I really wanted to give this 3 1/2 stars, but can't do that. If I hadn't expected it to be a normal Koontz book I probably would have like it better. It wasn't until I got to the end and read his "Note to the Reader" that I found out this is another of Koontz's early books originally published as "Prison of Ice" by David Axton. Could Koontz have any more pseudonym's? It's totally unlike his other books. He explains that this book was written as "something of a homage to Alistair MacLean" and it truly is written in that style; so if you like MacLean you will no doubt like this one. I do and did like this one, too, but I guess because I wasn't prepared for the abrupt change in style I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually enjoy a book by Koontz.