped in stories like this, are fully drawn here.

The weakest e More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 23, 2010

Heather rated it:

This story started off very promising - the pacing was quick, the characters interesting and varied, etc... Unfortunately, for me it didn't stay that way. Somewhere along the line I disconnected from the story and even though it still had some shock moments and tense scenes, it didn't ever fully recapture the same level of engagement that it held for me at the beginning. It's my first attempt at a James Rollins novel, and I was interested enough that I may try another at some point in the fut More...

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Feb 27, 2011

William rated it:

Rollins writes many of his novels in the same fashion: group of scientists discover something, are attacked by creatures born of someone's worst nightmare, many scientists die horrible deaths, protagonist wins out against impossible odds, all is well. A curious distinction here is Rollins' inclusion of the idea that there are no "good" guys or "bad" guys. Just "greedy" guys. You don't want to be a greedy guy in one of these books. I read this while on the beach in t More...

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Feb 01, 2012

Kelanth, in tenebris lux tua rated it:

Non so bene che giudizio dare a questo secondo libro di Rollins, ho avuto l'impressione però che in questo volume abbia voluto un po' esagerare con le situazioni al limite dell'impossibile. Un po' quel troppo che alla fine invece di appassionare, annoia.

Mentre "Amazzonia" riesce a stare più o meno con i piedi per terra miscelando suspense, avventura e azioni in dosi giuste, qui sembra che la parte "azione" voglia sopprimere le altre due con troppe scene rocamboles More...

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Oct 04, 2010

starfleetbrat rated it:

I found this novel a bit hard to get through. The story wasn't bad and there was certainly plenty of action however I found it a slow read, and it really felt like it was dragging in parts, particularly in the latter half.

There was a large range of interesting characters but I thought the story jumped between different groupings of people so often that I started to lose any sense of who was where and when, who was alive and who was injured or dead. And I don't feel like any of the More...

1 comment like

Nov 29, 2008

Wendell rated it:

There's a lot going on Ice Hunt, and things get off to the kind of start we expect out of genre thrillers -- dozens of plot threads, abounding mysteries, new characters to meet every few pages. The problem is that, about halfway through, you start to wonder whether Rollins hasn't painted himself into a corner and, in the last 50 pages or so, it's simply a delirium. He can't possibly tie up all the loose ends and he starts writing frantic, page-long scene shifts that eventually give you whiplash. More...

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Dec 20, 2011

Ronschae4 rated it:

My first novel by James Rollins. I thought it was going to be an all-too-familiar trip down the Action/Adventure genre (a la Clancy, Baldacci, et al.) but I was surprised! Rollins adds some very interesting science into the plot. So much so that i would classify this as a SF book, not an Action/Adventure (because without the science, the plot would fall apart, imo). Anyway... very well done. A little reminiscent of another Niven/Pournelle/Barnes' TRULY masterful "Legacy of the Heorot"

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Dec 21, 2010

Charleen rated it:

This is another fun and entertaining novel from James Rollins. It's fairly typical for him, the blend of science and action, immediate threats with some buried mystery. The ideas presented in this story were more interesting to me than those in some of his other novels. Also, I must say that while several of his epilogues tend to be on the darker side, this one is the most terrifying of all. Not, of course, that that's a bad thing.

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Jan 14, 2010

Rose rated it:

If you like action and adventure, this is the book for you. It takes place in the coldest part of the world, it's roof! There are russians, spies, intrigue, science, mystery, and action packed adventure. With that said, the characters themselves are mostly one-dimensional with exception to the 2 main characters in the novel. But if you want in-depth characters, don't read action. By the way, the last paragraph in the book is the worth the whole ride there.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 15, 2010

Susan rated it:

I think this is possibly my favorite, so far, of all James Rollins' books, and I have read most of them. All his books are great fun and hard to put down. I read them voraciously. I can hardly wait to read the rest! His characters are strong and believable and so is the dialogue. I really enjoy that he puts so much research into each book, also love the science mixed with mythology.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2011

Mitch rated it:

This was my first James Rollins book and I crave more! This was a trills-a-minute book about a forgotten ice station buried in an underwater ice mountain that holds WWII era secrets and flesh-eating creatures that dwell in ice caverns. Don't know how else to explain it....exciting from cover to cover with a fanstastic cast of characters! I reccomend this one for sure!

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Chuck rated it:

O.K. A coordinated exploration of the Artic Circle by the military, academia and the occasional passing civilian along with a confrontation with the Russian navy; that's not all bad I thought. But then you have one of our band of brothers and sisters attacked by a pre-historic Raptor like creature and I'm through. Heck, I didn't even like Jurassic Park.

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Sep 29, 2011

Melanie rated it:

I had 2 friends read and rave about this book so I gave it a go. It was pretty good. Fits in with Clive Cussler and Steve Berry but just not quite as good in my opinion. But still a solid enjoyable read. I really liked the idea behind this book. Conspiracy theories are one of my favorites. Worth a read if you need to change up your genre or need a filler book while you wait for the library to get your requested book in.

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Jul 26, 2011

Hannah rated it:

If I could I'd really give this book 3 and 1/2 stars. I loved the book in places and couldn't stand it in others. Every aspect of the book: the plot, the characters, the descriptions, I loved in certain bits and hated in others. The characters Jenny and Matt were great. Craig I didn't like to much, an annoyance throughout the book.

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Jun 11, 2011

Julie rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. It's not really sci-fi but it kind of has that flavor. Throw in some thrills, mystery and romance and that's just my kind of book! I had it on my "save" shelf, but it was confiscated by my son in one of his frequent raids on my bookshelf. Definitely recommend this book if you like this kind of mix in a novel.

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Aug 07, 2009

Gevera rated it:

I usually really like James Rollins' books. This one started out interesting but lost steam about halfway through, turning into a parody of itself with page after page of stupid chase scenes. After a while I forgot who the characters were and why I should care. The book should be cut by at least a third.
Kudos on one of the main characters being deaf, however.

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Jan 19, 2012

Kilgallen rated it:

A wickedly fast paced thriller!!! The cast of characters is large but the story flows well. I did not find myself lost among the cast as can sometimes happen with so many players. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Inuit lore and language. There were many twists and turns in the story lines that kept me on my toes and engaged with the characters. A fantastic read.

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Nov 28, 2011

Marsha rated it:

This was a good read - it kept me reading almost constantly for two or three days. Holds your interest with just enough tension. A bit of a "guy" book with a lot of explosions and destruction, but I still rated it a 4. Guess I have to since I couldn't put it down.

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May 26, 2010

John rated it:

I read Rollins when I want a roller coaster ride and this book certainly filled that need. However, unlike his more recent work, I found parts of this to be repetitive and tedious. I liked the lead characters but.....well the circular crises lost me. Too contrived for me (and I accept a lot from these books).

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Apr 27, 2009

Jessie Marie rated it:

Not as thrilling as amazonia, but still intriguing and a good read. I found it really interesting how Mr. Rollins uses scientific facts and history to invent creatures and situations that are so believable. I also found the authors notes kinda scary... but very honest.

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