Ice Station by Matthew Reilly - 4 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

This book introduces Lieutenant Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield. The story involves the response by a top team of marines to a distress call from an Antarctic research station saying they have found a spaceship. Unfortunately they are not the only ones to pick up the signal.

This book is non-stop action from beginning to end. The first half is excellent, with the tension never letting up, but as the end draws near I found some of the situations too unbelievable. Then I realized......this is an action adventure book so just suspend your belief and go for the gusto. Ice Station is a military thriller in every sense of the word. It is over-the-top, packed full of action and is just a lot of fun to read. If you want realism, look somewhere else. The characters are quickly introduced and brief backgrounds are given. Once the stage has been set, it is off to the races. The author is not big on character development, although there is some background and growth in the Ice Station, its only in retrospect. The main focus of Reilly's novels is action. When I'm next in the mood for something that screams action/adventure I'm definitely going to pick up the next book in Reilly's Scarecrow series.