Ice Station Zebra

Anyone with a taste for naval warfare, mysteries and the Arctic in general will find this a fascinating read. I first read this book in my teens. I still return to it occasionally and never find it boring. I haven't watched the 1968 movie version of this book.

This is one of Alistair Maclean's best novels. From the time the American nuclear submarine Dolphin moves under the Arctic ice, you know it's not going to be an easy trip. From the sabotage of the torpedo tube, to the cold war double-crossing action at Ice Station Zebra, this novel is fast-paced, while still making you cold reading it. If you haven't read Maclean before, start with this one. I read it the first time when I was twelve years old and I re-read it every other year.

This is the way action novels should be written: taut, interesting,and loaded with realistic plot twists. Anyone writing a thriller today would do well to read this novel and realize that true writing does not require heavy amounts of sick, glossy violence and unneccessary sex. Besides a crackling story, the characters are smart and show a good bit of depth. It requires you to figure who the antagonist might be. One of my favorite passages is during the accident in the Engineroom...talk abut cold! But I won't say anymore because I do not wish to ruin anymore of the plot. Bruce from Camaroon take a clue: No one reads these reviews to be told who the bad guy is, that's what keeps them reading. All and all an excellent read!

I have friends who found this book boring, and I think I see what they mean. "Ice Station Zebra" does not have the non-stop action pace of modern thrillers. What it does have, to an exceptional degree, is vivid characterization, enjoyable writing, and a sustained build-up of tension that enables the reader to miss the occasional hole in the plot. Something I truly love about this book is that there is no fat on its frame: no gratuitous violence, zero sex, no hype. In some ways it strikes me as a model for the successful thriller in its purest form, with everything potentially inessential stripped away, and I re-read it every year or two just for the sheer fun of it.

MacLean can really write a mystery! In the begining of this book it wasn't very interesting, it seemed like another stupid war book. But seems to be odinary is far, far from. It builds into one of the most suspensful and intriquing mysteries ever! MacLean feeds you little bits of info at a time, not enough to give anything away, but enough to keep you reading. You'll truely be suprised at the ending! The best book I've read in a long time. Tell your freinds.