Rating: 
Summary: Preposterous Plot, Convoluted Conspiracies - Disappointing!
Review: After finishing James Rollins' "Sandstorm," my first book by the author, I couldn't wait to read another of his novels. I was hoping for an equally intelligent, exciting, rollercoaster ride of an adventure. "Ice Hunt" was my choice and I am very disappointed. There is too much going on at once here. I am a believer in multi-tasking, but Mr. Rollins' various plots, and several subplots, along with too many protagonists and minor characters, are simply mind-boggling! All action and little depth is the best way to describe "Ice Hunt." Even the main plot, takes a backseat to movement. And, unfortunately, the storyline is preposterous. I enjoy fantasy fiction, and "Sandstorm" - a definite 5 Star novel - certainly stretched my imagination, in the best possible way. However," Ice Hunt's" exotic wildlife, the rationale and priorities of several characters, and the manner in which many problems are resolved, left me incredulous, and at times rolling my eyes!
The USS Polar Sentinel, a brand new sub and test model for future generations of attack vessels, is presently being utilized for scientific research. A startling discovery is made during a routine mission. The sub's equipment detects a vast inverted ice mountain containing a secret scientific laboratory. It is an abandoned polar station, originally built and utilized by the former Soviet Union during and after WWII. The base was actually constructed inside the ice. The Polar Sentinel's commanding officer decides to occupy the station to explore, conduct research, discover the reason for the station's highly confidential existence, and the reason why the Soviet scientists, who once worked here, had been left to die tragically - their fate unknown, even to their families.
Meanwhile, a Russian admiral, the son of the man who was once in charge of the polar station, is on another submarine - this one Russian, making its way toward the now US occupied polar station. He has dangerously original plans of his own for the future of the base, the iceberg and the Arctic polar ice cap.
Max Pike, a Fish and Game officer cataloging bear populations in the remote Brooks Range, who is also a former Green Beret, (convenient), finds a small plane, which has been shot out of the sky. Matt rescues the only survivor, who says he is a journalist traveling to the polar station. They barely have a chance to exchange names when they find themselves relentlessly pursued by black clad Russian special forces, who aim to kill. Somewhere along the way, Matt's Inuit ex-wife, her father, and their dog join the two men, and attempt to escape their pursuers in the ex-wife's airplane. Eventually everyone winds up at the polar base. And the action hasn't even begun.
There's yet another base on the polar ice cap, (the Arctic has become quite crowded!), the US Omega Drift Station, but I won't confuse you with the details. Too many convoluted conspiracies, an over abundance of conflict, and a pace that could win marathons. Threads dangle at the conclusion. Many characters are just too shallow, so their motivations appear irrational at times.
I did enjoy, immensely, Mr. Rollins' descriptions of life at the Arctic circle. His knowledge of the elements and the unbelievable landscape, above and below the ice, is impressive and fascinating. I also really enjoyed the first part of the novel, before I felt like the action and speed took over the narrative.
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Seriously, who are you people?
Review: I am amazed how many people have recommended this guy. I could stomach Amazonia, and I struggled my way through Excavation, but my patience is officially at an end.James Rollins might be able to come up with vaguely (really vaguely) plausible scientific/archaeological/whatever plots, but the man can't write worth a damn. Clive Cussler I can understand, I don't think much of his writing either, but in the Amazon.com review they invoke the name of Michael Crichton! Bite your collective tongues. Preston/Child are closer to Crichton, and even they aren't that good. There's tiers at work here folks, and Rollins, while imaginative, is on the third, at best. I don't understand the pention for publishing companies to sell novels that would make better movies than they make novels. An agent was quoted as saying we'd rather buy a great story by a good writer, than a good story by a great writer, and this book is a perfect example of why. Thumbnail sketches of characters painted as shallow as puddles, from the submarine captain who is a rip off of Tom Clancy's Marko Ramius, to the park ranger who happened to have been trained as a freakin' Green Beret, the layers of preposterosity keep coming, and I keep losing interest. Maybe good enough beach blanket reading if you can suspend your disbelief sufficiently. I found I could not.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of fun if you overlook the errors
Review: I bought this book while waiting for the next Matthew Reilly novel, in hopes Ice Hunt would be half as fun as Ice Station. It was half as fun. Mr. Rollins develops good characters and achieves a fast paced adventure tale. On the other hand, he doesn't have a grasp of U.S. military tactics and training, and it shows. Having an American Delta force command casually agree to slaughter innocent civilians isn't even outrageous -- it's laughable. Once I got to that point of the novel I wanted to see the ending so I finished it up, but the story was spoiled for me. Tom Clancy isn't a military man, and neither is Matthew Reilly. Somehow they manage to get their facts put together -- bad guys can be American military personnel, but bad guys aren't the entire U.S. military force. I hope that James Collins does better research next time and gets his military strategy right.
Rating: 
Summary: Reading entertainment at its best! Two thumbs up!
