Operation Ice Breaker: A Mac McDowell Mission

by Robert G Williscroft

USS Teuthis Saturation Dive Team Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Mac McDowell is leading his submarine team on a mission to lay SOSUS arrays under the ice in the Arctic when they clash with a new Alfa-class highly automated Soviet submarine. Overwhelmed by mechanical problems, the Soviet crew abandons their sub near Pt. Barrow, Alaska. The Teuthis skipper launches DSRV-1 Mystic, so Mac and his crew can board the empty sub and gather intelligence. The arrival of an even more advanced Soviet sub leads to breathtaking underwater clashes with the specter of war looming. Will the Soviets sink Mac and his crew to their watery graves, or will Teuthis safely return to Alaska where Mac's new love, Kate, anxiously awaits his return?

322 pages, Paperback

Published September 23, 2020

Reviews

[Beem Weeks]

Mac McDowell returns in Operation Ice Breaker, the sequel to Operation Ivy Bells, and things are about to go sideways!

Mac and his crew take the U.S.S. Teuthis, a specially modified submarine, on a harrowing journey beneath the Arctic ice pack. Their mission is to lay secret SOSUS arrays along the ocean floor without being detected by the Soviets.

The Teuthis crew play a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with a Soviet submarine, with the Russians eventually forced to abandon their sub at the bottom of the sea. After American forces rescue the Soviets, Mac and his team travel to Kodiak, Alaska, where they utilize a Navy Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle to gather intel from the lost Soviet sub.

Mac falls for a young woman named Kate, the widow of a Coast Guard officer. Though their time together is brief, it highlights the human side of Mac. This makes for a well-rounded character.

The author, a retired submariner himself, has used his extensive knowledge to craft a tight, intense story that pulls readers into the action from the opening page. Williscroft writes some of the best cold-war military thrillers in the genre. This is a book I enjoyed from start to finish. And there’s even an audiobook available, complete with sound effects.

If you’re into strong military thrillers that rival the best writers in the genre, this is one you’ll want to get. And since it’s part of a four-book series, you’ll be enjoying Mac and his adventures beyond this title.

[Gene Masters]

Author Robert Williscroft scores another direct hit with Operation Ice Breaker. The follow-up novel to his first page-turner, the historical novel Operation Ivy Bells, Operation Ice Breaker is a second tour-de-force in the saga of submariner and saturation diver Mac MacDowell. Newly promoted to Lieutenant Commander, Mac leads his saturation dive team on Top Secret deep-dive missions: installing passive sound surveillance (SOSUS) arrays to track Soviet submarines in the Arctic, and then investigating an advanced Soviet submarine abandoned in those same frigid waters. Williscroft’s knowledge of nuclear submarine operations, saturation diving, and his direct experience with Mystic, a deep-submergence rescue vehicle, give the reader the sense of authenticity that can only add to their enjoyment in reading this fine novel.

[Big Fat Hairy Man]

In book two of this series, Mac is back. This time, he's on another submarine heading to the Arctic where they're laying a surveillance array on the bottom of the ocean. They're interrupted by a Soviet Alfa submarine and end up playing cat and mouse until the Alfa breaks down. They rescue the crew then head home and get a submersible to examine the submarine in more detail. However, they're interrupted again by another Soviet sub and have to deal with this new threat first. All in all, this was an okay book. It still suffers from the two issues I mentioned in the first book but was still entertaining enough for me to finish.

I'm a member of the ARC team and have left an honest review voluntarily.

[gj indieBRAG]

We are proud to announce that OPERATION ICE BREAKER by Robert G. Willscroft is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells readers that this book is well worth their time and money!