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Ice Station Zebra Alistair MacLean Books

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Ice Station Zebra Alistair MacLean Books

I fell in love with MacLean's books when I was about 9, and this is one of my all-time faves of his. The settings --in the sub and at the Arctic camp-- provide a tight, suspenseful framework for the story, which is itself tight & suspenseful; this is MacLean at his best. I think his most effective books are in nearly claustrophobic settings --this, the ship in "HMS Ulysses" (my vote for #1), the eponymous Bear Island, the harsh sea & barren islands in "When Eight Bells Toll."

As is often the case in MacLean's work, the protagonist is more than he appears, and is a person dealing with a deep, personal pain. The captain and crew of the sub are likeable, 3-D characters. It's been so many decades since I first read this I really am no judge of how likely it is that a new reader will be able to figure out who the bad guy(s) is/are, but I think MacLean does a good job of concealing his/their identity/identities without cheating. The fire under the ice is one of the more exciting, truly knuckle-biting episodes in fiction. And as always, MacLean sprinkles bits of wry humor throughout.


Tags : Amazon.com: Ice Station Zebra (9780006161417): Alistair MacLean: Books,Alistair MacLean,Ice Station Zebra,HarperCollins,0006161413,Action & Adventure,Thrillers - Suspense,Other geographical groupings, oceans and seas Oceans and seas Arctic Ocean,Arctic regions;Fiction.,Submarines (Ships);Fiction.,Suspense fiction.,Adventure thriller,Arctic Ocean,Arctic regions,Classic fiction,FICTION Action & Adventure,FICTION Classics,FICTION Thrillers Suspense,FICTION Thrillers Technological,FICTION War & Military,Fiction,Fiction and related items Adventure War and combat fiction,Fiction and related items Classic fiction (pre c. 1945),Fiction-ActionAdventure,GENERAL,General Adult,Great BritainBritish Isles,MACLEAN, ALISTAIR - PROSE & CRITICISM,MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE FICTION,SCOTTISH NOVEL AND SHORT STORY,Suspense fiction,War & combat fiction

Ice Station Zebra Alistair MacLean Books Reviews

There are so many "Oh, I loved the book so much more than the movie!" reviews everywhere. This is not one of them.

I happened to like the movie more than the book. While the character development is more complex, the characters are more numerous, and the story is very good, the development is so slow it's almost hard to read. I thought the changes for the sake of the movie were actually done well, and in good taste.
An old book, no longer in publication. Not as complex as I had hoped. I expected a geo-political thriller but that is not what this is. It is merely an adventure story similar to the Shackleton story. Only this is a novel. And it takes place in the 50's and has a submarine and a cold war listening station in it. Not as good as I expected but readable.
MacLean's books may occasionally require the suspending of disbelief, as he explores the limits of human endurance, both mental and physical. On one hand, you may find some events unrealistic, but on the other hand, you may be more inclined to test your own limits. Stories like this can be inspiring, if you still have some fight left in you.

MacLean's stories are easy to imagine as movies. I'm aware that some have been made into movies, but the very person who recommended MacLean to me has been advised against watching them.

Don't read the back of the book; it's a bit of a spoiler.
One of my all time favorite books. Secrets within secrets, can you solve the mystery? All the clues are there. Even today, it holds up well, and compares favorably to the best modern thrillers.
This is a story set at the height of the Cold War and it still works wonderfully. MacLean, while short on fleshing out characters, is exceptional at action and moving the story along at a brisk pace. Throughout this novel, even though I had an idea of what was going to happen, and even guessed some of the mysteries (don't want to spoil it for others), I enjoyed it immensely. This is not a by the numbers espionage novel, where the big 'reveals' are the only payoffs.
The story centers around a station set up in the Arctic, where a meteorological station has been established, but is in trouble and is sending out SOS and so the US sends a nuclear submarine under the ice to rescue them. Along the way, there is sabotage, harrowing fascinating moments of finding a place to break through the ice and pure adventure. I loved this part of the novel, when they were trying to find the drifting station.
There are surprises and of course there are people who aren't what they appear, aka spies, which drives the final half of the novel to a very satisfying conclusion. Particularly frightening was a fire on the sub.
I studied on a sub so I found it to be very realistic and innovative. MacLean clearly did his homework.
Highly recommended!
Ice Station Zebra had a bit of a slow start for me, but it quickly picked up steam. Dr. Carpenter is a physician, or so he says, and his mission is to reach a meteorological station in the Arctic called Drift Ice Station Zebra which has had a catastrophic fire. To do this he enlists the help of a nuclear submarine called the Dolphin which can survive under the solid ice of the polar ice cap.

The accident is soon revealed to not have been an accident at all, but a cover for murder. Someone at Ice Station Zebra is hiding a secret, and he's not the only one. Dr. Carpenter is also extremely secretive, and is withholding vital information from the crew of the Dolphin about his true intentions.

I found the book extremely hard to put down. There is a lot of time in this book devoted to detailed technical descriptions of how submarines work, which might be a drag to other people, but not to me. I absolutely loved this aspect of it.

I am looking forward to read other books by this author!
I read a lot of Maclean as a kid in the 60s; in fact, he's probably the first adult author I ever read. This story stands up fairly well to my childhood memories (some others, such as Where Eagles Dare, don't stand up as well). Maclean will never be mistaken for an author of high literature, and there are some quirks and cliches in his style, but overall this is a readable, enjoyable yarn. The story is a bit chaotic at times but it never bogs down, that's for sure; things keep happening at a snappy pace. I thought the villain was telegraphed early on, but your mileage may vary.

For those who have seen the movie, there are some pretty serious divergences in the story. Plus the movie started out fantastic in my opinion, and then devolved into Star Trek phony-rubber-set style silliness at the end. Which I guess has another kind of charm.
I fell in love with MacLean's books when I was about 9, and this is one of my all-time faves of his. The settings --in the sub and at the Arctic camp-- provide a tight, suspenseful framework for the story, which is itself tight & suspenseful; this is MacLean at his best. I think his most effective books are in nearly claustrophobic settings --this, the ship in "HMS Ulysses" (my vote for #1), the eponymous Bear Island, the harsh sea & barren islands in "When Eight Bells Toll."

As is often the case in MacLean's work, the protagonist is more than he appears, and is a person dealing with a deep, personal pain. The captain and crew of the sub are likeable, 3-D characters. It's been so many decades since I first read this I really am no judge of how likely it is that a new reader will be able to figure out who the bad guy(s) is/are, but I think MacLean does a good job of concealing his/their identity/identities without cheating. The fire under the ice is one of the more exciting, truly knuckle-biting episodes in fiction. And as always, MacLean sprinkles bits of wry humor throughout.