Review: I'm not going to bother giving you a synopsis of the storyline for this novel, the publisher's blurb preceding these reviews does a fine job of that. Personally, I think this book is probably the most action packed of Rollins' collection of novels. I was hooked by page 25, talking to myself as I cheered on the good guy as he escaped from snipers by page 59, was forgetting to make myself some supper by page 150, living on popcorn and Coke Classic by page 300 with nothing on my mind but reaching the end of this fun ride! This book is packed with nail biting chases and battles, a white knuckle plane ride in the first 100 pages that will leave you breathless and hoping you see it on the big screen one day and more than enough interesting twists and turns to make you drool with anticipation and suspense. I won't give anything away in regards to the base storyline or what you'll find lurking deep in that ice station but believe me, it will be worth the time you invest to read this book. All the excitement comes together into a climactic ending that will make your jaw drop. Rollins incorporated a nice mix of different characters, some more intense than others but all relevant to the storyline and for moving it forward. An absolutely brilliant story with a very imaginative ending. I absolutely LOVED this book!!! This was how action/adventure was meant to be written!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Techno-Thriller
Review: In Ice Hunt, James Rollins has written a fast-paced thriller of 500+ pages that incorporates everything a reader of this genre would want. There are well-developed and believable protagonists, evil villians, and many characters that are not what they seem to be. There is a huge amount of techonology and off-the-edge science that makes the book a real departure. Rollins is a ready user of the cliffhanger, thrill-ride approach. It has been a long time since I have been so transported by the relentless threats our heroes face. This nice fat book gives ample time for a very complex plot to evolve, develop the characters and set the technology / biological issues in motion. I highly recommend it for a fun, exciting escapist read. It leaves you breathless at the end, like a world class rollercoaster.
Rating:
Summary: Beneath the ice, Hell has frozen over!
Review: It's almost an accident: a research sub stumbles upon a lost military base settled deep beneath the ice--Ice Station Grendel. At first, it all seems dead; but then they realize that there is indeed life...but it's not human... Enter Admiral Viktor Petkov, commander of the Russian Northern Fleet. Petkov's father oversaw Grendel's research facility...and Petkov is determined to restore his father's legacy, even if it means throwing the world into a new ice age... Matt Pike is a Fish and Game officer, former Green Beret, and divorced from Inuit sheriff Jennifer Aratuk. The couple find themselves in the middle of events, thanks to a mysterious reporter who still has a few secrets up his proverbial sleeve. Along with a whole slew of characters, they are about to discover the secrets of Ice Station Grendel, and are about to experience the most horrifying days of their lives. Because in a covert battle between the Russian and American governments, the enemy isn't always clear, and those closest to you may in fact be your worst enemies. James Rollins has written some outstanding novels. His first, "Subterranean," remains one of my favorite books of all time. "Ice Station" comes close to topping that list, too. With all the adventure of his previous four books, plus some amazing character development (even the evil Petkov is drawn as a human figure; I felt myself feeling sorry for the poor guy several times), "Ice Hunt" is a bonafide thrilling ride. It fits the two big "U's" of great suspense novels: unpredictable and unforgettable.
Rating: 
Summary: Ice Hunt v. Ice Station
Review: James Rollin's Ice Hunt shares a number of similarities with Matt Reilly's Ice Station. So, which one is better? Let's see.
Both take place in polar enviroments, one in the North the other in the South. Both involve accidental discoveries of "something buried in the ice" that two or more parties are more than willing to kill for, to either take possession of or destroy. Both sites are adjacent to lairs of mutant, man-eating killer beasts.
What follows is an exciting series of chases, gunfights, betrayals, captures and escapes. When it comes to writing combat scenes, the edge has to go to Reilly. Few can write gunfights better,IMHO. What I like about Rollins is that he spreads the action around among several of his characters. This gives the story a little believability, or at least as much as one could manage when reading this type of story. Reilly gives his main character the bulk of the action scenes which even Superman would have a hard time handling. Sure, both books have scenes of their characters making extremely, unlikely and miraculous escapes from certain death situations but with Rollins, at least you're not reading about it happening to the same person over and over again.
So who's the winner? You, the reader, are. If you're a fan of this genre, you can't go wrong with either book. My reccomendation is to read them both. Just don't read them back to back.
Rating:
Summary: Average Thriller
Review: Nothing spectacular in this book, kind of between a Michael Crichton book and a Mathew Reilly book, science meets adventure. Not as good as Crichton,, but not as outlandish as a Reilly. A Russian Ice Station dating to the 1930's is discovered by a research US Navy Sub, insuing chaos begins, and there is a possible world threatening catastrophe as the ultimate outcome unless the heros stop the MADNESS. Oh, sorry I forgot about the undiscovered man eating creatures called Grendels. Combined with Delta Force commandos and Russian Leopard Corps there's plenty of action at the top of the world. But little else, if you like sensless action, pseudo science, and chaotic sequence of events, then by all means pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Nonstop adventure at the Polar Ice Cap
Review: Once again Rollins takes readers on a roller coaster ride, coupling brisk action with better-than-average characterization for an author of plot-based thrillers. I think the thing I admire most about Rollins is his superb imagination. He manages to make unbeliveable plots seem factual. What a talent! The "things never meant to survive or be found" were wrapped in enough scientific plausibility to allow the the reader to engage completely in the story. Also Rollins created a very interesting array of characters who work well together in all aspects. I never miss a Rollins book, for the simple reason that his batting average is so darn good. His novels range from very good to spectacular--this makes me await eagerly each new book. If you like LOTS of action, suspense, narrow escapes, some who DON'T escape, original plot lines, and likeable characters, you really can't go wrong with a Rollins story.
Rating:
Summary: fun read, but a bit too mushy
Review: Since I used to live in Alaska I thoroughly enjoyed the cold climate story-telling. That brought back memories. Being ex-military I could also relate to lots of the story. I liked the exciting pace, and was never bored. Some stretches were too Harlequin romance novel for me, though. I just rolled my eyes, skipped the couple of sappy lines here and there (and most of the epilogue) and moved on. All in all, it didn't spoil it for me, but I knocked a star off for it. A little hanky-panky is fine, but when we're moving to reunite families and crying over children and squeezing tears out all over the place, it's just too much for my taste.
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